At Comfort Keepers Home Care Santa Clarita, staff look at themselves as a “concierge” service for seniors rather than being “caregivers” — a term many seniors might shy away from.

President Myles McNamara says word choice, dignity and respect are all critical when adult children are talking to their senior parents about how to keep them safely in their home.

“I say this respectfully: I’ve never met a senior that needs help. They’re proud, they’re independent,” McNamara said. “I tell (adult children), never use the word caregiver, because we are non-medical and we assist with all aspects of daily living. So it would be like you or I helping out our grandfather or our own parents, that kind of a helping hand.”

Related: Comfort Keepers Home Care Santa Clarita: The Dangers Of Slips, Falls For Seniors

This “concierge” service type of approach helps seniors feel that they’re maintaining their sense of control and independence while still getting the help that they need.

“We are like a valet, a butler if you will,” McNamara said. “If you say caregiver, immediately they think ‘nurse,’ immediately they think loss of independence, they think loss of control. So the verbiage is really important when you have that talk with your parents.”

McNamara advises adult children to say, “‘You’ve worked hard all your life… Let this concierge service prepare your meals, do the light housekeeping, take you to doctor’s appointments.’”

However, sometimes this approach still isn’t enough for a senior to agree, and McNamara noted that it’s up to the adult child to make the best decision for the senior’s safety and wellbeing.

“Sometimes our parents are no longer able to make that final decision,” he said. “Now we have to look out for them, and that’s the hardest pendulum swing we’ll ever experience in our life, is when we have to start parenting our parents and we have to start overruling their decision, because maybe they’re not making the best decisions anymore.”

If this is the case, McNamara still advises approaching the issue carefully, with the adult children putting themselves in the senior’s shoes and doing whatever they can to maintain the senior’s dignity.

“We always have to approach it respectfully,” McNamara said. “A lot of times as we grow older, our bodies start to fail us, our minds stay sharp. So imagine, if you will, if I were to walk up to you and say, ‘You know what? We’ve all made the decision that you can’t drive anymore. So give us your keys.’ Well you’re saying, ‘Wtf.’ It’s like, wait a minute. Now you’re losing your independence, you’re losing your control.”

He continued, “Our parents are our heroes, but now they’re getting to that time in their life where they need a little help. I couldn’t tell you how often that an adult child would say, ‘Dad really needs this help, but he says no.’ And I say, well unfortunately, you know you have to help dad make the decisions now. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the last say. But we have to approach it with dignity and respect.”

Comfort Keepers Home Care first opened in Santa Clarita in 2001 with the vision of helping seniors age with dignity and independence in their own homes. If you are in search of a trusted and experienced in home caregiver, Santa Clarita seniors and their families need look no further than Comfort Keepers Home Care, Santa Clarita.  With a full range of senior care options that can be tailored to meet each individual’s elder care needs, Comfort Keepers Home Care offers quality home care services Santa Clarita seniors can trust to help them achieve the highest level of quality of life.

Comfort Keepers Home Care Santa Clarita

23900 Lyons Ave

Santa Clarita, CA 91321

(661) 430-6687

Comfort Keepers – Santa Clarita

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