With the number of home care agencies that provide caregivers it is easy to understand while some might assume that Senior Lifestyle concierge is just another homecare agency! I’ve run into a number of potential clients who mention that they don’t need a “caregiver” which is understandable given to what they are familiar. Moreover, there is an underlying stigma attached to having “caregiver” which may equate to being old, feeble and unable to care for oneself. In my experience and understanding of senior adult spectrum, that description is not always the case, yet assistance might still be needed to provide a high quality lifestyle. Senior adults 50+ represent a broad spectrum from active to inactive adults. For those needing assistance of any sort, it is important to understand the differences between a senior concierge service and traditional homecare services.
Caregivers managed by homecare agencies are nursing professionals usually referred to as personal care aides, home health aides, or certified nursing assistants. Their training primarily consists of personal care such as bathing, grooming, feeding and helping patients walk around. Not all senior adults need a caregiver. There are active baby boomers, older adults and stressed out caregivers who do not need “homecare” but would like someone who can help out a few times a month and during transitions when they cannot always rely on friends and family. Services like Senior Lifestyle Concierge fill that gap–without the stigma.
A Lifestyle Coordinator or concierge does not provide personal care or serve as a substitute for senior care per se. Like a hotel concierge, the Lifestyle Coordinator goes above and beyond to ensure that everything that our clients want is at their service. For on-the-go Baby Boomers, they help you get more things done. For busy family caregivers, they take on their personal to-do list to ensure they can spend more time with their loved one. Have you ever heard someone say they could not see their parent who lives in either a retirement community, nursing home or assisted living, because they are too busy and do not have time? This is a common complaint among working family caregivers. A Lifestyle Coordinator helps to maximize their time, so they can spend the day with their loved one. We also help them reduce the amount of time they must take off from work. The concierge model ensures that caregivers have access to information and resources they need to ensure they are making the best decisions regarding their loved one’s care. For Older adults, Lifestyle Coordinators help you manage your home and coordinate the services that you need without the hassles, and they are knowledgeable on issue that arise as one ages. They do not take over your lives, they merely implement the decisions that you make in an efficient and effective manner. We maximize your independent living. And if you need assistance with personal care, they will arrange that through a service partner or coordinate an agency you select.
The work of Lifestyle Coordinator is broad and unique. Whether it’s providing direct services or coordinating a network of service partners, they ensure every request within reason is fulfilled. As you get older, you realize that your energy should be redirected on greater things. We call it Optimal Living. While caregiving agencies have their place, I ascribe to the belief that families need to spend more time together, not apart.
