Home Health Care News

Tough economic times have more and more families responsible for the care of aging parents. The term Sandwich Generation highlights a growing demographic of middle agers caring simultaneously for children and for ailing parents.

Recent census statistics show that more than 25% of American families are connected in various manners for the care of an aging parent. Health degradation can be a gradual process but most issues arrive suddenly, leaving many unprepared. Poor health and a difficult economy only compounds stress, especially for the primary caregiver.
What is a sandwich caregiver to do? The first step is to be aware of senior issues and what older adults fear most. The number one fear is losing a driver’s license. This is a symptom of a greater subset – fear of losing one’s independence. The second worry facing seniors is outliving their retirement savings.

The next step is to prepare and plan sooner than later. Health and financial problems are inevitable sometime in life, especially in the golden years. Proactive planning can help a family prepare for these events, and thus reduce stress levels when issues arise.

Proactive planning begins with an empathetic conversation with your parent. There is a tendency to treat your aging parent like a child. This is a surefire way to disrupt cooperation and collaboration. Make the discussion a team effort remembering the viewpoint of your parent – they don’t want to lose their independence and more importantly, they do not want to be a burden.

The team at Serenity Home Health and Senior Care in Wichita, Kansas understand these issues and we are here to help. Our professional caregivers come from a wide range of health care backgrounds and education, and our social workers are experienced advisors. Statistics show that when professional health care is employed in the home, health improves, nutritional awareness improves and the relationship between family members improves. The aging parent no longer feels like a burden to family members and they are able to remain at home, independent for a much longer period of time.

Serenity Home Health provides home health care and in home services in Wichita and its surrounding areas. If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call (316) 866-2929 or visit our office at 453 S. Webb Road, suite 410.

The Wichita Business Journal has released its annual ranking of home health care agencies serving Sedgwick, Butler, Harvey and Sumner counties. The rankings are based on the number of patients served for 2009. Serenity Home Health has moved to 8th in the rankings, improving over last year’s 10th place ranking.

Serenity Home Health has grown to 93 employees serving 788 patients in nearly 18,000 home health visits. We are pleased to have the increase in market share in the home health care industry. The community in and around Wichita, Kansas is clearly taking notice that our organization is committed to its Mission and Vision. Thank you to our employees, our clients and families, our referral sources and the community in which we live.

Serenity Home Health Care has been named to the 2010 HomeCare Elite(TM), a compilation of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States. Winners are ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, quality improvement, and financial performance.

Lars Stamp, Serenity Home Health’s President/CEO feels the credit belongs to the motivated and knowledgeable team of home health administrators and staff at Serenity.

“It is no secret that we place great emphasis on hiring and retaining the most knowledgeable and caring home health professionals available,” he said. “We have built a team that gets up every day to make this company the best it can be. Everyone benefits from this kind of approach. It is fun and exciting to come to work here. My job is to make sure people around here continue to feel that way,” said Stamp.

Read more about the Home Health Care Agency Award

Learn more about OCS HomeCare