We are lucky on the South Shore to have so many agencies supporting seniors who continue to live at home. Among these are home care agencies, which are the companies that provide home health aides and companions. If you are considering a home care agency to care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s, look for one that has put some time and effort into training its employees to work with this population.
North River Home Care is a family owned agency based in Norwell, and they are the only home care agency in our area to hire StilMee (a/k/a Sweet Grapes), the Alzheimer’s coaching company, to train staff. Sweet Grapes is another fantastic locally owned company, headed by the indefatigable Beverly Moore of Quincy. North River’s owner, Heather Kenney, has hired Beverly not only to train her 60 caregivers, but to provide weekly support and feedback to the caregivers who provide live-in care to Alzheimer’s patients – perhaps one of the toughest jobs an aide can have.
If you are looking for an agency to care for a family member with Alzheimer’s, be sure to ask what specific training and ongoing support the aides receive.