Caring Conversations

Melissa Therrien, RN (00:02)
Good morning. Hi Liz, it's Caring Conversations. We're on episode 10 today. Very exciting, a little bit different today, right?

Liz Lewington, LPN (00:13)
different we're going to talk a little bit more about Ohana Care, the company that we work with and for and what makes us different and the questions that we get asked all the time, all those FAQs. We're going to run through it so that everyone can know who they're calling and get to know us a little bit more in depth.

Melissa Therrien, RN (00:32)
Awesome. I'm excited for this one. We get to actually talk about what we do every day.

Liz Lewington, LPN (00:37)
Yeah, yeah, not that you're sick of it yet.

Melissa Therrien, RN (00:40)
No, never. All right. Are we good to start?

Liz Lewington, LPN (00:49)
So what's happening? Yeah, I'm ready. I'm ready. So what types of services does Ohana Care provide for home care?

Melissa Therrien, RN (00:59)
Kind of you name it, really. We're very creative in providing the services that we offer. We really want to cater to the client's needs. So these services can range from transportation to appointments, companionship, light housekeeping, meal prep, getting laundry, linens, all of those things done that are really challenging for people to do at home.

And then of course the personal care piece, right? That's all important. Bathing, medication administration, continent's care, you name it. And I say we're flexible and unique in the way that, you know, if there's something that's failing in the house or falling behind, or, you know, you're really struggling with, we wanna hear about it and see how we can be of support to you.

Liz Lewington, LPN (01:55)
Yeah, I think that creative component really does come in. When we're going in to see somebody, let's say there's a dementia diagnosis, but they don't want to have anybody help them. Maybe we're there letting them know that we're in a different capacity. You know, we're here to help make meals, or since you've had a fall, we're here to help with these specific tasks. then,

Hopefully they'll get used to us being there. It'll be a joyful moment for them to have us coming to visit. yeah, definitely that creative component to it makes it makes a lot more easily accessible for folks. How does Ohana Care's approach to care differ from like a traditional assisted living facility, nursing home, or maybe even that government funded care that's provided that in home care that's provided through the government funding?

Melissa Therrien, RN (02:45)
sure. So we really pride ourselves on being relationship based. You know, that's something we really drive home for our caregivers for our clients. It's really important that we build a relationship, a trusting relationship with our clients. There's no replacement to one to one care, right? And you only get really fruitful, trusting one to one care with consistent caregivers with a stable schedule.

and with a team that supports. you know, our home care approach is very much relationship-based. That's the reason why we have maybe a little bit higher of a minimum hourly commitment. You know, we have a minimum of four hours per visit. And the truth behind that is we want it to be relationship-based and not task-oriented. Where, you know, with funded care, there's a time and there's a place for that funded care and it proves very valuable.

when you need less time and you really need a task completed. But I think the relationship for those higher needs or when there's behaviors involved or where there's long-term care anticipated, that relationship is really important.

Liz Lewington, LPN (03:58)
And seeing that bigger picture in that person day in and day out where you can you know monitor any changes in their mobility or cognition or you know maybe they're not getting enough water and you know yesterday it was a hard day.

let's push more fluids today. you know that it is, you know, the tasks do get done. They do get done, but that's not that main focus. It's more about the individual, their needs that day. And because we're all human beings and it changes, giving that, you know, honoring who they are in the moment and providing them with that specific support based on what they need and how to best approach it. I love, and I think our caregivers love it as well, is you're not rushing in the door making,

Melissa Therrien, RN (04:18)
Ugh.

Liz Lewington, LPN (04:42)
you know, pulling a sandwich out and giving them the sandwich on the table and then walking out again, signing a book and being done because time is a constraint. So that's, I think that's the beautiful part about having that is that we have caregivers that are happier and we have clients that are happier.

Melissa Therrien, RN (04:58)
Yeah, and a lot of our caregivers really build relationships with our clients. It becomes very sad when, you know, we lose these clients for one reason or another, they move, they pass away. They truly become part of the family. We hear from so many families that are sad to lose their caregivers when the care is no longer needed. That's what we want. That's truly what we look for to build that relationship. And that's why we spend so much time trying to match our clients with our caregivers.

Liz Lewington, LPN (05:18)
Yeah. Yeah.

