Caregiving is about more than just one person fulfilling a list of a tasks; it’s about human relationships and connection.
When someone is looking for home care services for a loved one or themselves they might be in need of help with bathing, assistance with using the toilet, medication reminders, meal preparation, or transportation. Professional caregivers also receive hours of training so that they can specialize in everything from proper lifting techniques to dementia care at different stages of the disease.
Caregiver training, assistance with activities of daily living, and meeting the needs of clients are top priorities, but it’s not everything. When a call comes in for a caregiver, a process begins to find a suitable match. In addition to the physical and practical services needed, questions may be asked about personal preferences, unique history, and simple pleasures.
This approach to care is to get to know each individual beyond their diagnosis so that they can be expertly paired with a caregiver with whom they can develop a bond, trust, and even true companionship.
We’ve compiled some of our favorite stories of clients and caregivers in this video who were successfully matched through either simply asking questions or even using a third-party personality assessment tool.
“They both have a love for cars,” you will hear in one story. “They can share that love by going to auto shows in the area.” It’s these connections between clients and caregivers that take home care to the next level, where a spark happens and two people can get fired up about their in-common backgrounds or shared interests.
These connections lead to more laughter, more smiles, and caregiver to client relationships that are about more than daily tasks and changes in abilities for someone.
Whether someone is receiving 24/7 care or just a couple of hours per week, how they connect with their caregiver matters and can have an impact on their overall well-being.
But don’t think this is all about what the caregiver does; many of these touching stories of a perfect match are about the client teaching the caregiver something new to them such as knitting, playing the piano, or going fishing. These dynamics can reinforce the notion that everyone has something to give and they are in a care partnership together.
