July 2, 2025 • 24 mins
What does it really take to keep seniors happy, safe, and independent at home? Marie Rodriguez, President and CEO of Happier at Home, built her Rochester-based home care agency from a deeply personal place—watching the right caregivers transform her mother's end-of-life experience while giving her father crucial respite.
Seven years later, her thriving agency serves five counties across upstate New York with a philosophy that challenges industry norms. While many agencies require minimum weekly commitments, Happier at Home starts with just two-hour shifts. "My mom didn't need 24/7 care," Rodriguez explains. "It probably would have just really been irritating to her and my dad." This flexibility makes professional care accessible to families just beginning their care journey or those needing minimal support.
Transportation emerges as a cornerstone service, addressing what Rodriguez calls "our last form of independence." Unlike medical transport services that drop clients off, Happier at Home caregivers accompany seniors into appointments, take notes when needed, and wait until the visit concludes. This comprehensive approach keeps seniors connected to beauty salons, senior centers, medical providers, and social activities without family members constantly rearranging their schedules.
Behind every successful care relationship is thoughtful matching. Rodriguez reveals how her team considers personality types—pairing chatty caregivers with sociable clients while finding quieter companions for those preferring peaceful company. This attention to interpersonal dynamics, coupled with rigorous background checks and training, creates relationships that often feel like family. These connections become particularly meaningful during hospice situations, where caregivers provide both practical support and emotional comfort during life's most challenging transitions.
Whether you're just beginning to notice concerning changes in a loved one or planning care during your family vacation, Rodriguez's insights illuminate how the right support can honor independence while ensuring safety. Ready to explore how a few hours of compassionate care might transform your family's caregiving journey?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, my name is Marie Rodriguez.
I'm the president and CEO ofHappier at Home in Home Care and
I've been in business for aboutseven years in Rochester, new
York and upstate.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Wow, so you have made it through that first five
years of every entrepreneur'sstruggle.
So, in seven years.
That's a really nice long timeto serve the Rochester area.
So tell us a little bit moreabout how far you go around the
Rochester area.
So tell us a little bit moreabout how far you go around the
Rochester area.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Yes, so in the Rochester area we cover all of
the five counties Monroe County,genesee, wyoming, livingston,
ontario and Wayne County.
So we service people all in theoutskirts of Rochester.
Yes.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
So you are serving a very large area, and so tell us
a little bit about what kind ofservices you typically provide
and what you guys do whileyou're out there in someone's
home.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Yes, so we provide companion level care services,
which include light housekeeping, meal prep planning, grocery
shopping, light housekeeping.
Sometimes it's difficult I know, even for me changing bed
linens can be difficultTransportation to and from
appointments, which is a big one, and with our transportation
(01:17):
services we do have some clientsthat just utilize that part of
our services and our caregiverswill walk our client in to the
appointment.
Sometimes families even askmom's starting to forget certain
things.
Can they take notes andcaregivers can go ahead and do
that.
What's really awesome andreally unique is that we will
(01:38):
wait while the loved one is inthe appointment.
So it's not medical motorservices.
They're wonderful, butsometimes you find that they're
doing other forms oftransportation and then your
loved one is sitting there foran hour waiting.
So they will wait there and besure that when the appointment
is complete whether there'sprescriptions maybe that need to
(01:58):
be picked up or anything likethat they can offer that as well
.
If not, they will be broughtright back to their home.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
That's great, and transportation is really one of
the most challenging pieces ofall of this, when someone
shouldn't really probably bedriving anymore, having someone
that's with them, accompaniesthem, drops them off and goes in
with them.
All that stuff is so neededbecause the driving is really
(02:28):
tough.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
It is because it's our last form of independence,
really, that they want to holdon to being able to say you can
still go to the beauty salon,you can still get your pedicures
or go to the barbershop, wehave somebody that's going to
take you and make sure thatyou're safe and you're there.
That's really a big thing.
So they still are able to do,whether, like I said, it's
doctor appointments, or to thesenior center, or to the theater
(02:51):
, whatever it is.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Yeah, keeping them social and active.
That's what this is all aboutis getting them out of the house
when they can and making surethey're still keeping in touch
with all those service providersand friends and family that
they're so close to.
So that's totally awesome.
We don't talk about that enough, I think.
But the transportation piece isgreat and I'm glad it is unique
(03:15):
that you were willing toprovide those transportation
services standalone, even thoughI'm sure there's a lot more
involved usually.
But it's nice because a lot ofhome care agencies don't do that
, just the transportation piece.
They require a certain numberof hours and so that's great.
Yes, and especially, you're inRochester and I'm in St Louis,
(03:38):
so I'm south of you, I'm in themiddle of the United States, but
you have some severe weather,especially in the wintertime,
correct, so it's really great tohave.
That's another reason whyhaving someone who can take you
assuming it's safe out there tothese appointments is great,
because snow is not a friendlyneighbor.
No, it sure isn't.
(03:59):
We can deal with that.
I'm sure you guys handle itbetter than we do, but I think
so it's still rough.
So tell us when somebody, whenfolks call your office an adult
child, a neighbor, a friend.
When they call the office, whathappens?
What can they expect?
Because I think a lot of folksare a little bit wary of, if I
(04:20):
call there, what's going tohappen.
Is somebody going to listen tome first?
How does this work?
