What would you do with an extra three hours a day?

Get your hair done?  Take a nap?  Do  errands? If you are the family caregiver— three hours to yourself can mean a lot. That’s why we created the Care Card.  Essentially a gift card that can be redeemed for three or more prepaid service hours, the Care Card allows the family caregiver, the new mom or the independent elder who may need just a few hours of help doing chores and personal care, get a break. It’s also a gentler entry into a service that, although often necessary, is not always welcomed, because it may be perceived as taking away one’s independence.  In an effort to change the face of home care, we think that one of the benefits of the Care Card is that, as a gift, it reads more as pampering than as, ‘Here, Mom, you need someone to take care of you’. With the Care Card, you welcome an extra set of hands into the house, and have a say in choosing when and how you want to redeem the assistance.   With Mother’s Day just two months away, we cannot think of a better gift that says,  ‘I love you’ than the  Care Card.  Right now, we’re just introducing the card to the region and already  getting calls from folks who want to buy them as get-well presents or baby shower gifts for moms-to-be. 

When we decided to launch TLC HomeCare Services, we knew what we had to do to prepare  for future relationships with caregiving staff and clients: we became certified caregivers ourselves.  We are Certified Nurse’s Assistants (CNA) and Certified Home Health Aides (CHHA) and have earned certifications in Alzheimer’s  and dementia care.  We specialize in that.

TLC HomeCare Services provides two levels of home-based assistance.  Personal Care Services are offered to clients requiring feeding, bathing, continence care, nail care and general grooming.  Companion/ Homemaker Services are best suited for seniors, new mothers, post-operative or developmentally or physically challenged clients looking for light housekeeping,  meal preparation, errands, transportation  to appointments or just a partner for a game of cards.  Both of us visit the home of each client.  Our staffing background helps us put our fingers on the pulse of what makes a strong caregiver client match.  For example, if a client appreciates fine dining, we’ll pair him with a caregiver who is known for her recipes.  Some people crave a conversational partner, whereas others prefer not to interact much.  We assess these nuances to the best of our abilities during our home visit.  Remaining close to and in control of the quality of our caregivers’ services is the primary reason we opted to build TLC HomeCare Services from the ground up, instead of franchising with a pre-existing company.  We accept private payment or long term care insurance.  Recently, we were chosen as the South Jersey home-care provider for the Greater Delaware Valley chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society which provides up to 80 hours of home care per year to anyone diagnosed with the disease.  We were honored to  have been selected to help.

Another way we are changing the face of home care is with our state-of-the-art time management system.  This innovative system is the industry’s most effective method of monitoring and automatically tracking time, attendance, cost and services performed by caregivers.  It allows us to keep a very close eye on the caregiver and bill our clients accurately, at all times. 

We diligently screen all staff applicants-hiring only the most conscientious, dependable, and empathetic companions, CNAs and CHHAs.  Candidates are background checked, insured and bonded.  They also must have impeccable references.  Generally, within 10 minutes into an interview, we can tell if someone has it in their heart to be the type of caregiver that TLC HomeCare requires.  Candidates must truly want to help others and have the same positive attitude we do. It’s part of the new face of Home Care.    And we love to see smiling faces.