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According to Linda Kelly, business and development director for Home Instead Senior Care, one of the most common questions she's asked from people inquiring about the company for which she works is, "Where is your facility?"

It's at home--the client's home that is.

Home Instead Senior Care is a non-medical homecare company with a full staff of screened, trained, bonded and insured caregivers who provide a variety of services such as meal preparation, light housekeeping, medication reminders, errands, incidental transportation and companionship.

To illustrate why home care is so important to the emotional and mental health of seniors, Kelly recounts a simple and eloquent statement from a family member of one of their clients. "One of the daughters [of a client] said to us, 'I want my mother to be able to sit in her pretty little yellow kitchen and drink her favorite tea out of her blue English teacups.'"

Debra Teofilo, owner of the Long Beach Home Instead Senior Care franchise, believes depression is too often a catalyst for seniors who are healthy and active going prematurely into assisted living. According to Teofilo, the power of companionship is paramount to the overall health and wellbeing of seniors.

"You can always get a housekeeper and you can always get a taxi," said Teofilo. "What you really need is a relationship, and our company and our caregivers develop relationships with our clients that therefore address the loneliness or the depression."

The company serves as an important resource for general information on seniors. As senior advocates, they actively seek and provide many community services.
Among the benefits that Home Instead has recently been trying to educate seniors about is the Aid and Attendance Program offered through the Veteran's Administration, which provides a pension for homecare to veterans who've served during a time of war, have limited finances, and can demonstrate a medical problem that requires the aid and attendance of another person.

The aid is available to veterans, a veteran and a spouse, or the surviving spouse of a qualified veteran.

"It's free," said Teofilo. "It's like a social security check that goes directly into their account once a month and they use that to pay for their caregivers."

One caveat of the program, however, is that the paperwork is complicated and time consuming, often taking months before a senior begins receiving their checks. Home Instead not only assists clients in filing the application, but will also begin service in the interim of the filing process.

"Once we know they're approved, we start service for them," said Teofilo.

The company's assistance in the veteran's Aid and Attendance Program is just one example of Home Instead's pledge to senior wellness. According to Teofilo and Kelly, each caregiver that enters a home represents an entire caring, qualified and committed staff.

"Every one of us here plays an important role in the success of a client/caregiver relationship," said Kelly.

The offices of Home Instead Senior Care are located at 5500 East Atherton Street, Suite 216, in Long Beach. For more information about their services, call (562) 596-4884 or visit the company's website at www.homeinstead.com.