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Yeah, so when a call comes in, whether it's a phone
call or an email coming inthrough our website, we make
sure that we spend a good amountof time on the phone call just
to be able to provide all of theinformation of the services we
provide and really gather andget the information of what does
your loved one need or what doyou yourself, what do you
(04:48):
yourself?
Sometimes we do have potentialclients themselves calling in.
Usually it's the family.
But what kinds of things areyou noticing?
This way, on that call, we'reable to provide all the services
that we provide and we cover,but also make sure that it falls
under our scope of care.
Just to make sure, if you'rementioning that there needs to
(05:09):
be a Hoyer lift for transferringor those kinds of things,
that's out of our scope of care.
But one thing, not one thing,one of the many things that's
unique is we also will provideresources if it's not within our
scope of care.
So if it's hands-on care,licensed care or even maybe
Medicaid funded our services areprivate pay we will provide
(05:30):
information to say you know whatwe can help you.
Give you some numbers that youcould call for a better fit, and
so many people are so thankfulfor that and we really do that
part to go above and beyond,even if it's somebody that is
not a good fit for Happy at Homefor any of the reasons I
mentioned for that, and wereally do that part to go above
and beyond, even if it'ssomebody that is not a good fit
for Happy at Home for any of thereasons I mentioned.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yeah, that's great, Because being a resource to your
community I think that kind ofcomes hand in hand with being in
home care.
People just don't really knowwhat to ask for.
They don't know, they don'tknow where to turn, they're not
sure how things are paid for.
I'm sure you get a lot ofquestions like does Medicare pay
for this, Does Medicaid pay forthis?
And depending on the provider,you have different answers.
(06:12):
But typically Medicare does notpay for long-term companion care
style help, and that's hard forpeople to understand right away
, especially if they've neverdone this before.
They've never had a parent whoneeded care.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
So it's hard and Valerie, you nailed it and
there's so many differentavenues of home care or anything
as far as rehab, all thosethings.
Or my loved one's getting outof the hospital today at four
and we have no care set up.
They're saying my mom needs togo to skilled nursing.
What can we do to help?
And really being able to talkthem through that whole process
and being the expert on it toprovide information and guidance
really takes the beginning of acall very high level, stressful
(06:54):
and emotional to.
I feel so much better that wejust spoke in that.
So we really always prideourselves on doing that and
offering that.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
That's great and I know that your community
appreciates that, because it'slike a counseling session and
they don't know it but they getit off their chest.
Find the right direction, andif you're the right direction,
that's awesome.
You can walk them throughstarting care.
So what does it look like?
If someone's a good fit, whathappens next?
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Yeah.
So what happens next is wewould schedule an in-home free
assessment and the homeassessment is about 45 minutes
to an hour.
It's not anything clinical.
We're not pulling outmedications and things like that
.
We're meeting with the familymember and the potential client
or just the client, whatever thecase is and really getting to
(07:44):
know them.
So it's what time do younormally go to bed?
What time do you like to wakeup?
What did you used to do forwork or activities that you
really would still enjoy doingthat you're finding it harder to
do.
Really define that fit, becausethen, once the schedule is
established, we have all thatinformation where we can find
the right fit with ourcaregivers to make sure that
(08:06):
it's somebody they're going tobe comfortable with.
And I always say we have somewonderful caregivers that might
just be on the quiet side.
That's just their nature and wemight have a super chatty
client.
So probably not a good fit.
They're both great.
And on the other side, we havecaregivers that are great and
super chatty and very friendlyand outgoing and want to talk,
(08:28):
and we have some clients thatare just on the more quieter
side where if you have a chattycaregiver with them, it might
almost be an annoyance to themor feel like they have to
entertain them and just not agood fit.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
That's great that you guys notice that kind of thing
because, you're right, there arecaregivers who are, and I've
seen this in over the course ofmy lifetime.
My husband's mother neededin-home care and we loved the
caregiver that the home careagency sent out.
She was very chatty and Eunicemight have been a little on the
quieter side but she definitelywas very amused by the and she
(09:05):
didn't have a problem with thechattiness but it was a good fit
.
And so I've seen that you knowhow the caregivers some of them
are woohoo and others are alittle bit more relaxed and slow
, so that's great that yourecognize that.
So if someone is able to startcare, then does it take a couple
(09:26):
of days?
Are you usually able to getsomeone out there within 24
hours, or how does that work?
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Yes.
So that is a great question.
So once we have all of ourpaperwork, we have a service
agreement.
It's not a contract to say youhave to stay with Happy Home for
a year, it's a serviceagreement just explaining our
policies.
We usually can start within, Iwould say, a day or two.
It never goes in longer thanthat.
Some clients will say I reallydon't want to start until
(09:55):
September because we're going toItaly for a month and that sort
of thing.
So we have some time.
But we make sure that we have asense of when they want to
start before we leave and thatif they say I'd love to start an
overnight tonight, we are verytransparent to say we will do
our very best.
The likelihood of us getting itcovered is usually very good.
But sometimes, with theirunderstanding and if they're
(10:19):
okay with it, if it's somethingthat soon we might have to
piecemeal it.
So it may not be your regularovernight caregiver seven days a
week, but tonight we can startwith Sarah, but normally it's
something that soon we mighthave to piecemeal it.
