Health & Wellness Magazine Community Of Caring - Summer 2019 | Page 27

CARE PROVIDER
A
LEADING
CARE
PROVIDER
EVERY WEEKDAY morning, when
CareGivers’s client care coordinators
Jacqueline Murphy and Jessica Whyte meet
to review the nightly on-call report, they
do something that is probably unique to
home care in Newfoundland and Labrador.
They keep an eye on a large screen that
shows every CareGivers home care worker
checking in for their morning shift.
“It’s really amazing that we can know
when they arrive and when they leave,”
says Jacqueline. “It helps us know right
away if there is a problem, and we
can check in to make sure both our
employee and our client are safe.”
“CareGivers is a really innovative
company,” adds Jessica. “When I first
came to work here, I had no idea that
there could be such a difference in how
things are run from one agency to another.
Our clients’ families tell me all the time
that they really appreciate how we can
pull up all their information with the
click of a button. We’ve got an electronic
client care management system that is
considered one of the best in the world.”
Over 16 years ago, CareGivers took a big
leap towards quality when it enrolled in an
accreditation program. Accreditation means
that a health care provider meets or exceeds
national standards for safety and care for
employees and clients. In CareGivers’s case,
the agency has been accredited four times
and has achieved “exemplary standing”
for their last two accreditation cycles.
This means the agency’s care standards
are among the best in the country.
So, how does a Newfoundland agency
become one of the best in Canada?
“Innovation is a key to providing
quality home care,” says Anne
Whelan, CareGivers President.
“For over 16 years, we
have been working
to provide the very
best care possible.
Of course, you have
to start with having
awesome employees,
and we absolutely do."
— "But there is more to it. You have
to invest in your people and your
systems. We are constantly seeking to
improve the ways we communicate
with our employees, our clients, and
the health and community supports that
are part of our home care system.”
Another example of innovation and quality
going hand-in-hand is the development of
CareGivers online home support worker
training program. Available to all employees,
the training helps home support workers
learn the skills needed to provide good care.
“There’s a big difference between being
a very caring person and having the
skills needed to be an excellent home
support worker,” says Bob Dewling,
CareGivers Director of Nursing and one
of the program’s developers. “We start
with very warm, caring people, and we
help them develop skills that they may
need. It leads to happier employees
and better care for our clients.”
As more and more people are
choosing to stay in their own homes,
CareGivers is continuing to find
new ways to customize care.
“We’ve invested in another local company
that can provide a range of therapies—like
physio, OT, and counselling – right in the
comfort of clients’ homes,” says Anne. “And
we’re looking at opening a ‘family portal’
on our website so that family can participate
in their loved one’s care no matter what
part of the world they happen to be in.”
For Jessica and Jacqueline, continuing
to offer new innovations means they
can continue to improve on the care
experience for both workers and
clients. Jessica sums it up like this:
“When a family calls to tell us Mom
is much better since we started
care, that’s really what it’s all about.
The happier we can make their
days, the happier we are.”
To learn more about the services
offered by CareGivers, please visit:
www.caregiversnl.com
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