Melissa Therrien, RN (05:27)
Truthfully, I think we spent 90 % of our day discussing the match between clients and caregivers.

Liz Lewington, LPN (05:35)
Yeah, and then, you know, sometimes you're there for one loved one and then the other loved one needs support as well when that person's passed away or has moved on. Or you'll come in for surgery for one knee and then you'll be back for surgery for the other knee at a later date because they look forward to having that caregiver and it's comfortable and it's easy. It is like a family member. Yeah.

Melissa Therrien, RN (05:50)
That's right.

Yeah, and even as needs change,

you like you said, we look at the prognosis, right? We look at the disease trajectory and because we have the ability to draw on our experience, we can also say like, you know, this may be a companionship today, but there is a high probability that in the future you'll need care. So let's put in a caregiver, someone who's qualified to provide that personal care.

right off the bat so that we can continue to provide that one-to-one, relationship-based, that trusted relationship care right through the disease process or the deterioration of that independence without having to change up caregivers. I think that's also super important and something that we do a little bit differently.

Liz Lewington, LPN (06:45)
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. You know, building a care plan for the future as well. Yeah. What about getting started with Ohana Care? How, what does that look like? If I was a client that, you know, was calling, how do we, how do we start that care?

Melissa Therrien, RN (06:50)
Yeah. Yeah.

really depends on your situation. As we've seen, every day is different and every situation is very unique and we definitely take it in stride. We have the privilege of a large pool of caregivers that are willing to support us and our clients essentially at the drop of a hat. So if you're in a crisis situation, we can absolutely support in a perfect scenario. We love to have a week's notice.

to be able to find that perfect match or what we think will be a good match for your loved one. And, you know, that buys us some time to find the caregiver, make sure that the schedule accommodates everything, make any small adjustments that we need to do, and also allow our caregiver to do their research and their due diligence to read the care plan, make sure that they know what they're walking into and express any questions or concerns that they may have. So,

You know, you make that phone call to Ohana Care. We talk about, you know, what your goals are for home care, what your needs are for home care. We talk about a schedule, one simple form to complete. It's all online. We don't use any paper. And once that form is complete, things move pretty quickly. We have a team of admin that work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, blood, and tears.

And we want to make sure that we're meeting with care needs when they're needed. So we work pretty closely with you and with the rest of the team to make sure that that happens in a timely manner.

Liz Lewington, LPN (08:40)
Yeah, so it's an easy start is what you're saying.

Melissa Therrien, RN (08:43)
Yeah, I

mean, oftentimes it is a pretty easy start and the barrier many times is getting the clients on board. You know, we get so many phone calls where mom or dad might be a little bit reluctant to get care. And so we deal with that on an individual basis and work with the family to try and understand what are the hesitations, how we can best support the transition into having care in the home.

And so, you know, that sometimes takes a little bit more time, but we definitely have tips and tricks that we can work with and draw from to be able to support that.

Liz Lewington, LPN (09:19)
Yeah, it is it's a creativity. You know, it is almost an art to try and, you know, make sure that the person that's reluctant to have care is actually on board when it starts so it can be successful. yeah, you know, using all your pulling all your tips and tricks is really important to make sure it's a good start.

Melissa Therrien, RN (09:37)
Yeah. I got a good one for you, if you don't mind me stepping in because I think this one is very applicable. How do you explain the role of a care manager and how they would support both families and clients?

Liz Lewington, LPN (09:41)
Come on, don't...

Yeah, so we're part of the admin team. We connect our clients and our staff, the family members, schedulers. We are the collector of the information and we're integral into the role of trying to figure out that best fit.

creating a robust care plan so that the support for the client is there. And then following up with the family, making sure that the lines of communication are open, connecting with the staff to make sure that it was a positive visit after the first visit. And going out and meeting people, doing that face-to-face visit if that's what's needed in order to make sure that everyone is comfortable. We go and we do an in-home visit where we do a face-to-face, get to know the client, maybe their dog.

their loved ones, where their bathroom is, taking a look at the house to make sure it's safe. it's, you know, we're both nurses, this is our role, and going in with our nursing eye to make sure that the home is safe for our caregivers and that the client is, you know, set up for success so that when they are having a shower, it's supported and safe for our clients. So we do, you know, we're kind of the jack of all trades and we're often one of the first points of contact. So when you're calling, you may be speaking with Melissa

or myself and you will you know you'll be able to put a name to the face and have a chat with us directly in order to make sure that you're comfortable that's really all that we do is connect everybody and make sure that the the care that's in there is what is the you know the expectation is being met of the care that's in there so as a a care manager we are the jack-of-all-trades and if you need anything you can always give us a call