So it may not be your regularovernight caregiver seven days a
week, but tonight we can startwith Sarah, but normally it's
going to be Victoria yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
So you continuity of care can happen, but it might
not be that if you need it rightaway, kind of stuff, correct?
Yes that's okay, that works out, and you can start a case
sooner rather than later andstart care.
That's probably what thefamily's looking for, and the
rest will come with time, sothat that is definitely.
You guys are pretty quick andgetting folks out there, and so
(10:56):
how many across the rochesterarea?
How many clients are youcurrently serving, just
generally, generally yes, so weusually go by hours.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
So usually, yeah, so usually weekly.
Of course the ebbs and flows,but around probably 1,200 hours
a week in the Rochester area andagain next week might be 1,600
or things like that.
But yes, Yep.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Awesome, and so you have some short-term cases and
some very long-term cases.
I'm sure that you've been withfamilies for a very long time in
some cases, and then you mighthave just a short recovery from
a hospitalization, or someonejust needs a little extra help
at getting over a kneereplacement or just a little
help around the house.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Yes, that's exactly it, and we do also provide
hospice care for end of life.
I think sometimes with hospiceor when individuals are having
their loved ones sign in or onfor hospice, there's a very
different mind frame of what youthink you may get from hospice,
which they're wonderful.
We had to put my mother onhospice when she was very young
(12:04):
and we thought the same thingI'm like somebody's gonna always
be here and it'll be awesome tohelp my dad and all of us, but
it's not like that.
So, being able to provide someinstrumental people for that
interim so caregivers and lovedones can get their rest Because
I know that it's so important inburnout we want to make sure
that we're there to provide that.
(12:24):
Yeah so it doesn't happen.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
When hospice is initiated, you do have someone
that you can call 24 hours a day, but the nurse isn't needed
right there in that moment.
They're just going to make someregular, shorter visits
probably.
But what you guys can do iscome in and sit at the bedside
and just be that hand holding,or maybe give a bath, or maybe
(12:47):
do some housekeeping or changethe linens or whatever it is
that the family might need alittle support with so that they
can go, rest, go to the grocery, the little thing to take care
of, pay some bills, whatever itis, and that.
So you guys are supportinghospice services that may
already be in place guys aresupporting hospice services that
(13:08):
may already be in place.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Yes, and that's one of the main reasons home care is
.
Really my passion is seeingwhat home care was able to do
for my family during my mom'sillness, and in the beginning it
was a lot of different peopleor people not showing up and
then my dad would have toretrain and retrust him.
He was like Marie, forget it,we're fine, we don't need it.
But then really getting andbeing able to establish a
(13:32):
relationship with a great agencyduring that time that they
became like family and my dadwas able to get out and go get a
haircut with his go get ahaircut, have a cup of coffee
with his retiree friends andknow that my mom was cared for
while my brother and I were withour families and working and
doing those things really wassuch a breath of fresh air and
(13:56):
kept my dad healthy as well.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
So that's really your story.
That's why you got into thisbusiness.
Your mom was ill in hospice,had hospice at the end of her
life, so it sounds like that's aspecial service to you and to
be able to provide thatadditional support.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yeah, I think a lot of families really feel like the
caregivers and the home careagency become part of their
family.
We see that happening over andover again and that's such a
blessing to have folks come inthat you trust and that you feel
like family.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Yeah, it's so super rewarding all the time.
But then when you hear stories,either whether it's their loved
one has passed or it's in anobituary, or they write us
letters or throughout care,where they say, because of
Happier at Home and the ladiesin your office, in your team and
the wonderful caregivers wewere able to live out with my
(14:53):
mom's wishes or my loved one'swishes were to keep them in
their home, and that is just.
I could cry thinking about itbecause it brings tears to our
eyes, because we were a part ofthat.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
And those are the moments that make home care.
Owning an agency is not easy.
It's not easy task, it's notfor the faint of heart, but
these are the moments thatyou're talking about that make
owning a home care agency andserving your local area all
worth it.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Yes, 100%.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
And I have seen those obituaries where they mentioned
the home care agency's name, orthe thank you cards that come
in later from the family.
And you miss them becauseyou've been part of their lives
for maybe three months, sixmonths a year and suddenly that
time is over, that chapter hasended.
But it's so nice to hear fromthem and to know that you made a
(15:43):
difference.
And that is being a home careowner.
I'm sure for you everything'sworth it, because this is really
challenging yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
And Valerie, that's the hardest part about owning
the home care company and thenthe individuals that work so
closely with me in the officeand our caregivers, is when we
lose our loved one Because, likeyou mentioned, they become like
family to us.
And then having to make thatcall to the caregiver who really
looked at this person, say agrandmother, or I would share
pictures of my son or mygrandson, and so that is just so
(16:16):
hard.
It's tough, but we're doing theright thing and we just love
what we do.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
You're doing an amazing thing for all of these
families and I know it's hard onthe caregivers too.
They grieve just like thefamily does, and I know many of
them will go to the funerals andgo to the services and be a
part of that, because they were,and I'm sure you've been to
many as well yes, because youguys were so close with the
family.
That's what I think people arelooking for in a home care
(16:45):
agency are those owners andcaregivers and office staff who
really take this to heart.
And we've said this many timeson this show you could not do
this business if your heartwasn't really in it 100%.
Yeah, and it sounds to me likethat's exactly who you are, so
that's wonderful.
So anything else about happierat home?
(17:07):
Let's talk about caregivers alittle bit.
