To the families of our amazing seniors:

I love the independence of the generation we provide services for. They are truly great people who have lived through exciting and turbulent times in America. They are caring people with a great sense of humor who love their families and their independence. Now in their golden years, they embrace these times with a strength and dignity that amazes me.

If your siblings are like mine, making the decision to talk to our aging parents about in-home care can be extremely stressful. My brothers and sisters all have different ideas on how best to help our parents. We all differ on the approach we should use in talking to them about in-home care. We had to consider the time and place to present "the talk" and we had to practice the rebuttals for the objections we knew were to come. It was inevitable that we would hear "I don't need a caregiver" or "I don't want a caregiver".

The answer for most families would be to consider minimal assistance such as housekeeping, grocery shopping and perhaps some meal preparation. Most of the amazing people can do quite well with this type of assistance. Studies show that most seniors need this type of care a lot longer than they will require personal "hands on" care. By introducing my parents to these types of services long before a crisis hits, it helps them adjust to the idea of having a caregiver present. It creates a more natural flow and easier transition when the time does come when they need even more assistance.

Carrie Governor
Owner of 24 Hour Caregivers