Seniors Helping Seniors Introduces Distanced Care Through TeleCare Services
Seniors Helping Seniors® is finding new ways to care for the senior community as its members continue to socially distance while aging in the comfort of their own homes. The home-care company is introducing Telecare service offerings. The TeleCare services will allow seniors to be cared for and monitored at a distance by their families, friends, and caregivers through a personal, yet non-contact approach.
“Before the pandemic we had an occasional inquiry asking if we provided a call-in service,” said Jennifer Helin, owner of Seniors Helping Seniors here in Brevard County. “We realized that this remote option makes complete sense. Even with the lower numbers this fall, we are still hearing from seniors who are afraid to go out or to have anyone in their home. The increased isolation is causing more anxiety, leading to problems like weight loss and depression. TeleCare can help by giving that senior someone to talk to, someone compassionate, calming, and understanding.”
Seniors Helping Seniors® will use these services, including check-in calls, conversation, medication, and meal reminders to broadly check in on their clients’ health. “The calls will be much more than a quick hello,” according to Riki Montgomery, office manager. “We are assessing each client’s needs and creating a checklist to ensure we hit all the individual health and safety concerns for that individual in addition to having a great conversation. These calls are documented and can be accessed by family members, wherever they are.”
Telecare offerings will continue to be useful to seniors and caregivers beyond the pandemic — particularly new clients who are not quite ready for face-to-face caregiver visits. Seniors Helping Seniors® hopes to open the door to new opportunities for its clients through these new offerings as the world becomes increasingly more digital. This initiative follows their new partnership with virtual healthcare solutions provider Electronic Caregiver™, which will further allow seniors and their families to monitor their loved ones safely and electronically, at a distance.
ABOUT SENIORS HELPING SENIORS®
Seniors Helping Seniors was founded in 1998 with two simple ideas; seniors can help each other age more happily and gracefully, and seniors who give and those who receive benefit equally. Co-owners Jennifer Helin and Rosemary Barton brought Seniors Helping Seniors to Brevard County in 2012 after seeing the need in their own families. They now provide services throughout the county, from Barefoot Bay to Titusville, and keep about 80 area seniors busy helping others.