I know you probably always arelooking for wonderful caregivers
.
What's the process of hiringand do they have background
checks done?
Talk to us about the safetyissues and the things that
people worry about withcaregivers that you guys address
.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Yeah, so we are always hiring, just like you
mentioned, valerie.
There's never a time when thephone rings and somebody says
are you looking for caregivers?
And we say no, not right now.
So we are always hiring.
We do a phone screen referencechecks, we bring the potential
applicant in for in-person andthen we do background check,
(17:45):
criminal background check.
We run a motor vehicle abstractbecause they will sometimes be
providing transportation, and wedo a drug screen and, again,
like I mentioned, we call itreferences.
We really want to make sure thatwe are hiring people that we
want in the home with our lovedones and we have these
conversations.
Hey, I'm not sure about thisone.
(18:05):
She was 20 minutes late to theinterview.
What are your thoughts?
And that's the first questionwe ask each other.
Even they've asked.
I've asked them what are yourthoughts?
And I'm like would you havethis person in the home with you
?
No, she was 20 minutes later,he was 20 minutes late.
And if the time of theinterview something so large
wasn't met and wasn't evencommunicated with, that's not
(18:26):
somebody.
That's really going to beconsistent to staying on
schedule and really sticking tothat.
We do all those things.
We also make sure that we'realways hiring good people
because we never want to and,Valerie, you I'm sure know this
Like I mentioned before, fridaydischarge and now we're saying,
okay, we have this client comingin and they're starting Monday
(18:50):
just higher because we're notdoing our due diligence.
On the back end, we're justlooking for bodies and it never
would work out.
So, really being able and beingsure that we have quality
people on our team with the samemission and values as ourselves
, a passion for helping peoplein their home, yes, and those
people exist and they are outthere and they're wonderful
(19:12):
people who really do this jobbecause that's where their heart
is.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
That's what they feel a calling to be caregivers and
to help folks in their homes.
And once they've had awonderful experience with the
family, even if they're new atthis, but once they experience
something so wonderful with afamily or a senior they're
caring for, I'm sure that it'ssomething you never want to stop
doing.
Caregiving is really anothermission of the heart, for sure.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Yes, yeah, absolutely , and we're sure too.
We take really good care of ourcaregivers.
We do caregiver appreciationevents annually.
I write out a lot ofhandwritten cards somebody going
above and beyond and maybethere was a last minute shift,
you know what.
Thank you so much for what youdid.
It meant the world, to not onlyus but the family and the
(20:00):
client.
And get yourself some lunch onthe way home someday from
Starbucks or Panera or whereverit is, just to show that we
really do appreciate them.
They're the front line of ourbusiness and they're really our
heroes in the whole agency.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Yeah, without them there would be no home care
agency, so you really depend onthem to be part of that team of
happy, wonderful faces that areshowing up at the door.
So that's great, all right.
Anything else that you want tomention that we did not already
cover today, because you've toldus a lot and happier Home
sounds like a wonderful place tobe.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Yeah, thank you.
Another one more very uniquething about Happier at Home is
we don't have a minimum weeklyset of hours.
So we, for shifts in the home,we do require two hour shifts,
and so that could be.
We have some clients that aretwo hours a week for one shift
or 168 hours seven days a week,and the reason for that is that
(20:59):
in the beginning I mentioned mymom.
My mom didn't need 168 hours,she didn't need 24 seven, she
didn't need 80 hours.
It probably would have justreally been irritating to her
and my dad.
So we understand that in thebeginning if people are just
trying to get their loved one,so we understand that in the
beginning if people are justtrying to get their loved one
accustomed to having somebodydifferent in the home other than
their loved one, it might justbe two hours until eventually
(21:20):
they're comfortable with that.
Or somebody might just need acouple hours a week to help
change bed linens and make somesandwiches for the week or soup
or things like that.
So our minimum weekly is twohours and we also incentivize
our caregivers with a higherrate of pay to take a shorter
shift.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
That's it, that's fair.
Two hours flies by, just likethat it does.
If you do a bath visit, I wouldimagine that's easily a two
hour visit, only because youhave to get prepared, get in,
get clean, get out, get dressed,correct, and you have to go a
little bit slower.
It's not like so.
(21:58):
A two hour bath is a bath is.
It can easily be two hours andyeah, so I think it's fair.
Two hours is great and it'swonderful that you're willing to
do those small shifts like that, because, you're right, not
everybody needs that kind ofcare.
Not everybody can afford 24,seven care, but anything that
they can get to be able to go tothe grocery while you're have
(22:21):
somebody else in the house fortwo hours or whatever, those are
moments that they just I knowcaregivers, you know how, when
you have little kids, sometimesyou go to the grocery by
yourself and you're like, yes, Iyou go to the grocery by
yourself and you're like, yes,after time, peace and quiet, yes
, I will go to the grocery bymyself.
Those are the times thatcaregivers just need to deflate,
and just for a few minutes, sothat's wonderful.
(22:45):
I'm really appreciative and Iknow others are too of the
agencies that can take thosesmaller shifts, because that is
not easy for you.
I know that is hard.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
It is.
Yeah, it is, and we also dowith vacations.
A lot picks up right now in thesummer where we just had a new
client call.
