What Comes First, The Chicken or the Egg? 

By Jan Nicodemus

What comes first, the chicken or the egg?

I’m sure that phrase has been overly used and misunderstood for years! However, in the home healthcare industry that phrase is exactly what we think about everyday while figuring out schedules.  This has been our slogan since the first day we began providing services to clients, since we opened.

We struggle daily with matching clients with employees.  We have to match clients with caregivers who smoke, have pets, don’t want “young people,” those who want mornings, those who want afternoons, those who want Mondays through Fridays, etc.--you get the picture.

Then, we add the employee into the equation. We have an employee who wants no smoking, no pets, wants to work only mornings, afternoons, Mondays through Fridays, etc.; again, you get the picture. Scheduling can literally take hours! When the scheduler scores a victory with a match, it’s a good day.

It has always been a question of what comes first the happy client or the happy  employee? Let's face it, if Compassionate Home Care didn’t get referrals, clients, we wouldn’t need employees. On the other hand, if we didn’t have employees then we couldn’t accept clients. As our agency has grown tremendously, you can imagine the puzzle the scheduler must go through to make that perfect caregiver/client match.

These scenarios are all what take place daily, so now when you throw into the mix, an employee who is sick, not liking a client, or needs personal time off, guess what happens? We get to start over. We understand our employees are more than important, our clients are, also. (Again, what comes first the chicken or the egg). Likewise, we know there are those clients, who cancel regularly, or don’t like the caregiver, which again sets the wheel in motion. We want our employees to get the hours they desire, while respecting the clients' requests or need/want to cancel.

Let’s work together to make scheduling a less stressful situation. Be considerate when calling in or deciding that you want to change clients after a day or two of working with them; give them some more time to get used to you and for you to get used to the clients and their needs. We don’t have employees just hanging out waiting for the perfect clients, nor do we have the perfect clients waiting for the perfect employee. Building rapport takes time on both the client's and the employee's part, and it often is not an instantaneous process.

Thanks to Stacey for taking over the painstaking job of scheduling, she gets the brunt of the calls from both clients and employees. She is the scheduler guru, but will need a skillet to cook all the scrambled eggs that she dropped while covering both client and employees wants and needs.

Thanks for reading!

Getting Clients Out in the Community

By Amy Cornelius

With summer approaching, it’s the perfect time to get our clients out into the community. Many clients have been isolated all winter because they have a hard time with icy conditions due to physical limitations or seasonal depression. Now that the days are warmer, the ice has melted, and the sun is shining (mostly), try to get out and get some vitamin D.

There are many activities from which to choose. One example of a free, but fulfilling activity is getting your client out for some exercise by going for a walk at the local park; maybe you can feed some ducks together.

In addition, check online for upcoming free events such as fairs or festivals. There are a number of free community education classes that are offered throughout the summer as well. Many libraries offer readings by the book's author as well. Also, check the local senior center for activities for your older clients.

Volunteering is a great way to get out into the community as well. The humane society has volunteer opportunities as well as other animal rescues. Some of our ILS Trainers have already volunteered with their clients at Feed My Starving Children, and they have seen that this is a great way to help clients feel like they can make an impact in the world around them; studies show that when a person feels like they can help others, they feel move fulfilled and valuable -- a step to feeling independent. You can also try googling volunteer opportunities and free events for activities in your nearest city; you may find creative and low-cost activities that will help you and your client to make being a part of the community a fun and rewarding experience.

Have fun and be safe this summer with your clients!

MAY Highlights

(Keep them Coming)

Compassionate Home Care, we have had some important things going on in MAY!

• Tracy has continued to make huge strides for her clients as she continues to make her way through years and years of grime (see photos below). 

• Tracy has made significant strides with all of her clients, and she plays uplifting music for them and has been able to develop a special rapport with a client who has had difficulties connecting with other caregivers in the past.