Melissa Therrien, RN (11:37)
Yeah, I think you're missing out a key piece of what you do. Maybe it's subconscious when you do it, but it's so much of it is supporting the team in the field, but also the team and preparing to be in the field, right? There's so much education that you provide and preparation into the care planning and all of that that you do as well, which I think is very crucial.

and learning both sides of the table, right? You learn so much about our clients and then you learn so much about our caregivers and then create that network of whatever it is that you do so well to ensure that that's a good fit.

Liz Lewington, LPN (12:13)
Yeah, I know it's always

nice to you get that you get the insight into where your client was born and raised or you know

Melissa Therrien, RN (12:20)
It's

Liz Lewington, LPN (12:21)
their ethnicity and their background and the language that they speak and things that they love to do. And if you are hearing that story, there's often a caregiver that pops up in your mind where you're thinking, okay, this would be perfect. Let's take a look at this schedule and see what we can work out in order to make this the best fit because I have, boy, have I got a caregiver for you. I know when I'm going out to meet clients, I'm already like, oh, this is gonna be perfect for so-and-so and that's in the back of my head. And it's nice to be able to share that

Melissa Therrien, RN (12:43)
Yeah.

Liz Lewington, LPN (12:52)
in real time with the clients if you have an idea of their availability and you know it's going to be that perfect fit or you feel that it could be that perfect fit. Yeah, it is all about tailoring the needs of the client and the needs of the caregiver so that it meets up and it's, know, God willing, it's this beautiful sort of choreographed moment but it's often not that way. yeah, making sure that...

Melissa Therrien, RN (13:13)
Bye.

Liz Lewington, LPN (13:18)
As a client, sharing all the pertinent information, things that bring you joy, things that you love to do, that's the responsibility of the client because really that's what we love. That's what we love to do and that's...

the level of support that we prefer to offer is how can we make this the most beneficial and the smoothest start for you. yeah, as a care manager, that's always the goal in that sort of underlying tone where we go in with the looking at the house safety, looking at where the burnout level is for our clients' family members because you can see this is an emergency or this has been something that they've been neglecting for a long time.

and you can see those holes so making sure you can patch those up as quick as possible so that you can keep that boat afloat is really important.

Melissa Therrien, RN (14:10)
Yeah, jack of all trades indeed. There's definitely a lot going on behind the scenes.

lots going on behind the scenes and lots of work that gets put into that pairing. So awesome. Very good.

Liz Lewington, LPN (14:26)
Yeah, yeah. So what do families, what do they expect? What should they expect when they're initiating home care with Ohana Care for their loved one?

Melissa Therrien, RN (14:35)
Yeah, mean, lots of communication. That's our goal, right? We know that you are embarking on something that's maybe unfamiliar, and so we want to support everybody through that. Clients, loved one, you know, you name it, the family, everyone needs that support because they're all working through something in this process and maybe going through a grieving process. So there's lots of support, lots of communication.

likely you'll hear from many different people as we move through the process of onboarding a new client from caregivers you may hear from, myself, Liz, Jen, our office manager, Monica, the unicorn scheduler that we have, or Heather, who's our HR director, and soon Shanna, who's also joining us. So there's lots of people that will connect with you.

and share different aspects of the business and how they can be of support to you. I think the first visit is really how you dictate it, honestly. Some family members want to be present for those first visits or the client is welcoming us themselves. Other times, family members kind of need that hands off or maybe it's recommended by us to be a little bit hands off for those first visits to try and set us up for success.

And so I would say there isn't a, you know, what to expect kind of step-by-step. It's really very uniquely tailored to your situation. There's a get to know you kind of process, honestly. It's a little bit, I wouldn't say disjointed, but definitely it takes some time for everyone to feel comfortable in this new transition.

but our caregivers are very good at what they do as far as going into someone's home and trying to establish a routine, knowing what needs to be done, or at least taking a look around and trying to understand what needs to be done and how support can be made available to the clients. So I put a lot of trust into our caregivers and it's proved very well earned trust as far as sending them out there and knowing that they are very good at their jobs and that they are capable of

know, jumping both feet into the support that's needed.

