by Glen Davis

Pleasing the aging in place customer

The title of this article may, even without reading below this line, cause many to respond with “of course”. If that is what you are thinking, I am here to try and dissuade you of that position.

One of the most difficult things for me to learn (and teach) was that, when you work in the world of Senior Home Care, the answer is “no”.

In fact, the true answer is that our customers are very often wrong. As I said, this was a difficult and important lesson and I try to re-teach it every day to our staff and caregivers. After all, we’ve been taught for years that the way to keep Customers happy and loyal to their service provider is to ensure they feel “right”, right?

If you are new to the world of Senior Care, this simple question will come up on nearly a daily basis. At Right at Home® in Phoenix, we feel we have ten (10) “customers”.

1. The Client or person to receive care
2. The Spouse or Domestic Partner of the client
3. The Referral Source – the person or company that referred the case to our Agency
4. The insurance company or “Payer”
5. The family members
6. The family physician
7. Case Partners such as Hospice, Therapists, Healthcare Providers
8. Case Manager or Trust Attorney
9. Home Care Agency management
10. The Caregiver

As you read through the list, did your mind run to all the possible definitions of “right”? Each “player” may define it differently and each will have their own “hot buttons”. Push all the buttons correctly, everyone feels “right” and all is good in the universe, but wait……….

The Client may wish to eat Raisin Bran for breakfast this morning. That’s not a problem except that the Physician has prescribed a Low Fiber/Low Residue diet and bran is definitely not on the menu. It is only breakfast cereal, but to a Senior that feels like he is losing more and more of his ability to make his own decisions, it is an important battle. Okay, a good Caregiver should be able to negotiate this one away, but wait, there’s more…

Some other “Not Rights” come to mind.

• The Case Manager demands just one Caregiver on the case for training reasons, but the Spouse needs care to run 7 days a week. This means that we will need at least two Caregivers. Did the Agency ignore the Manager’s wishes?
• The Family has expressed the need for the Caregiver to dispense medications, but the law in this state specifically precludes this. Medication reminders and providing already dosed meds are the rule here. “Why won’t the Caregiver just do as she was told?”
• The Physical Therapy Partner wants to complete range-of-motion exercises with the Client every other Thursday at noon, but the Case Manager has already scheduled supervisory visits at noon on Thursdays. “Why are you making scheduling a problem for me?”

When you add in all of the many needs and wants of each customer, it can become an unhappy mess pretty quickly if we do not all get it agreed upon at the case startup and your team spends their time working to “please people” instead of providing excellent care.

Seniors in today’s America call on professional In-Home Care companies like Right at Home® Phoenix so they can Maintain Their Independence®. In doing so, we need to ensure they feel heard and understood. At the same time, we need to diplomatically explain them why we are not doing as they think should be done and instead, caring for them in a way that is legal, compassionate, healthy and safe.

Glen Davis, Right at Home Phoenix
Glen is the co-owner of Right at Home® Phoenix and is passionate about assisting others with special health needs.

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