Family's going to Italy all ofAugust into September and they
want somebody to check in on momthree days a week, two, three,
two hour shifts, just for peaceof mind for them to say, okay, I
(23:16):
know mom's okay and she may noteven need much, but it's that
companionship, and go check themail, bring the garbage out on
Wednesdays.
That kind of thing really justallows the family to be able to
get out, enjoy themselves andhave that peace of mind back
home that mom's okay.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Yeah, and you guys communicate with them and let
them know everything's fine andshe's doing great and somebody
can even go to the grocery withher, and those plan ahead for a
few outings or whatever.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
So that's wonderful.
Yeah, absolutely yes.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
That's great.
Thank you so much for doingthis interview and for being on
Care Across America.
We appreciate it.
You guys have a wonderfulagency and we're so glad that we
can talk to you today.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Yeah, and thank you for having me on.
It's an honor to be on with you.
What your whole company does isincredible and we're so happy
to be a part of it.
Hi, my name is Marie Rodriguez.
I'm the president and CEO ofHappier at Home in Home Care and
I've been in business for aboutseven years in Rochester, new
York and upstate.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Wow, so you have made it through that first five
years of every entrepreneur'sstruggle.
So, in seven years.
That's a really nice long timeto serve the Rochester area.
So tell us a little bit moreabout how far you go around the
Rochester area.
So tell us a little bit moreabout how far you go around the
Rochester area.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Yes, so in the Rochester area we cover all of
the five counties Monroe County,genesee, wyoming, livingston,
ontario and Wayne County.
So we service people all in theoutskirts of Rochester.
Yes.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
So you are serving a very large area, and so tell us
a little bit about what kind ofservices you typically provide
and what you guys do whileyou're out there in someone's
home.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Yes, so we provide companion level care services,
which include light housekeeping, meal prep planning, grocery
shopping, light housekeeping.
Sometimes it's difficult I know, even for me changing bed
linens can be difficultTransportation to and from
appointments, which is a big one, and with our transportation
(01:17):
services we do have some clientsthat just utilize that part of
our services and our caregiverswill walk our client in to the
appointment.
Sometimes families even askmom's starting to forget certain
things.
Can they take notes andcaregivers can go ahead and do
that.
What's really awesome andreally unique is that we will
(01:38):
wait while the loved one is inthe appointment.
So it's not medical motorservices.
They're wonderful, butsometimes you find that they're
doing other forms oftransportation and then your
loved one is sitting there foran hour waiting.
So they will wait there and besure that when the appointment
is complete whether there'sprescriptions maybe that need to
(01:58):
be picked up or anything likethat they can offer that as well
.
If not, they will be broughtright back to their home.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
That's great, and transportation is really one of
the most challenging pieces ofall of this, when someone
shouldn't really probably bedriving anymore, having someone
that's with them, accompaniesthem, drops them off and goes in
with them.
All that stuff is so neededbecause the driving is really
(02:28):
tough.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
It is because it's our last form of independence,
really, that they want to holdon to being able to say you can
still go to the beauty salon,you can still get your pedicures
or go to the barbershop, wehave somebody that's going to
take you and make sure thatyou're safe and you're there.
That's really a big thing.
So they still are able to do,whether, like I said, it's
doctor appointments, or to thesenior center, or to the theater
(02:51):
, whatever it is.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Yeah, keeping them social and active.
That's what this is all aboutis getting them out of the house
when they can and making surethey're still keeping in touch
with all those service providersand friends and family that
they're so close to.
So that's totally awesome.
We don't talk about that enough, I think.
But the transportation piece isgreat and I'm glad it is unique
(03:15):
that you were willing toprovide those transportation
services standalone, even thoughI'm sure there's a lot more
involved usually.
But it's nice because a lot ofhome care agencies don't do that
, just the transportation piece.
They require a certain numberof hours and so that's great.
Yes, and especially, you're inRochester and I'm in St Louis,
(03:38):
so I'm south of you, I'm in themiddle of the United States, but
you have some severe weather,especially in the wintertime,
correct, so it's really great tohave.
That's another reason whyhaving someone who can take you
assuming it's safe out there tothese appointments is great,
because snow is not a friendlyneighbor.
No, it sure isn't.
(03:59):
We can deal with that.
I'm sure you guys handle itbetter than we do, but I think
so it's still rough.
So tell us when somebody, whenfolks call your office an adult
child, a neighbor, a friend.
When they call the office, whathappens?
What can they expect?
Because I think a lot of folksare a little bit wary of, if I
(04:20):
call there, what's going tohappen.
Is somebody going to listen tome first?
How does this work?
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Yeah, so when a call comes in, whether it's a phone
call or an email coming inthrough our website, we make
sure that we spend a good amountof time on the phone call just
to be able to provide all of theinformation of the services we
provide and really gather andget the information of what does
your loved one need or what doyou yourself, what do you
(04:48):
yourself?
Sometimes we do have potentialclients themselves calling in.
Usually it's the family.
But what kinds of things areyou noticing?
This way, on that call, we'reable to provide all the services
that we provide and we cover,but also make sure that it falls
under our scope of care.
Just to make sure, if you'rementioning that there needs to
(05:09):
be a Hoyer lift for transferringor those kinds of things,
that's out of our scope of care.
But one thing, not one thing,one of the many things that's
unique is we also will provideresources if it's not within our
scope of care.
So if it's hands-on care,licensed care or even maybe
Medicaid funded our services areprivate pay we will provide
(05:30):
information to say you know whatwe can help you.
