A helping hand

Caregivers give seniors independence, peace of mind

STEPHANIE N. HENSCHEL
Staff Writer

Charlotte Jacobson, 81, does her physical therapy exercises while Nancy Poltash, a care associate from Care By Design, and her son Steven look on. Jacobson needs a caregiver to help her with daily tasks, such as getting dressed, due to health issues. Photo by Stephanie N. Henschel

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As Steven Jacobson sits with his mother Charlotte in his Scottsdale home, it is obvious the measures he has gone to to care for her.

Jacobson brought both his parents to live with him eight years ago when his father fell ill. After her husband's death, the now 81-year-old Jacobson stayed on.

But as time went on, both Jacobsons realized the need for additional help.

"Initially, I was assisting her with her needs," Jacobson says, "I was the primary caregiver - and a wonderful one at that."

His mother has had to undergo several surgeries, and Jacobson was having a difficult time rearranging his life so that he could take her to the doctors or on other errands she had to do.

"As much as I love my mother, I couldn't continuously leave work," says Jacobson, a financial adviser.

Daily tasks, such as dressing and bathing, also became a concern to Jacobson.

"We (Jacobson and his two brothers) felt it was absolutely necessary to have someone in the home to assist with the daily living needs," Jacobson says.

His mother is capable, Jacobson stresses. She just requires a little outside help.

So Jacobson did some searching and found Care By Design.

Care By Design, an agency of the Foundation for Senior Living, delivers fee-based, customized home management, personal assistance, licensed health care management and care planning to seniors, persons with disabilities and their families.

Nancy Poltash, a Care By Design care associate, has been working with the elder Jacobson for almost two months. She comes five days a week in the mornings to help Jacobson dress, do physical therapy and other various tasks. The Jacobsons are the first family Poltash has cared for since she came to the organization in March.

"I love the foundation," Poltash says. "I totally changed my occupation in life."

Jacobson was a little nervous at first to be working with a caregiver. She lacked confidence, and her self-esteem was low due to some health setbacks.

"They've been very good," Jacobson admits. "It gives me confidence."

"We've kind of grown into a team," Poltash says.

Stability and quality of care were things the Jacobsons were looking for in a caregiver.

"I wanted someone who would show concern for my mother," Jacobson says.

Care By Design per-forms a thorough back-ground check on every employee before assigning them to a family.

Caregivers then go through rigorous training. A caseworker interviews family members to find out what their needs are and to figure out how to match personalities. The company and the caregivers aim to develop a relationship with the families they work for.

"They really form a bond, a friendship," says Donna "DJ" Salas, director of sales and marketing for the Foundation and the Jacobsons' original caseworker.

And those relationships are very important.

"I've been very pleased," says Helen Lubet, 86, of her caregiver, Madeline Patel from Home Instead Senior Care. "She and I get along fine."

Lubet says she doesn't recall how she got involved with Home Instead in December 1998 - she had undergone surgery for three fractured compressed vertebrae and her daughter arranged everything.

"I was in complete agony for several months," Lubet says. Caregivers were with her around the clock for a while, she says, and eventually she didn't need them as much. Now, Patel visits for three hours, once a week.

"She has a whole list of things for me to do each week," Patel says. Tasks include changing the linens, laundry and dusting.

Patel calls Lubet "a sweetheart of a lady. We sit and talk. We read the same kind of books. We even matched politically, which was probably a good thing this year."

Matching clients to caregivers is really one of the most important parts of the process, according to Nanean Fann, owner of Elderchoice. She has been in the eldercare field for 16 years and has owned the company for eight years.

She got into the field when she brought her own mother to Arizona from Chicago and, to watch over her, got a job in the facility her mother was placed in.

Fann cared for her mother until she passed away, which is why she urges her clients to be watchful when choosing a caregiver - and why she started her own business.

Sometimes in-home caregiving is not the best option, as in the case of the LaNue family.

Rhonda LaNue knew her father needed more help than she was able to give him, though she had been taking care of him for many years. She brought in a caregiver to help out, but that sometimes proved to be difficult as well. LaNue says she went through as many as five caregivers before finding "the right fit" for her father.

"Personality is a biggie," LaNue says.

Eventually, LaNue could no longer allow her father to live on his own.

"He was not happy," LaNue says. "He did not want to go anywhere."

But a trip to the hospital - and a diagnosis of mild congestive heart failure - sealed the deal.

"I really felt he needed long-term care," LaNue says.

For almost six months, she searched and searched, trying to find the best option for her father. She wanted to find a facility that was close to her North Scottsdale home, and somewhere he - and she - would feel comfortable.

"You hear about abuse at all these places," LaNue says of her strict criteria. And finding the right place was "overwhelming."

Finally, LaNue found the light at the end of the tunnel. While reading Jewish News one day, she ran across an advertisement for Elderchoice.

"At that point, I (said) 'I don't care, I need help,'" LaNue says.

She met with Fann, who helped her figure out the best solution for her father. Fann kept bringing up the possibility of a group home, but LaNue wasn't interested.

But Fann was insistent, and finally LaNue visited a group home facility.

"I went and looked at this one place and it was beautiful," LaNue says. "I actually thought it was too nice for my father. He's kind of the Archie Bunker-type. It would be like taking Archie Bunker and putting him on a 'Dallas' set," LaNue explains.

So she kept looking until she came to Colton Care Homes.

"I felt so comfortable, it was just ideal," LaNue says.

The owners of the group home, Janna and Peter Colton, are Jewish, which put LaNue even more at ease.

"The fact that they're Jewish ... makes it a better fit," she says.

Once a month, a rabbi comes to perform services for the residents of the four homes under the Colton umbrella. Jewish holidays are also celebrated along with other holidays.

And, surprisingly, there has been no complaint from her father.

"He loves it," says a relieved LaNue. "It's just like a big family."

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