Compassionate Care For Seniors Inc. is keeping older Airdronians out of facilities and providing care where they need it, which is something that has become more and more important throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Owner of the private, family-owned company, Mary Belmore, shared that retirement communities and nursing homes felt the largest impact from COVID-19 and lost many people.
“It also brought to light a lot of the problems with being in retirement homes and the nursing homes that there's not enough care, not enough one-on-one,” she said.
“By opening this company, we provide care in the home. No matter if you just want some housekeeping done, or whether you need palliative care.”
Through a wide array of services, Compassion Senior Care provides personalized home care that meets the unique needs of its clients.
Home care services assist older people to live independently and comfortably in their own home by helping them with the tasks of everyday living on a short term, post-hospitalization, transitional, and long term basis.
“We just lost one of our clients at Christmas time from lung cancer. Everything was done in her home for her. We had two people per shift, 24 hours a day, and we did all her personal care and [administering] the drugs to make her comfortable,” Belmore said, adding they continue to take care of her husband with dementia.
Belmore noted these services provide a piece of dignity in personal care that you don’t get in a facility.
All 13 of Compassion Senior Care’s current staff members have a medical background with some being health care aids and licensed practical nurses.
“Our goal is to make sure [our clients] are living their best life for the rest of their life,” Belmore said.
As a Red Seal chef by trade, Belmore worked in various retirement communities where her passion for working with seniors grew. She said seniors really got a piece of her heart as she worked and listened to their stories.
“It's in my blood, it's in my heart – compassion, understanding, and empathy. Those are things you have to have to be in this business,” she said.
Belmore and her partner started the company one year ago on July 1, 2021. Since then, they have been quite busy as families are taking their loved ones out of facilities and moving them back home.
With a limited number of nurses for an entire floor of patients, people are finding their parents and grandparents aren’t getting the proper care they need, Belmore added.
“I know you get what you pay for, you truly do,” Belmore said when people opt for the home-care route. “When it comes to private care, people that can afford private care – that's what they want.”
While Alberta Health Services provides some financial assistance for people who decide to take the age-at-home route over a facility, Belmore often tries to direct people to companies that help them get adequate financial support for the care they require.
With two clients currently in Airdrie and many more in Calgary, Belmore said they have the capacity to serve more people throughout the Airdrie and Rocky View County area.
For more information about the company, go to compassionseniorcare.ca or call 587-322-4008 any time.
