Reflecting on our senior care operation, which I often do often (daily!), I cannot help but encounter a recurring sentiment. “Senior care is hard.”
Apart from the struggling seniors, it is the hardest on family caregivers (mostly the adult children), who juggle caring for their loved ones (mostly parents), along with responsibilities for their jobs, homes, spouses, children and if there is any time left for socializing and recreation.
As care experts, we pride ourselves at taking charge of home care situations. It is our passion to not only offer excellent care to clients but also to make the lives of family members a little less frantic, a little more calm through our presence.
But in doing so we cannot escape assuming some of the stress faced by the family caregivers. And when you do this for client after client, day after day, it does bear down and can leave one feeling burnt out.
As care professionals, we have to rejuvenate ourselves to avoid such burnout. We have to remember why we came to senior care in the first place. It was to answer the call of help at 4am from the daughter, fighting sleep and tears, whose Mum couldn’t get out of bed but refused to go to the ER. It was to see that smile on the face of the client who knew he’ll be cared for when he saw us arrive at his doorstep.
Sure, senior care is hard, but the smiles and satisfaction of our clients are a bigger high.
And heartfelt words of appreciation from clients (card inset) drives our passion like nothing else!
This is why ‘To us it’s personal’. This is why we come to work each day!