• Tracy's client loves her and felt like she made such an impact on his progress that even after he moved, he requested that she continue to work with him; he did not want any other service to do his ILS. 
• Vicki helped yet another one of her clients pack up and move. It seems that this is her calling at CHC -- helping her clients move. Unfortunately, whenever they move, they are no longer her clients! We know that she greatly impacts them during the time that she is working with them. 
• Jessica has continued to work through mounds of dishes and around mazes of boxes for her clients. While Vicki is helping her clients move, Jessica is helping them unpack from moving (see photos below). 
• Lisa Bee continues to be an advocate for her clients and their needs. She has helped her clients with figuring out their bus cards and their weekly food. She continues to be a significant influence on their abilities to remain independent. 
• Tami S. has helped one of her clients who has gone without television for several months get her television working right in time for the long and hot Memorial Day Weekend. She has been a strong advocate for her clients, and whenever she sees a need, she quickly approaches the office to alert us of that need. Her clients are fortunate to have her in their court. 
• Cindy has been working hard to help her client with his passion for gardening. She continues to work toward building rapport with her clients, and her clients look forward to seeing her during each of their scheduled visits.
• Christine has been doing a million intakes! We had an explosion of referrals this last month, 41 referrals to be exact, since April 25. Christine has been busy meeting with many of them and getting to know their needs so that she can pass those requests and goals on to the caregivers; in fact, she is even taking on two of those clients herself.  
• Lucrecia immediately stepped in to help make a difference in her clients' lives. She has been cleaning and helping to advocate for their needs. She is currently working with a client to help her get the medications she needs. In addition, she is working on cleaning up one of her client's living spaces; what a difference (see photos below).
• Amy has been working hard to match the perfect ILS workers with ILS clients. We know that all of our caregivers have passionate and professional attitudes and could get along with anyone, but we also know that finding that chemistry between employee and client is important, too.
• With the business of summer and the vacations that caregivers have planned, CHC has hired two summer interns to help provide services to our clients when you are unable to do so. Our clients need to feel they will have coverage no matter what; please reassure them that they will have someone there even when you cannot be there.

Look at all of that hard work!

Welcome Our New Employees in May

Read more about our newest team members by clicking on the links below!

Lucrecia Sams

Ayanitu Adams

Kelsey Breitkreutz

Homemaking/Companion Care Staff:

Carrie Olson

Carrie joined our team in January, and she has quickly helped many clients to clean up their homes. She works quickly and efficiently, but when she is able to slow down and take some time to visit with her clients, she builds strong connections with them. Several of her clients have received increased hours, and others have asked for Carrie to do more cares than just homemaking services. In fact, she has even begun doing some ICLS for some of her clients because Carrie saw the need and wanted to make sure her clients needs were met. In addition, Carrie has been more than willing to pick up every shift that she has been offered, and she has even driven several miles to work some of those shifts. Compassionate Home Care recognizes and commends Carrie's client-first mentality. She knows that sometimes it is not about the miles driven, but the client's care and piece of mind that the client is well cared for. Carrie consistently demonstrates the mission of Compassionate Home Care often placing her clients' needs above her own. For example, when she found herself needing some extra days off, Carrie knew her client would have some anxiety about her not being there, so she carefully chose which clients she knew would be okay with a sub, and which clients she knew would need her. When she knows that her clients will have anxiety about her taking time off, she chooses not to take time off -- definitely a picture of a client-first mentality. 

ICLS/Direct Caregiver:

Lisa Bee

Lisa has joined Compassionate Home Care with a genuine heart for her clients. It has not mattered whether her clients are homemaking, ICLS, personal cares, or ILS, Lisa has been passionate about being a voice for her clients and making sure that they are happy. She has stayed late with her clients to assure they are safe. She has worked on Saturdays with her clients when they are sick, so that she has piece of mind knowing that they have the things they need. She has sacrificed her weekends for her clients so that she could attend a social event as her client's companion. Lisa is the picture of someone who goes above and beyond without the expectation of getting recognized and/or praised for her excellence; she simply does it because she knows it matters to her clients. She has become a crucial part of the CHC caregiving team, and we are so glad that she made the decision to join our team of excellent caregivers. Without a doubt, our clients are receiving top-notch care when they have Lisa as their caregiver.  

<img height="22" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e9922_3509e29d40d24b53b9ea6064d03de5c0.png_256" width="22">May Birthdays<img height="22" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e9922_3509e29d40d24b53b9ea6064d03de5c0.png_256" width="22">

• Marie Plaisance – May 4th
• Cassie Ziebarth – May 14th
• Crystal Peterson – May 21st

<img height="22" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e9922_3509e29d40d24b53b9ea6064d03de5c0.png_256" width="22">June Birthdays<img height="22" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e9922_3509e29d40d24b53b9ea6064d03de5c0.png_256" width="22">

• Carrie Olson – June 15th
• Lucrecia Sams--June 22nd
• Bradley Lay– June 25th
• Lisa Bandemer – June 27th 

CONGRATULATIONS TO APRIL'S VIRTUAL MEETING DRAWING WINNERS

Thank you to those of you who took time out of your busy lives to view the virtual meeting. You have no idea how much we appreciate your dedication to continuing to learn about and support the amazing caregiving efforts of the entire team! Keep striving for client satisfaction. We are so excited to see our outstading caregivers leading us to the top of the industry!

This month, we took the first person to watch fill out the attendance form, Crystal, and the fifth person (since May is the fifth month), which was Tasha. Congratulations to Crystal and Tasha! Watch the mailbox!

Congratulations to our April Winners!