See Home Staff Human Resources Manager and Community Relations Manager featured in Worcester Business Journal online People on the Move June 16, 2010

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Read CEO Angela Rocheleau’s monthly column fom the Fifty Plus Advocate with helpful questions, answers and tips for taking care of elderly loved ones.

Read monthly column: http://fiftyplusadvocate.com

Home Staff is a finalist in this year’s Better Business Bureau Torch Awards for Business Ethics, citing our high standards in ethical practices, customer service and community involvement. Our CEO Angela Rocheleau accepted the award during the breakfast ceremony held last week at Holy Cross’ Hogan Center. Each year, the BBB Torch… Awards program helps illuminate the importance of a marketplace where buyers and sellers can trust each other. Home Staff was previously recognized in 2006 and 2008.

Informative interview with WCRN radio personality, Peter Blute, in March 2010 discussing how we help families face the challenges of caring for the elderly.

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On February 4, 2010 Deb Taft a Home Staff Certified Home Health Aide received the Margaret Kielty Outstanding Service Award from Montachusett Home Care. This award is presented to the care giver who provides exemplary service to one or more Montachusett clients. Pictured left to right are Greg Giuliano, Executive Director Montachusett Home Care, Deb Taft, CHHA Home Staff, Judy Mansur, Community Relations Manager for Home Staff and Karol Zub, Montachusett Home Care Case Manager.

By Angela Rocheleau
CEO of Home Staff LLC,

There are a number of things you can do now to ease the transition into the next phase of your elderly parents’ lives – a time when they can no longer live completely independently.

When it comes to buying a new car, many of us spend countless hours combing through magazines and websites that rate the different makes and models. We confer with friends and family, shop online, and test-drive the most promising models.
Unfortunately, we spend a lot less time and energy helping our elderly parents plan for their futures.
In the 20 years I have been in the home health care business, most recently as the CEO of an agency, I have seen the unfortunate results of this lack of planning count- less times. My agency’s first contact with the family is often a phone call, placed by a frantic adult daughter of an elderly woman. The daughter works full-time and has three school-aged children. The fam- ily matriarch has broken her hip and can no longer manage in her apart- ment alone. What now? Suddenly, the daughter has become a bonafide member of what sociologists call the “sandwich generation,” people taking care of their elderly parents while still supporting their own children.

Preparing for the next phase

Don’t wait until the situation has hit a crisis level to begin thinking about the multiple issues that confront the daughter – all at once. There are a number of things you can do now to ease the transition into the next phase of your elderly parents’ lives – a time when they can no longer live completely independently.

1. Ask the uncomfortable questions.

Do your parents have a will? Have they granted power of attorney to some- one they trust? Do they have long term care insurance to pay for home health services or a nursing home? Have they created a living will or designated a health care proxy to make medical decisions if they are no longer able to make decisions themselves?
If not, they may want to consider seeking the advice of an elder law attorney to help with these matters.
If they have covered the bases, make sure you know where they keep their important documents and familiar- ize yourself with their contents.

2. Divide and conquer.

If you have siblings, initiate a frank conversation about how you will divide the responsi-
bilities of caring for your mother and/or father. You don’t want to learn in the middle of your mother’s healthcare crisis that your brothers and sisters have always assumed that you would take on the entire burden alone,
since you live the closest. It’s often helpful to designate one person to be in
charge of different areas, like financial matters or day-to- day physical care. This also helps streamline communica- tion between the family and the elder’s service providers.

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