Home Care Agency Helps Seniors Live Full Lives in Familiar Surroundings
No matter their age, most people look forward to summer. Warmer weather, the additional hours of daylight, outdoor activities or the possibility of traveling, it’s no wonder why young children aren’t the only ones who enjoy this season.
However, for seniors, summer can be fraught with risks, and not just the possibility of being adversely impacted by high heat and humidity, said Glenn Lane, founder and president of Westchester Family Care, a Mamaroneck-based licensed home care agency that provides at-home care and companionship for the elderly and disabled.
The understandable desire for older people to want to get out and enjoy themselves, particularly after lives were put on hold for over a year for the pandemic, could expose them to risks.
“Especially on this side of COVID, people want to get out, they want to enjoy the good weather,” Lane said. “Being able to understand what they can do, having someone with them that has this awareness, it’s great to be able to get out and enjoy, but to be realistic about the issues of hydration and things like that.”
Westchester Family Care, launched by Lane about five years ago and serving most of the county and parts of the Bronx, provides the services that enable seniors to remain independent and live fuller lives with the help of a team of about 150 New York State certified home health aides or caregivers. Services could include simple companionship during the day, helping the person with errands and chores or assisting with other daily living needs.
The company also provides services for those with more complex medical issues, including live-in caregivers if that’s what a client requires, Lane said. About 25 percent of Westchester Family Care’s clients have some form of cognitive impairment while roughly another quarter of the clientele experience mobility limitations.
Lane said seniors with mobility issues can be at greater risk because they may be fully capable cognitively but sometimes don’t want to let on that they need to use a cane or a walker.
The services provided by Westchester Family Care allows seniors to stay in their own residences longer rather than forcing an upheaval to a facility, which can be met with resistance.
“We can provide them care to a level that would be comparable with assisted living, and in some cases, they prefer the companionship of our caregivers,” Lane said. “The ability of our caregivers being able to keep them out in the community with their social activities in their current situation is better than starting up a new social circle.”
Lane, who had previously worked in the financial services industry, started Westchester Family Care in January 2016. Several years earlier, his mother and his mother-in-law and her sister suffered from Alzheimer’s, and the lack of reliable home care options was a motivating factor in him launching the business.
In most cases, clients need to guarantee 40 hours of service a week, Lane said. The caregivers are matched with a senior and provide whatever services are needed, whether that be transporting them to doctor’s appointments, shopping or social activities, or preparing meals for them at home.
“The companionship element to our seniors is very important,” he explained. “So the caregivers are all trained to provide what is called the activities of daily living.”
There are also certain situations where families hire a caregiver despite their loved one being in an assisted living facility or even long-term care to provide that companionship, which can sometimes be lacking.
Most of Westchester Family Care’s clients pay directly, but for those eligible, the firm can also coordinate a combination of private payment with Medicare and/or hospice. It also accepts payments from long-term insurance.
For more information, call 914-223-8063 seven days a week, 24 hours a day, or visit www.westchesterfamilycare.com.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
