Let us help you with the one you love. Introducing Respite Care! Are you a caregiver taking care of an elder parent or spouse? Could you use a break? We now offer individual 4 hour caregiver respite care with 48 hour notice. Call 770-736-7977 for a free telephone assessment.
Whether with our own extended families and grandparents or strangers we meet in our daily routines, the holidays are a time to show we care for others young and old.
In our home care business, we employ caregivers who provide personal care and companionship to seniors. Yes, they are certified and have skills in working with and helping seniors. But we also look for those who naturally show compassion and respect for others. Here are some traits of superb caregivers.
1) A good caregiver listens and doesn’t talk back to seniors.
2) A good caregiver has a soft touch. For instance, when applying ointment or lotion to a senior, they are always gentle.
3) A good caregiver speaks softly, not harshly to seniors.
4) A good caregiver lets the senior feel in charge. “He or she understands their senior has lost some independence by not being able to drive or cook by themselves anymore,” explains Njeri Soley, Staff Coordinator for Alternative Home Care for Seniors. “By asking questions and showing interest in the senior’s wishes, they empower the senior,” she adds.
5) A good caregiver is patient. This is especially important when transferring a senior from a chair or bed.
I encourage you to consider the above ideas when dealing with a senior, yourself this holiday and beyond in 2010. And if nothing else, please hold a door or let a senior get through it first the next time you’re at the grocery store. It’s a nice way to show respect for our elder citizens and it will make you feel good, too.
Derrick Merchant is the new Senior Issues writer for Examiner.com. You can see his other articles here.
Shown left to right, Damon Ladd-Thomas, Sheryl Fambrough, Derrick Merchant, Donnie Houston
Martin Barnes, Vice President of Loganville Rotary takes notes during Derrick Merchant's presentation
Donny Houston, CPA of Houston & Company, PC
The Loganville Rotary was chartered on November 22, 2002. The group of local business leaders meet every Thursday at 7:15 AM at Sweet Aromas in Loganville.
B.I.G. Helping you prepare and protect your nest egg
New illustrated logo for B.I.G. by Sharna Fulton
So, you’re in your 40’s or 50’s and you’re starting to wonder where and how you might live a happy and health life in the coming years. Or you’re wondering how you can better plan for your retirement financially. If so, then B.I.G. might be the thing for you. B.I.G. (Boomer Information Group) is an alliance of professionals in Grayson/Snellville who specialize in products and services geared towards those thinking about retirement and beyond. The founding members are Derrick Merchant, Alternative Home Care for Seniors, Joel Beck, estate planning attorney with the Beck Group, Damon Ladd-Thomas, a wealth manager with T&D Montana and Jennifer Marciante with Loganville Dialysis. B.I.G. is available to speak to civic & business groups and associations. The format will be so that one member of the group will be a featured speaker with the other members to serve on a panel for a Q&A panel discussion to follow the main speech. The first presentation is scheduled for Thursday, October 1 for the Loganville Rotary Club at Sweet Aromas in Loganville. For more information, please contact Sharna Fulton at sharna.fulton@att.net
Snellville, GA August 7, 2009 – Alternative Home Care for Seniors announced today that two Chick-Fil-A restaurants in Snellville will join them in their mission to once again warm-up Gwinnett County Senior Services. Chick-Fil-A at Hwy 124 and Hwy 78 will serve as collection points August 10-31, 2009. New and like-new cotton/blend sweater donations are requested for hypoallergenic reasons.
The 2nd Annual “Sweaters for Seniors” was started by Alternative Home Care for Seniors (AHCS) last year. “We were looking for a way our small business could contribute to seniors in our community and came up with the idea,” explains Derrick Merchant, co-owner, AHCS.
Thanks to the help of local media, ‘Sweaters gained the attention of the Galloway School in Atlanta and raised more than 250+ donations in 2008. With more knit pieces than imagined, the program looked to find an organization with a serious need.
Enter Gary Galloway, Volunteer Services Coordinator for Gwinnett County Seniors Services who gladly received many of the donations. “The sweaters were given to seniors facing the dilemma of keeping prescriptions filled before Medicare deductibles were met. They also had to turn down their heat due to increased bills,” explains Galloway. “Many seniors get cold from medications that thin the blood too.”
“To grow the much needed program in 2009, we sought out a business partner who could provide added foot traffic and give people more opportunities to donate,” says Sharna Fulton, Marketing Director for AHCS. “Sweaters for Seniors seemed to especially touch women who went through their closets to find new or like-new sweaters they never wear, but could really help a senior.”
As for Chick-Fil-A? “We couldn’t ask for a better partner,” explains Derrick Merchant, ACHS. “They’re a respected business in Snellville and also where family and friends come together in our community.”
Alternative Home Care for Seniors is a privately owned home care agency that helps seniors remain independent in their own home. AHCS has provided companionship and personal care to seniors throughout Gwinnett and all major metro Atlanta counties since 2002.
Gwinnett County Senior Services is the contracted provider of aging services for Gwinnett County. Its mission is to help seniors maintain their independent living status. For more information on the 2nd Annual Sweaters for Seniors, please call Sharna Fulton@ 404-663-8450 or email her at sharna.fulton@att.net For sweater donations, call our office @ 770-736-7977.
