A Weekend to Remember
Glenn’s Introduction to Home Care
We enjoy sharing a more personal side of our WFC family to discover the different paths our employees have taken to the home care industry. We asked our Founder, Glenn Lane, to tell us about how he came to decide to open a private home care agency in Westchester. Glenn’s story will not disappoint. What it reveals is his desire to offer a different kind of home care agency – one that is driven by compassion and attracts a stellar group of individuals who bring their caring passions to deliver exceptional care.
Background
Ten years ago, my parents were still living on the Jersey Shore, and it was becoming clear that they were both in declining health, Mom with dementia and Dad with medical complications. Lisa and I spoke to Mom and Dad frequently and made the 1½ hour trip to visit them once or twice a month. We suggested they move up to Westchester to be closer to us and to consider a move into a facility that could professionally monitor and tend to their medical conditions.
Mom and Dad were resistant to upending their lives but, after a family meeting, they did consent to allow Lisa and me to screen home care facilities in Westchester. We visited several facilities that offered various levels of modern home care including assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing care. We identified two places that fit our needs including mom’s challenging requirements for two bedrooms (one was an office) and two bathrooms (they hadn’t shared a bathroom for 50+ years and weren’t going to start) – The Osborn and Atria Woodlands – and brought Mom and Dad up to see them.
The Osborn
We found a great customized unit for them at The Osborn, and they decided to move. It was two one-bedroom apartments that had been merged into one unit with two bathrooms Mom had mandated. It’s fair to say that my mother was an “old school dame” who liked to run the show and wanted the place to reflect her taste and accommodate her needs. Unbeknownst to me, she sent the floor plan to a long-retired family Interior Designer who was over 90 years old.
As I was driving over to The Osborn with the signed contract, I called my father who advised that mom had sent the plans to the Interior Designer. After reviewing the layout and size of The Osborn’s apartment for Mom and Dad, the Interior Designer advised her to cancel because he didn’t think the place was going to be big enough.
So those plans fell through and three months went by. We continued to have dinners with Mom and Dad. Unexpectedly, Dad decided it was time to reconsider and move into an eldercare facility that could better accommodate their needs. We think Mom probably had a fall, and he couldn’t pick her up because she weighed more than he did. And likely this was not the first time.
Atria Woodlands
The unit at The Osborn was no longer available, and they moved into a lovely two-bedroom, two- bathroom unit at Atria Woodlands. It was one of the two senior care facilities we had visited with them three months earlier. Mom got her 2 bathrooms and the facility assessed Dad to be capable of independent living status. Mom’s needs were greater, and she qualified for assisted living. Caregiver hours would be allocated to Mom for some personal care and Dad was independent enough to go it alone, albeit living in the same apartment.
From the beginning, Dad enjoyed Atria Woodlands. He liked to talk to people and was very friendly and social, even more so after being alone with my Mom during her first few years with Alzheimer’s. He soon became the community’s unofficial “Mayor” counseling mostly female residents on various personal business issues. As always, but with no justification, Mom was jealous and suspicious of Dad’s socializing and thought he was having affairs with various caregivers and staff. No one was going to take her man.
The Weekend I’ll Never Forget
Leading up to a long holiday weekend, I got concerned when Dad wasn’t responding to emails or my phone calls. We were usually in daily contact and I hadn’t heard from either of them through that Thursday and Friday. Early Saturday morning, I went over to Atria, knocked on the door, and Mom answered. I asked her where Dad was to which she replied, “Dad went out to get me food”.
I ran around looking for him in the Atria dining room and elsewhere. I came back upstairs only to discover that Mom hadn’t realized Dad was sick and had never left his bed. He was running a 103° fever and looked awful. Given his medical history, including a kidney transplant, the fever was alarming and likely he would need to go the NYC hospital where his doctors were located.
There was a caregiver in the apartment for Mom’s personal care needs. Dad’s bed is right next to Mom’s, but he wasn’t receiving care because he was classified as independent. But he had a 103° fever, and no one raised any alarm or contacted us.
That day was my live introduction to home care in real-time. Even though it was 10 years ago, I can remember it like it was yesterday. To compound the problems, it was the Saturday of a long holiday weekend when medical and home care are typically not as readily available at those moments.
Problem Solving
I wanted to get Dad into New York/Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in NYC. We called a private ambulance because the community ambulance wouldn’t take him down to Manhattan.
I managed to get a private ambulance and Dad was on the gurney getting ready to be taken to the hospital when we were told:
“You’ve got to find someone to take care of your mother.”
“What do you mean? This is Assisted Living. Can’t you find staff to take care of her?”
“No, it’s a holiday weekend, we’re not staffed, and she can’t be left alone.”
Fortunately, Lisa was able to come and stay with my mother. I asked for a list of home care agencies so I could find help for Mom. The list was out of date.
I called numerous agencies, but all were closed for the holiday. Finally, an agency owner answered. It turned out to be a Connecticut-based agency that also serviced New York State and was able to send over a caregiver.
After that, it was smoother sailing and less stressful, with a live-in caregiver staying with them in the second bedroom.
Dad recovered but passed after about a year later. Mom declined further, and we moved her into The Osborn Pavilion Skilled Nursing unit where she received wonderful care for over five years until she, too, passed.
Epilogue
From those frenetic beginnings, Westchester Family Care was born. Our experiences with Mom and Dad fueled my determination to create a home care agency that would go above and beyond the current norms in private home care. Among the inspirations was to be always ready to accept new clients over holiday weekends.
The Osborn and Atria Woodlands have since become valued partners on many levels to Westchester Family Care.
Call Westchester Family Care Today
Helping loved ones stay in the homes they cherish is our calling, and we’re honored to serve families in Westchester County, including New Rochelle, Larchmont, Harrison, Scarsdale, Rye, and surrounding areas.
Contact us today to get more information about our senior care services. We’re available 24/7 to take your call, answer your in-home care questions, and schedule a complimentary home evaluation. We look forward to getting to know you!
Westchester Family Care Inc. assists people of all ages, by customizing home care plans to maintain healthy quality of life and safety at home.
Contact WFC for an immediate family need or when planning for future needs: info@westfamilycare.com, 914-764-7500, www.westchesterfamilycare.com.
Westchester Family Care Provides Peace of Mind and Confidence that the Elderly Are Safe and Living with Dignity in Their Own Home.