In the U.S., someone turns 65 every 13 seconds. In-home senior care is booming as an option, because families believe it is the best way to give their elderly loved ones the one-on-one, specialized care they need with a caregiver who often becomes like part of the family. Additionally, in-home care alleviates the guilt of sending a loved one away and helps ease the tremendous burden and pressure caring for an elderly loved one can bring on a family. In-home senior care is a growing concept here in Orange County and nationwide. It allows seniors to stay at home with dignity while caregivers come in to help with a variety of tasks such as bathing, medication reminders, running errands, cooking meals or simply keeping seniors company.
Heritage Pointe at Home Provides Stay-at-Home Option for Seniors
In October Orange County Jewish Life reported the creation of Heritage Pointe at Home, an option for seniors to have non-skilled care in their own homes. Heritage Pointe, the 200-resident Jewish community for seniors in Mission Viejo, realized that changing needs demanded that the mission of caring for Jewish seniors wherever they are was going to take on new meaning.
Jewish Home Care Services, Inc., which oversees both Heritage Pointe at Home and Seacrest at Home in San Diego, hired Kelli Denton to direct the program. Since January it has been providing companionship and assistance with activities of daily living including grooming, bathing, dressing, meal preparation and planning, grocery shopping, letter or e-mail writing, pet care and other services.
“The sky’s the limit as long as it’s within the scope of the practice,” Denton said. “If we identify a client who needs medical services, we have partnered with home health agencies to meet those needs. We’ve also partnered with hospice agencies, so we can provide respite care while the hospice organization provides spiritual care.”
Thus far, Heritage Pointe at Home is serving seniors in Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo, Newport Beach, Dana Point and San Clemente, but “we’ll go wherever we need to go,” Denton said. Always in a recruitment mode, the organization “wants to have a large enough pool of home care associates so that we never have to say ‘no.’”
Pam Ferris, president and chief executive officer of Seacrest Retirement Communities, added that about 85 percent of seniors want to stay in their own homes. While care at home is not the same as care in a senior residence, she stressed that “It’s important to note that there’s a wonderful culture of caring at Heritage Pointe. This is an opportunity to reach out and send caring people into people’s homes, so we can prolong their ability to stay at home.”
Robin Israel, vice president of philanthropy at Seacrest Village Retirement Communities, added that “Without the support of the community and the vision of the board, the program would not have come to fruition. Nobody else is serving the Jewish community in particular, with knowledge of and sensitivity to customs, traditions and circumstances. Nobody else is coming into seniors’ homes with a challah on Friday afternoon.”
Fred Forster, chairman of Jewish Home Care Services, concluded, “We’re happy that we listened to the community. It’s apparent that the real bridge was to provide the same quality of services that we do in the facility but do it at home, empowering people to live the lives they want to live.”
For more information, call (949) 364-1489.
Bubbe and Zayde’s Place Announces Marcia Schwartz Hospice Residential Care Facility for the Elderly
After years of working on many committees, Bubbe and Zayde’s Place is the first residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE) in the state of California to have been granted licensing for an entire home to be utilized for hospice care.
“We are very proud of this accomplishment, because it encompasses years of caring, love, and dignity and the ethical treatment of our elders and their families,” said Bonnie Curkin, owner of Bubbe & Zayde’s Place. “I am so proud of Bubbe & Zayde’s Place and everyone who has helped throughout the years, because this can now set a trend across the country where people can live and die in the dignity our tradition teaches us.”
After 15 years of being in the community, Bubbe & Zayde’s Place continues to provide care with assisted living, respite care, dementia and hospice residents.
For more information, call (714) 928-5030.
Comfort Keepers
Provides Caregivers To Help
Seniors in Private Homes
For six years Comfort Keepers has operated six offices in Orange County to send caregivers to help seniors with various tasks in their own homes, according to Elly Smith, who runs the Costa Mesa office. Her office helps people in Costa Mesa, Newport beach, Irvine and Laguna Beach with companionship, meal preparation, transportation, housekeeping, grocery shopping, bathing and grooming.
“People with limited vision, hearing problems and other issues of aging can become isolated,” Smith said. “We provide emergency monitoring by means of daily or weekly phone calls. We also have emergency response systems.”
The home care services provided by Comfort Keepers are designed to help seniors and others maintain optimal levels of independence in the comfort of their own homes.
For more information, call (714) 432-7700 or (949) 478-8701.
Seniors Helping Seniors
Provides In-Home Care Services
The mission of Seniors Helping Seniors is to make life a little easier for seniors by providing services in the home – companionship, light housekeeping, cooking, transportation and more. All of the helpers are seniors themselves. They possess the warmth and understanding that comes from the experience and wisdom gained over the years. The organization selects loving, caring, compassionate people to bring joy and companionship to people.
Seniors Helping Seniors provides help whenever it is needed, day or night. The caregivers provide as little or as much as needed.
For more information, call Lisa at (949) 429-3365.
BlueSea Care
Offers Tools That Help
to Prolong Life
At BlueSea Care, Nichole Illingworth and her care providers take pride in more than just offering home care services. They want to give seniors the tools to live a healthier, longer life.
With a 10-year history in permanent and temporary home care staffing, BlueSea is committed to finding and placing superior caregivers on an as-needed, part time or full time basis. The organization provides friendly, helpful individuals to bring comfort to people in need of assistance – from companions and homemaker helpers to case management specialists.
For more information, call (949) 554-5411.