Home Sweet Home Care Interview
One of our employees, Mary Powell, recently took part in the Hampton Roads Show Wisdom of the Ages series on the subject of Caring for Seniors. She was interviewed by Aubrey Aquino. The transcript below will help you understand more about our services.
Aubrey Aquino: We’re back on Wisdom for the Ages week. Caring for our elders is a big challenge for any generation but there are many ways to get the help they need, and the help you need as well. Joining us now is Mary Powell from Home Sweet Home Care to tell us how she can help you and your family. Welcome to the show Mary.
Mary Powell: Thank you.
Aubrey Aquino: First of all tell me a little bit about Home Sweet Home Care and the type of services you provide?
Mary Powell: Home Sweet Home Care is a locally owned and operated business that provides companion care and personal care. Primarily for the elderly, although if you have to have and outpatient procedure and your family member can’t get vacation, we can come in and be with you for a few days until you get back on your feet in that instance, too.
Aubrey Aquino: Is this the kind of care that would be covered by something like Medicare?
Mary Powell: No. I think a lot of people are surprised to find out that Medicare does not cover companion care and personal care services. So if you have not thought about it, this might be the time to look for some long term care insurance. Look into it now before a crisis situation occurs. It’s a lot easier to check out the different services available to you when you are not in a panic mode.
Aubrey Aquino: Right. When you’re not going through it. And can you give me some examples of the types of care people might need?
Mary Powell: … The first level of care is typically referred to as companion care. They do light housekeeping. They do errands. They do medication reminders. They do transportation. Anything at all to keep your loved one at home or to keep them safe while you are at work. The second level of care would be referred to as personal care. And actually if someone wants to stay at home, that can take them all the way to end of life situation in conjunction with Hospice, if that is appropriate.
Aubrey Aquino: Okay. And so what makes you unique from other services?
Mary Powell: Well one of the things that makes us most unique is that we are locally owned and operated. We’re not part of a franchise. Cost wise, everybody in this business is pretty much about the same, but we strive very hard to give “small town” service to everyone. We don’t charge deposits up front. We don’t have minimums, so we’ll be there for an hour if that is all you need or we can do live-in, 24 hour care. I don’t charge more for evenings or weekends. So, we try to make it as affordable as possible for those folks that want to stay home.
Aubrey Aquino: And you talked about maybe pre-planning for long term care or financial services to help you, but also, I guess, before you in a situation where you need it or maybe you’re caring for a loved one already and its taking its toll on you, you know, what do you advise people to do if they think they may be needing some help? Do they just call you? What are the signs that you need some help?
Mary Powell: Well, number one, you begin to lose your health as well. You’re stressed. You’ve got a full time job, you’ve got a family member at home, a loved one, a parent, an aunt or uncle, and you’ve got children that you are raising, as well. So when you begin to feel that tiredness overtake you that’s when you’ve waited to long. Start looking at it now if you have a parent that is older and make arrangements before you’ve gotten to the point where you are overtired and overwhelmed.
Aubrey Aquino: Okay, I’m sure they can call you and get all the information on the range of services that you guys provide. Home Sweet Home Care can be reach at 757-356-0342. You can also find them online at homesweethomecareinc.com. Mary thank you for coming in.
Mary Powell: Thank you