Give you some numbers that youcould call for a better fit, and
so many people are so thankfulfor that and we really do that
part to go above and beyond,even if it's somebody that is
not a good fit for Happy at Homefor any of the reasons I
mentioned for that, and wereally do that part to go above
and beyond, even if it'ssomebody that is not a good fit
for Happy at Home for any of thereasons I mentioned.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yeah, that's great, Because being a resource to your
community I think that kind ofcomes hand in hand with being in
home care.
People just don't really knowwhat to ask for.
They don't know, they don'tknow where to turn, they're not
sure how things are paid for.
I'm sure you get a lot ofquestions like does Medicare pay
for this, Does Medicaid pay forthis?
And depending on the provider,you have different answers.
(06:12):
But typically Medicare does notpay for long-term companion care
style help, and that's hard forpeople to understand right away
, especially if they've neverdone this before.
They've never had a parent whoneeded care.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
So it's hard and Valerie, you nailed it and
there's so many differentavenues of home care or anything
as far as rehab, all thosethings.
Or my loved one's getting outof the hospital today at four
and we have no care set up.
They're saying my mom needs togo to skilled nursing.
What can we do to help?
And really being able to talkthem through that whole process
and being the expert on it toprovide information and guidance
really takes the beginning of acall very high level, stressful
(06:54):
and emotional to.
I feel so much better that wejust spoke in that.
So we really always prideourselves on doing that and
offering that.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
That's great and I know that your community
appreciates that, because it'slike a counseling session and
they don't know it but they getit off their chest.
Find the right direction, andif you're the right direction,
that's awesome.
You can walk them throughstarting care.
So what does it look like?
If someone's a good fit, whathappens next?
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Yeah.
So what happens next is wewould schedule an in-home free
assessment and the homeassessment is about 45 minutes
to an hour.
It's not anything clinical.
We're not pulling outmedications and things like that
.
We're meeting with the familymember and the potential client
or just the client, whatever thecase is and really getting to
(07:44):
know them.
So it's what time do younormally go to bed?
What time do you like to wakeup?
What did you used to do forwork or activities that you
really would still enjoy doingthat you're finding it harder to
do.
Really define that fit, becausethen, once the schedule is
established, we have all thatinformation where we can find
the right fit with ourcaregivers to make sure that
(08:06):
it's somebody they're going tobe comfortable with.
And I always say we have somewonderful caregivers that might
just be on the quiet side.
That's just their nature and wemight have a super chatty
client.
So probably not a good fit.
They're both great.
And on the other side, we havecaregivers that are great and
super chatty and very friendlyand outgoing and want to talk,
(08:28):
and we have some clients thatare just on the more quieter
side where if you have a chattycaregiver with them, it might
almost be an annoyance to themor feel like they have to
entertain them and just not agood fit.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
That's great that you guys notice that kind of thing
because, you're right, there arecaregivers who are, and I've
seen this in over the course ofmy lifetime.
My husband's mother neededin-home care and we loved the
caregiver that the home careagency sent out.
She was very chatty and Eunicemight have been a little on the
quieter side but she definitelywas very amused by the and she
(09:05):
didn't have a problem with thechattiness but it was a good fit
.
And so I've seen that you knowhow the caregivers some of them
are woohoo and others are alittle bit more relaxed and slow
, so that's great that yourecognize that.
So if someone is able to startcare, then does it take a couple
(09:26):
of days?
Are you usually able to getsomeone out there within 24
hours, or how does that work?
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Yes.
So that is a great question.
So once we have all of ourpaperwork, we have a service
agreement.
It's not a contract to say youhave to stay with Happy Home for
a year, it's a serviceagreement just explaining our
policies.
We usually can start within, Iwould say, a day or two.
It never goes in longer thanthat.
Some clients will say I reallydon't want to start until
(09:55):
September because we're going toItaly for a month and that sort
of thing.
So we have some time.
But we make sure that we have asense of when they want to
start before we leave and thatif they say I'd love to start an
overnight tonight, we are verytransparent to say we will do
our very best.
The likelihood of us getting itcovered is usually very good.
But sometimes, with theirunderstanding and if they're
(10:19):
okay with it, if it's somethingthat soon we might have to
piecemeal it.
So it may not be your regularovernight caregiver seven days a
week, but tonight we can startwith Sarah, but normally it's
something that soon we mighthave to piecemeal it.
So it may not be your regularovernight caregiver seven days a
week, but tonight we can startwith Sarah, but normally it's
going to be Victoria yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
So you continuity of care can happen, but it might
not be that if you need it rightaway, kind of stuff, correct?
Yes that's okay, that works out, and you can start a case
sooner rather than later andstart care.
That's probably what thefamily's looking for, and the
rest will come with time, sothat that is definitely.
You guys are pretty quick andgetting folks out there, and so
(10:56):
how many across the rochesterarea?
How many clients are youcurrently serving, just
generally, generally yes, so weusually go by hours.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
So usually, yeah, so usually weekly.
Of course the ebbs and flows,but around probably 1,200 hours
a week in the Rochester area andagain next week might be 1,600
or things like that.
But yes, Yep.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Awesome, and so you have some short-term cases and
some very long-term cases.