Liz Lewington, LPN (16:57)
Mm-hmm. You know, it's as much as we orchestrate, a lot of it does land with our caregivers and knowing that we're hiring the right people that have, you know, that big heart and can see the bigger picture and...

And again, everybody's different. You can have somebody who's you go in and it's sort of the house is on fire situation and they're just joyfully accepting the care that they're getting. And other times you can have someone where you walk in and it looks like the house is on fire and they are not joyfully accepting the care. So really the role does, the role exists but it does differ person to person because we're all individuals.

Melissa Therrien, RN (17:30)
Yes.

It's very dynamic indeed.

Yeah.

Liz Lewington, LPN (17:41)
Exactly. Yeah. So like you say, we can tell you how it's going to look, but we really, everybody's individual. Yeah. Yeah. And that's the beauty of it. You can tailor it. It's not, know, if your loved one says, I don't need any help. Well, it may be that you don't need any help. You you feel that you don't need any help, but your family knows that you really do need that help. So working with where your loved one is at and where their capacity is at and filling in

in a way that's going to make that loved one comfortable is really important. And it's not something that, you know, task oriented approach is going to be able to fix. So that's sort of a big difference between us and potentially other programs out there is, you know, working with that.

Melissa Therrien, RN (18:20)
Okay.

Liz Lewington, LPN (18:28)
person on the level that they're at and allowing them to give us the space in their life to support them. You know, by letting them, I always say marinate, you know, you're, you're marinating in it, you're, you're not going to jump into boiling water, you're going to,

Melissa Therrien, RN (18:40)
True.

Liz Lewington, LPN (18:43)
to increase that support over time because if that person feels like they're being boiled they're going to jump out and you're going to have no support and then you have someone who is potentially in a detrimental situation and and they're going to be hospitalized so that's where we come in is that you know and unfortunately it's difficult to describe for a podcast it's not very easy

Melissa Therrien, RN (19:05)
Yeah.

I

think for our caregivers too, there's definitely an education in changing the mentality. I think previously the idea is the home care has been very task oriented and we're going to take over kind of thing. And we have spent a lot of time educating our caregivers to meet the client where they're at, be patient through the process, change the verbiage that's being used to approach some of these situations where maybe it's not help.

you know, it's a support or maybe I could do this for you while you do something else. You know, and supporting people to understand how we can be of assistance without removing their independence, you know, and their dignity and things like that. So we do a lot of education on that as well because I think it's a change in mindset for a lot of people who may become from.

Liz Lewington, LPN (19:45)
Yeah.

Melissa Therrien, RN (20:04)
facilities where it's getting get out do it as quickly as possible and you have 15 other clients to deal with or from the funded where again there's a time and place for that but it really changing the mentality from task to relationship based and how to it changes the way you speak and how you approach situations.

Is home care only for the elderly individuals or can all ages benefit from it? Liz, this is very timely for you, I think.

Liz Lewington, LPN (20:36)
I mean, absolutely. all ages, literally from birth to death and all facets of care. it's not just

Melissa Therrien, RN (20:41)
You

Liz Lewington, LPN (20:46)
Yes, primarily we work with seniors. That is primarily what we do, but pediatric care, we have specialized caregivers that are able to support newborns, people with any type of disability, in hospital care, out of hospital care, in facilities, in, you know, we work everywhere. We travel with our clients. We go with them to get them somewhere safe and support them through that. Thank God we have phenomenal staff.

Melissa Therrien, RN (21:11)
No.

Liz Lewington, LPN (21:17)
that are willing to take these trips with our clients to support their client because they have such a deep connection with them that they want them to be comfortable. it's really, it's absolutely everything, everybody all over the place. And we cater to specific individuals based on what their needs are. So if it's a nurse that they need, we have nurses on staff. If it's a companion that they need to make sure mom is walking and drinking

enough fluids and you know and being able to make healthy meals with mom that's where we meet them at but it is it's everybody all the time everywhere and that we care for we care for the individual not for the age not for the illness we care for the individual and all ages

Melissa Therrien, RN (22:07)
Yeah, I love that and absolutely love that. I love getting the phone calls about the babies. I love getting the phone calls about, you know, the people who want to palliate at home and that's their dying wish. You know, I love that we can support from all angles, all spectrum and truly we can. We're happy to get creative and think outside the box and support you. So don't hesitate to ask.

