By Elisa Santana
When it comes the time that we need in-home care, we all hope for a company we can trust and people that feel almost like an extension of our families.
“[Our clients] call us ‘angels without wings’ and a ‘saving grace’; they doubt our exceptionality and then they see our services and go ‘wow, you truly are exceptional. We love you,’” said Home Helpers Home Care’s Director of Operations, Ursella Slusher.
Slusher began in the in-home care business when her mother wanted to own her own agency. Originally making plans with her husband and Slusher’s sister, their plans fell through and Slusher took their place and went into business with her mother.
Home Helpers is an in-home health care agency for seniors, disabled family members and anyone else who needs help at home. It comes up with customized plans and offers many services. Anything from cleaning, cooking, caring for people with mental and physical disabilities or just being a companion to the elderly.
Slusher begins with an assessment. During this assessment, she wants to get to know the potential client and their current living conditions. She checks for everything; from their illnesses, hospitalizations, how they walk, hear and see, list of medications, who lives with them, likes and dislikes, safety in their home, family concerns—everything that is required to make sure they do not have accidents and problems.
To make sure they can work with dementia and Alzheimer’s patients, Slusher makes sure her caregivers are properly certified. They receive training at CNA Training and Testing Center to take state-required programs and get certifications. Home Helpers also work with companies that come out and teach its employees regularly about Alzheimer’s and dementia.
The caregivers regularly test their dementia and Alzheimer’s clients. “We ask them who their family is, their age, name, address, where they worked; we keep them thinking and keep them present,” Slusher said.
Slusher goes above and beyond to make sure her clients are in good hands.
“[Our] exceptional caregivers and service make us different. We literally match our employees to our caregivers. This isn’t done by a system, but by an actual person. We call them our families—not our clients.”
For info, visit https://www.homehelpershomecare.com/easttampa/home or call 995-8909. Home Helpers is located at 1210 Millennium Pkwy., Ste. 1033 in Brandon.
