Take a moment to listen.
Written by S. Dennis-Silver Spring, Maryland
This year, millions of families will search for and hire home care for an elderly parent. Several years ago, mine was one of them. (My two bachelor brothers assigned me the task, believing that having a family of my own made me better equipped for the challenge.)
Hah.
What follows are the emotional realities of that journey. I stress emotional because the more solo practitioners and homecare agencies understand what’s going on in heads and hearts of the people seeking your services, the better you’ll be able to market those services and, ultimately, meet your clients’ needs.
It starts with delay.
Home care is rarely sought proactively-surely not in my family’s case. Our mother’s ability to take care of herself had been declining for some time. So gradually that we didn’t notice? Perhaps. Just as likely, we didn’t want to notice either. Didn’t want to acknowledge that the person who had been our tower of strength, intelligence and support was becoming a child herself.
By the time there was no denying our need, the need was urgent. (Few things focus a man’s mind faster than the thought of bathing his mother.)
ACTION PLAN: Respond to inquiries ASAP. Be assured, rather than desperate, it makes you responsive. It’s smart business, and very much appreciated.
Other truths to consider:
Your prospective clients know nearly nothing.
Sure, there’s a great deal on information about home care out there. But there’s precious little help understanding what information is valid or valuable. For instance, the social worker at mom’s rehab facility answered my questions about home care with Google it. What to look for. The hallmarks of quality home care. What we, in particular, needed. How to compare providers. We were on our own.
ACTION PLAN: Be a font of knowledge. Marketing materials should be chock-full of useful information. That information can subtly point to your services. But it should also leave potential clients feeling like we’re educated. This, too, will be greatly appreciated.
Opinion pieces in your industry’s various publications are another way to establish the credibility and quality of your services.
Money Matters
Rare is the family who isn’t terrified thinking about how to pay for homecare. We’re not questioning the value of your services. We’re just questioning how we’re going to afford them for any length of time.
ACTION PLAN: Be sure to detail both verbally and in marketing materials the services covered by fees. We want to make sure we’re getting our money’s worth. We also want to make sure someone we love gets what they need.
And be prepared for questions as basic as how do we pay you? Literally, what is the process? Do you bill weekly? Bi-weekly? Do we mail a check? Use an online payment platform? Most of us have never purchased anything like homecare before.
Food. We’re hungry to hear more.
Food is love, and in many instances, one of the few pleasures an elderly loved one may have left. Prospective clients have an intense interest in how you handle feeding the folks in your care.
ACTION PLAN: When you say cooking is included, please elaborate. How much? Are we talking eggs and sandwiches or something more involved? Are you willing to learn the family recipes that feed mom’s soul, as well as her body? We need to know. Oh, who does the food shopping?
Recommendations. Highly recommended.
It would be hard to overstate the importance of a recommendation. But I’ll try. After reading the brochures. After meeting the potential providers. More than price. More than liking an individual caregiver, it was a personal recommendation from someone I trust that swayed me.
ACTION PLAN: Get out there and get known. Make connections with the people clients are looking to for advice. The social workers at rehab facilities. The people running local municipal services for the elderly. The administrators at gerontology practices. Eldercare Concierges.
In person. Or out of the running.
Nearly every homecare provider I spoke with agreed to meet at my mother’s home. Those that didn’t got no further than that initial call. I realize it can be an imposition. Still. It’s home care. Isn’t seeing the home where the care will happen critical? I sure thought so. And I can’t be there only person who feels this way.
ACTION PLAN: Yes. Come over. And when you’re here ask to see where your charge will be sleeping, spending their day. Check out the kitchen, laundry and bathrooms. Don’t be shy about making recommendations about how we can make the house a better place for our loved one. The message we’ll get is that you know your stuff. And you care.
We feel awful. And can’t thank you enough.
I’ll end with this. Please keep in mind that the people hiring you feel a variety of conflicting emotions. Guilt that we can’t take care of our loved one ourselves. Shame that we don’t just move mom, dad or whoever into our home, our own lives be damned. Pride that we’re doing the work of finding the best care. Mortified about how to pay for it. I can’t imagine what we must seem like to home care professionals.
But I can tell you this. You’re doing god’s work and we appreciate you beyond words.
S. Dennis is just one voice. For more read this New York Times article gifted to you by AgePros.
