Archive for March, 2010

Wouldn’t that be lovely!  Someone you could call to help out on a moments notice.  You could call them to ask “Can you run over and drop off books for my mother”?  or “Can you run to the drug store for candy this afternoon”?  Just helping out with the little things is HUGE.

Well I have that.  I own my own home care company, Practical Care Continuum,  and I have a wonderful nanny for my kids that helps out with my mother too.  I could never be a caregiver without them and still work.  No wonder daughters are leaving the workforce to care for their parent(s).  How in the world can anyone keep down a full time job and cater to their parent(s).  I would go insane trying to keep up with her needs.

The big issues are not the problem because I can get home care help for those issues but the little things such as making sure her medications are set out properly and ordered in a timely manner consume a lot of my time.  The woman is on 12 medications umpteen times a day.  If I have a problem keeping up imagine my 82 year old frail mother keeping up with them.  Not to mention the 4 different doctors she has.  I don’t even have one (pretty typical for a caregiver to have no physician.  It’s not in our plan to get sick)

I think family members take on too much when caring for their parents and don’t think about the little things a home care company can do for them.  I have an advantage in that I own the company but even if I didn’t I would still hire one to handle the little things because my family time is precious to me.  My kids are growing up way to fast.  My 11 year old is graduating to middle school in two months and will no longer want to hang out with mom.  I want to grab all the time I can with him and running errands for my mother (much as I love her) is not my idea of family time.  So I give myself a break and ask (pay) for help.

Corny as it sounds I don’t want to be remembered for all the hard work I did when I go I want to be remembered for all the love and shared time I had with my family.

Bottom Line:  I am so lucky to have the help I do and if you don’t get your own you are missing out on life so get your own Concierge Service any way you can!

I spend a lot of money on management books each year trying to improve my leadership style but just the other day I realized that I had forgotten one of the basics.  Tell someone what a great job they did!

My week started out very hectic as usual.  Between the kids, my mother, her caregivers, and the business I really needed a Calgon moment and I got it from an email sent to me that included a testimonial from a client of mine.  It was wonderful to receive the pat on the back and the acknowledgment of all the hard work I put into my company.  That simple note made me realize that we all should give more kudos and if we do it will make us feel better which will in turn lower our stress level.

I emailed a kudos yesterday for the great service I received while ordering a pizza from CraigO’s.   I noticed that CraigO’s has gluten free pizza so I called to order for both myself and my kids who can eat anything.  The young girl who took my order was cheerful, patient and knowledgeable about her product.  You don’t find that everyday in the food service arena so I dropped a quick email to her boss about how impressed I was with her service.  They sent a note back thanking me but what I noticed was the fact that my email was forwarded on to her boss and the owner.  The whole process only took a minute, made me feel good, and hopefully put a smile on that young woman’s face. Who knows maybe that simple acknowledgment brought her to the attention of the higher ups which in turn will lead to her one day being the CEO.  A simple pat on the back can do wonders.

Which brings me to my point about caregivers.  Don’t forget to acknowledge all the hard work they do. The stress can be overwhelming but well worth it if someone says “Good Job” and Thank You for all you do.  Caregivers put up with a lot from their clients/family members/loved ones and it’s even worse for those caring for someone with dementia.  Those folks become isolated and forgotten all to often so take a moment to send a card or flowers to brighten up their day.  As an added bonus it will make you feel great too!