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SeniorHelpers provide companionship to depressed senior citizens
By Kim Nguyen, Staff Writer
As the Baby Boomer Generation grows increasingly older, their well-being sometimes becomes the responsibility for the younger generations.
According to a study done by the Gallup Poll, one out of five employees in the United States is the primary caregiver for a senior loved one.
Unfortunately for the 10 percent of the American population who are more than 55-years-old, the term “well-being” usually translates to living in a retirement center or an assisted living center where their primary caretakers are nurses n not their family.
After recovering from a serious illness almost two years ago, Owens moved into the Caruth Haven Courts. His two daughters are quite active but, of course, busy with their own lives and can’t spend as much time with him as they would like.
Owens’ daughter, Katherine, had heard about SeniorHelpers, an organization dedicated to creating and providing companionship for the nation’s growing elderly population, and inquired. Through SeniorHelpers, the Owens family has been given the opportunity to see their family patriarch be active and once again enjoy life.
Darla Stroud has been Owens’ caregiver since September 2007 and has since become an amazing asset in Owens’ life. Stroud and Owens became quick friends and it wasn’t long before they were out and about. Owens enjoys going to the lake to watch people parasailing, to eat at restaurants, to museums, running errands and shopping with Stroud.
“We just about act civilized,” Owens said with a grin.
Stroud also provides Owens’ transportation to informal family meetings, for example, a recent outing to Maggiano's to celebrate a birthday. Last month, the Owens family and Stroud went to the Dallas Museum of Art to see the J.M.W. Turner exhibit. Stroud also re-arranged her schedule to accompany Owens and his family to watch an Undermain Theatre production that Katherine was a part of.
Owens has a list of places and restaurants he likes to frequent and more often than not, the pair will meet for lunch with a family member, Stroud said.
“He asks to go to the Crazy Catfish Restaurant so much that he’ll turn into a catfish one of these days,” she said.
A pastime that both Owens and Stroud enjoy is sitting on the Caruth Haven Courts front porch and talking.
“These two can talk a blue streak. They always have something to talk about,” Katherine said. “Just the other day, they were watching a program the History Channel about World War II, and they were talking about his experiences in the war.”
SeniorHelpers caregivers are dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in their elderly clients.
“Their physical health is, of course, important but caregivers are more about keeping them happy because their emotions affect their health,” Stroud said.
Owens has not been to the hospital for any major medical emergency since Stroud came into his life. As a matter of fact, Owens’ most recent checkup at Baylor Elder showed that his vital signs were comparable to a 50-year-old’s, Katherine said.
It is important that the family and caregiver work cooperatively toward the goal that is enhancing the quality of life of their elder loved one. Caregiver and client spend so much one-on-one time with each other that personal experiences and fond memories are often shared. The Owens family considers Stroud as part of the family.
“Jack’s as involved with my family just as much as I am in his,” Stroud said. “It doesn’t matter what I’m doing on my day off, I’ll still come here and talk to him. I would be here non-stop if I could.”
Stroud is grateful she has become so closely involved with Owens and his family.
“Every night I put Jack to bed and every night he says to me ‘I wouldn’t make it without you, don’t leave me.’”
Peter Ross started Senior Helpers with a friend after both men had personal experiences with finding the proper senior care for their elderly loved ones. Ross lived states away from his mother and when she was ill, he felt extreme guilt when he had to put her in a nursing home. Ross saw a need for senior care and SeniorHelpers was created as a better way to help senior citizens.
The first SeniorHelpers office opened in 2001 in Towson, Md., and now has more than 200 franchises in 34 states nationwide.
“SeniorHelpers provides a great service,” Ross said. “SeniorHelpers was created to help families spend more quality time with their aging loved ones.”
The natural aging process slowly hinders a senior citizen’s ability to perform everyday duties, such as the laundry or washing dishes. And when a family member comes to visit, they sometimes get frustrated that instead of spending quality time with their aging loved one, they are cleaning or running errands for them. Then that frustration will ultimately lead to putting Grandpa into a nursing home or retirement center because the family thinks he can’t care for himself, Ross explained.
“The sad fact of the matter is that there is a growing need for elderly care in both physical and mental health and it is not on the forefront of people’s minds,” Ross said. “And as horrible as it may sound, the reality is that people age 65 and older account for 19 percent of suicides.”
Late life depression affects about 65 million Americans age 65 and older, but only one in 10 receives treatment. Elderly Depression is often misdiagnosed by family members and doctors. Three out of four seniors who commit suicide visit their primary care physician in the month prior to killing themselves so doctors need to recognize the mental as well as physical health issues. Children often misread depression by saying “Good ol’ Dad is slowing down.”
According to a survey conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), about half of the homes in the United States are paid off by senior citizens and 85 percent of seniors want to live out the rest of their lives in their own homes.
Ross has spent the past seven years building SeniorHelpers into one of the most successful senior-in-home care companies in the United States. SeniorHelpers provides a wide range of personal and companion care services to assist senior citizens living independently at home, with a strong focus on both the quality of live for the client and the peace of mind for the family. Services include help with housework, meal preparation, errands, transportation, medication reminders and Alzheimer’s care. They also offer dressing, bathing, persona hygiene assistance provided by Certified Nurses Aids (CNAs), services that traditional caregivers do not provide.
For information on Senior Helpers, contact the Dallas office at 214-361-7943 or go online at www.seniorhelpers.com.
To comment on this story, visit www.scntx.com. Contact Kim Nguyen at knguyen@acnpapers.com.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
Tami wrote on Jun 16, 2008 9:25 AM:
" Senior Helpers has been around since 2001. Since we have been in the Dallas Collin County area we have helped over 200 individuals. We have several companions in the Plano area. We are licensed with the State of Texas, bonded and insured. Plano's senior population is on the rise and we are proud to help our neighbor's age with dignity and respect and wil continue to do so in the many years to come. "
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& more of an add rather than something going on in Plano. How does it relate?
One has to wonder how long they have been in business... "