I'm sure that you've been withfamilies for a very long time in
some cases, and then you mighthave just a short recovery from
a hospitalization, or someonejust needs a little extra help
at getting over a kneereplacement or just a little
help around the house.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Yes, that's exactly it, and we do also provide
hospice care for end of life.
I think sometimes with hospiceor when individuals are having
their loved ones sign in or onfor hospice, there's a very
different mind frame of what youthink you may get from hospice,
which they're wonderful.
We had to put my mother onhospice when she was very young
(12:04):
and we thought the same thingI'm like somebody's gonna always
be here and it'll be awesome tohelp my dad and all of us, but
it's not like that.
So, being able to provide someinstrumental people for that
interim so caregivers and lovedones can get their rest Because
I know that it's so important inburnout we want to make sure
that we're there to provide that.
(12:24):
Yeah so it doesn't happen.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
When hospice is initiated, you do have someone
that you can call 24 hours a day, but the nurse isn't needed
right there in that moment.
They're just going to make someregular, shorter visits
probably.
But what you guys can do iscome in and sit at the bedside
and just be that hand holding,or maybe give a bath, or maybe
(12:47):
do some housekeeping or changethe linens or whatever it is
that the family might need alittle support with so that they
can go, rest, go to the grocery, the little thing to take care
of, pay some bills, whatever itis, and that.
So you guys are supportinghospice services that may
already be in place guys aresupporting hospice services that
(13:08):
may already be in place.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Yes, and that's one of the main reasons home care is
.
Really my passion is seeingwhat home care was able to do
for my family during my mom'sillness, and in the beginning it
was a lot of different peopleor people not showing up and
then my dad would have toretrain and retrust him.
He was like Marie, forget it,we're fine, we don't need it.
But then really getting andbeing able to establish a
(13:32):
relationship with a great agencyduring that time that they
became like family and my dadwas able to get out and go get a
haircut with his go get ahaircut, have a cup of coffee
with his retiree friends andknow that my mom was cared for
while my brother and I were withour families and working and
doing those things really wassuch a breath of fresh air and
(13:56):
kept my dad healthy as well.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
So that's really your story.
That's why you got into thisbusiness.
Your mom was ill in hospice,had hospice at the end of her
life, so it sounds like that's aspecial service to you and to
be able to provide thatadditional support.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yeah, I think a lot of families really feel like the
caregivers and the home careagency become part of their
family.
We see that happening over andover again and that's such a
blessing to have folks come inthat you trust and that you feel
like family.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Yeah, it's so super rewarding all the time.
But then when you hear stories,either whether it's their loved
one has passed or it's in anobituary, or they write us
letters or throughout care,where they say, because of
Happier at Home and the ladiesin your office, in your team and
the wonderful caregivers wewere able to live out with my
(14:53):
mom's wishes or my loved one'swishes were to keep them in
their home, and that is just.
I could cry thinking about itbecause it brings tears to our
eyes, because we were a part ofthat.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
And those are the moments that make home care.
Owning an agency is not easy.
It's not easy task, it's notfor the faint of heart, but
these are the moments thatyou're talking about that make
owning a home care agency andserving your local area all
worth it.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Yes, 100%.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
And I have seen those obituaries where they mentioned
the home care agency's name, orthe thank you cards that come
in later from the family.
And you miss them becauseyou've been part of their lives
for maybe three months, sixmonths a year and suddenly that
time is over, that chapter hasended.
But it's so nice to hear fromthem and to know that you made a
(15:43):
difference.
And that is being a home careowner.
I'm sure for you everything'sworth it, because this is really
challenging yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
And Valerie, that's the hardest part about owning
the home care company and thenthe individuals that work so
closely with me in the officeand our caregivers, is when we
lose our loved one Because, likeyou mentioned, they become like
family to us.
And then having to make thatcall to the caregiver who really
looked at this person, say agrandmother, or I would share
pictures of my son or mygrandson, and so that is just so
(16:16):
hard.
It's tough, but we're doing theright thing and we just love
what we do.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
You're doing an amazing thing for all of these
families and I know it's hard onthe caregivers too.
They grieve just like thefamily does, and I know many of
them will go to the funerals andgo to the services and be a
part of that, because they were,and I'm sure you've been to
many as well yes, because youguys were so close with the
family.
That's what I think people arelooking for in a home care
(16:45):
agency are those owners andcaregivers and office staff who
really take this to heart.
And we've said this many timeson this show you could not do
this business if your heartwasn't really in it 100%.
Yeah, and it sounds to me likethat's exactly who you are, so
that's wonderful.
So anything else about happierat home?
(17:07):
Let's talk about caregivers alittle bit.
I know you probably always arelooking for wonderful caregivers
.
What's the process of hiringand do they have background
checks done?
Talk to us about the safetyissues and the things that
people worry about withcaregivers that you guys address
.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Yeah, so we are always hiring, just like you
mentioned, valerie.
There's never a time when thephone rings and somebody says
are you looking for caregivers?
And we say no, not right now.
So we are always hiring.
We do a phone screen referencechecks, we bring the potential
applicant in for in-person andthen we do background check,
(17:45):
criminal background check.
We run a motor vehicle abstractbecause they will sometimes be
providing transportation, and wedo a drug screen and, again,
like I mentioned, we call itreferences.
We really want to make sure thatwe are hiring people that we
want in the home with our lovedones and we have these
conversations.
Hey, I'm not sure about thisone.
