VINTON?Donna Stanley?s grandmother, Maude Hale, still lives independently in her home in Vinton at ninety-five years of age. That?s the goal Donna and her husband, Scott, have for everyone?to remain independent and at home for as long as possible.
That?s why they established ?Changing Seasons Home Health Care, LLC? in March of 2010. Their goal is also to offer the highest level of care possible. That?s why they are one of the few home health care agencies in the area who have gone through the tedious and time-consuming process of becoming bonded, insured, and licensed with the state.
According to the Stanleys, ?We believe that family is everything.? They realize that the decision to allow outsiders to care for a loved one is not an easy one to make. ?Sometimes the person who needs care feels that their independence is threatened by having someone other than a family member come in to provide services.
Their goal is to empower their clients not just to remain independent, but also to maintain an excellent quality of life.
Changing Seasons will assist clients in any location, ?wherever home is at the time?, be it the residence, a retirement or assisted living setting, a nursing home, or rehabilitation center.
Donna and Scott Stanley opened Changing Seasons Home Health Care, LLC, in Vinton in March 2010. They offer a variety of services to clients from light housekeeping to personal care. Their business is licensed, bonded, and insured.
They don?t just serve seniors either. Changing Seasons also delivers home health care services to those recuperating from injuries or illnesses, individuals with chronic conditions who require ongoing care with everyday tasks, and even new mothers who need a ?helping hand? caring for the newest addition to their family.
Changing Seasons offers a myriad of services: companion care, transportation and errand services, light housekeeping, assistance with meal preparation, personal care, recreational activities, and medication reminders. Their next goal is to add wound care to their list of services.
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, an agency operating within the United States Department of Health and Human Services, ?The goals of home health care services are to help individuals to improve function and live with greater independence; to promote the client?s optimal level of well-being; and to assist the patient to remain at home, avoiding hospitalization or admission to long-term care institutions.?
According to the 2011 National Health Statistics Report, in the United States 7.6 million people receive home health care annually. With the baby boomer generation aging, by 2050 it?s estimated that 27 million individuals will need long term care and most will receive it in the community. ?Home health maximizes the level of independence, while minimizing the effects of disability and illness. ?
The advantages to home health care are that frequently it results in better health and more rapid recovery from treatments for the client with less exposure to infections, and it provides companionship for the client and reduces their own and their family?s level of stress .
Clients generally find home health care less expensive and more convenient than care in a hospital or skilled nursing facility. It is tailored for individual needs and it provides one-on-one attention.
Donna Stanley is a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) with fourteen years of experience. She graduated from the LPN program at Virginia Western Community College in 1999. Before that she was a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), and even worked for the Vinton Volunteer Rescue Squad for a time. Stanley says she has always loved the health care field.
Her employees are CNA?s, personal care assistants (PCA?s), and nursing assistants (NA?s). Some of them are retirees or semi-retired; for others it?s a second job. Changing Seasons has about fifteen employees, some full time and some part-time. Stanley says seventy-five percent of her employees have been with her since she opened the business.
?Our experienced caregivers are carefully selected and thoroughly screened,? said Stanley. ?They are bonded, insured, and carry worker?s compensation.?
Stanley worked for the Home Helpers organization for many years in providing home health care services. When they closed their business, several of their clients and other employees encouraged Stanley to start her own business.
?I had clients before I had a company,? said Stanley. ?And I was able to keep people employed.?
While Changing Seasons is a full time job for Donna Stanley, operated out of her Vinton home, her husband works full time for Verizon. His role in Changing Seasons is to oversee the financial aspects of the business.
Their clients range in age from the young to the elderly. Currently the youngest is twenty-seven years old with cerebral palsy; the average age is ninety.
They also find their client base is in continual fluctuation as clients enter and leave treatment facilities and their needs change. That means that employee schedules fluctuate as well.
Individual schedules with clients vary widely. Some only require the minimum three hours of care, while others need round-the-clock assistance.
The rates that the business charges also vary widely depending upon the services needed and requested and when they are needed (day or night, weekday or weekend). They work throughout the Roanoke Valley and surrounding areas.
Changing Seasons also offers ?immediate staffing? if services are required on short notice or a family member ?has reached the end of their rope?, and even if Stanley has to cover the shift herself.
The process is the same no matter what the clients need. Donna Stanley visits the potential client and family to assess those needs. They develop a plan of care. That?s one way home care is different than institutional care?the client and family have more say in the routine that is established to fit the individual situation and setting.
She also tries to match up the client and the caregiver in personality as much as possible.
Once the plan is developed, Stanley accompanies the caregiver on the initial visit to be introduced to the client, and family, if they are involved. For clients who are apprehensive about having a stranger in their home, this introduction is reassuring.
?Once we are there and they see that we aren?t trying to change their lifestyle, they become receptive to our help,? said Scott Stanley.
Home health care agencies that are licensed, like Changing Seasons, are monitored for quality assurance by the state. Stanley was required to create manuals, policies, and procedures for the business. The licensing process for home health care agencies involves background checks of employees. The state checks on the clients and with permission does home inspections periodically.
Stanley finds this to be a good thing.
?I wanted rules and regulations to follow,? said Stanley. ?We didn?t just want to be a ?companion service?. We wanted to be monitored and overseen by the state.?
Changing Seasons Home Health Care, LLC, can be reached by calling 540-588-9177 or by emailing donna@changingseasonshhc.com.
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Source: http://ourvalley.org/changing-seasons-home-health-care-helps-clients-preserve-independence/
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