(18:05):
She was 20 minutes late to theinterview.
What are your thoughts?
And that's the first questionwe ask each other.
Even they've asked.
I've asked them what are yourthoughts?
And I'm like would you havethis person in the home with you
?
No, she was 20 minutes later,he was 20 minutes late.
And if the time of theinterview something so large
wasn't met and wasn't evencommunicated with, that's not
(18:26):
somebody.
That's really going to beconsistent to staying on
schedule and really sticking tothat.
We do all those things.
We also make sure that we'realways hiring good people
because we never want to and,Valerie, you I'm sure know this
Like I mentioned before, fridaydischarge and now we're saying,
okay, we have this client comingin and they're starting Monday
(18:50):
just higher because we're notdoing our due diligence.
On the back end, we're justlooking for bodies and it never
would work out.
So, really being able and beingsure that we have quality
people on our team with the samemission and values as ourselves
, a passion for helping peoplein their home, yes, and those
people exist and they are outthere and they're wonderful
(19:12):
people who really do this jobbecause that's where their heart
is.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
That's what they feel a calling to be caregivers and
to help folks in their homes.
And once they've had awonderful experience with the
family, even if they're new atthis, but once they experience
something so wonderful with afamily or a senior they're
caring for, I'm sure that it'ssomething you never want to stop
doing.
Caregiving is really anothermission of the heart, for sure.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Yes, yeah, absolutely , and we're sure too.
We take really good care of ourcaregivers.
We do caregiver appreciationevents annually.
I write out a lot ofhandwritten cards somebody going
above and beyond and maybethere was a last minute shift,
you know what.
Thank you so much for what youdid.
It meant the world, to not onlyus but the family and the
(20:00):
client.
And get yourself some lunch onthe way home someday from
Starbucks or Panera or whereverit is, just to show that we
really do appreciate them.
They're the front line of ourbusiness and they're really our
heroes in the whole agency.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Yeah, without them there would be no home care
agency, so you really depend onthem to be part of that team of
happy, wonderful faces that areshowing up at the door.
So that's great, all right.
Anything else that you want tomention that we did not already
cover today, because you've toldus a lot and happier Home
sounds like a wonderful place tobe.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Yeah, thank you.
Another one more very uniquething about Happier at Home is
we don't have a minimum weeklyset of hours.
So we, for shifts in the home,we do require two hour shifts,
and so that could be.
We have some clients that aretwo hours a week for one shift
or 168 hours seven days a week,and the reason for that is that
(20:59):
in the beginning I mentioned mymom.
My mom didn't need 168 hours,she didn't need 24 seven, she
didn't need 80 hours.
It probably would have justreally been irritating to her
and my dad.
So we understand that in thebeginning if people are just
trying to get their loved one,so we understand that in the
beginning if people are justtrying to get their loved one
accustomed to having somebodydifferent in the home other than
their loved one, it might justbe two hours until eventually
(21:20):
they're comfortable with that.
Or somebody might just need acouple hours a week to help
change bed linens and make somesandwiches for the week or soup
or things like that.
So our minimum weekly is twohours and we also incentivize
our caregivers with a higherrate of pay to take a shorter
shift.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
That's it, that's fair.
Two hours flies by, just likethat it does.
If you do a bath visit, I wouldimagine that's easily a two
hour visit, only because youhave to get prepared, get in,
get clean, get out, get dressed,correct, and you have to go a
little bit slower.
It's not like so.
(21:58):
A two hour bath is a bath is.
It can easily be two hours andyeah, so I think it's fair.
Two hours is great and it'swonderful that you're willing to
do those small shifts like that, because, you're right, not
everybody needs that kind ofcare.
Not everybody can afford 24,seven care, but anything that
they can get to be able to go tothe grocery while you're have
(22:21):
somebody else in the house fortwo hours or whatever, those are
moments that they just I knowcaregivers, you know how, when
you have little kids, sometimesyou go to the grocery by
yourself and you're like, yes, Iyou go to the grocery by
yourself and you're like, yes,after time, peace and quiet, yes
, I will go to the grocery bymyself.
Those are the times thatcaregivers just need to deflate,
and just for a few minutes, sothat's wonderful.
(22:45):
I'm really appreciative and Iknow others are too of the
agencies that can take thosesmaller shifts, because that is
not easy for you.
I know that is hard.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
It is.
Yeah, it is, and we also dowith vacations.
A lot picks up right now in thesummer where we just had a new
client call.
Family's going to Italy all ofAugust into September and they
want somebody to check in on momthree days a week, two, three,
two hour shifts, just for peaceof mind for them to say, okay, I
(23:16):
know mom's okay and she may noteven need much, but it's that
companionship, and go check themail, bring the garbage out on
Wednesdays.
That kind of thing really justallows the family to be able to
get out, enjoy themselves andhave that peace of mind back
home that mom's okay.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Yeah, and you guys communicate with them and let
them know everything's fine andshe's doing great and somebody
can even go to the grocery withher, and those plan ahead for a
few outings or whatever.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
So that's wonderful.
Yeah, absolutely yes.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
That's great.
Thank you so much for doingthis interview and for being on
Care Across America.
We appreciate it.
You guys have a wonderfulagency and we're so glad that we
can talk to you today.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Yeah, and thank you for having me on.
It's an honor to be on with you.
What your whole company does isincredible and we're so happy
to be a part of it.
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