I I look forward to the day where someone surprises me with something and is like, I've never heard of this request. And I look forward to seeing how we can best accommodate it. Yeah.

Liz Lewington, LPN (22:46)
considering none. Yeah, I know.

Where there's a will, there's a way. And unfortunately, we are deranged enough to feel like there's always a way. knowing you, like, if there's nothing that you can't do, and you can't help facilitate,

Melissa Therrien, RN (22:50)
Absolutely.

Yeah.

Liz Lewington, LPN (23:02)
I know, I know, I know, you shouldn't be blushing. But knowing you and the way that we approach care is that everybody deserves support. pediatric clients, we're in there, but not just for the baby. We're supporting mom, we're supporting dad. These are huge transitions in life. And it's not just getting older and needing that support. It's anytime there's a major transition or a major change in health or family situation,

Melissa Therrien, RN (23:12)
Yeah.

Liz Lewington, LPN (23:32)
Situations

like addition of a child to a family that's exhausting and if you don't have Family support around you, you know a lot of families we you know when you get older you move away from home and your and your loved ones aren't nearby to help anymore so having someone reliable and safe that you can go and have a nap and the laundry will get done and your baby will get changed and you know and and what a beautiful Shift to be able to help with trust me. I know it's lovely

Melissa Therrien, RN (23:37)
Hello.

Yeah.

Liz Lewington, LPN (24:02)
Being

able to be with a baby is the best but you know being able to go and support anybody is really a privilege for us and I know that you know people can say that but we really like really we live we live this blood sweat and tears day in and day out to support people and You know age is not is not an issue with us in either direction. So everybody all the time everywhere You you name it yeah, everybody all the time

Melissa Therrien, RN (24:27)
New lotto. Yeah.

Ha ha ha!

Liz Lewington, LPN (24:34)
How does Ohana Care ensure that the care plan is personalized for each person? I know we get that question a lot, you know, how do you make sure that this is the care that we need in there?

Melissa Therrien, RN (24:42)
Bye bye.

Hmm. Yeah, so yeah, I do get asked that a lot and people wonder like if I haven't met the client how I go about it. It's it's an interesting process honestly, it's not a Go in and ask people point-blank like how do you shower? What does that look like? Are you able to do it by yourself? Can you get your socks on? Never do I ask those questions so much that can be gleaned from someone by

hearing how else they function in the rest of their life, like can't get to the dinner table without support. You know, they need that transfer support or porting. And how does that parlay into the rest of how they're able to function? There's lots that you can learn from just speaking to families on the phone and hearing the families struggles. And then, you know,

Meeting in person, of course, is the perfect scenario. As I discovered yesterday, we have a large group of clients now. you know, between all of us, it's hard to be in person every single time. But, you know, when you're in person, you can glean those nuances of interactions with other people and how that all plays into their daily functioning. You can see exhaustion on someone's face or the front that they are putting up.

in order to present as stronger or I forgot this kind of thing when they're really actually struggling. And no one wants to openly say that. So being able to hear that. And I think that comes with a lot of experience. I think that comes in from listening to people, really listening to people. I think that's a big piece of it for sure. And because we can pull from experience and expertise from everyone on our team,

We often have discussions about what a care plan is going to look like and how to set our caregivers up for success. Sometimes it's throwing tips and tricks that have worked previously for other similar clients into that care plan with actual like quotations, try this statement. And other times it's like, don't forget to do this. This is very important. ensuring that the care plan is personalized, don't have a bank to draw from.

as far as like, because we're not task oriented, we have highlights of things that we would like to offer the family or that we've discussed with the family as far as linens once a week or, you know, showering once a week, but there's so much more to that care plan that just comes from those discussions. That kind of answers the question.

Liz Lewington, LPN (27:28)
Yeah, and when we're talking about a

care plan, it's kind of that the recipe of the support that's being offered in the home. So when we refer to that, it's like you said, linens on a Wednesday or, know, and sometimes it can be very meticulous because that's what the client is looking for or expects. And we create that type of care plan. Otherwise, you can create care plans like a companionship care plan is very much different than somebody that has like an advanced

Melissa Therrien, RN (27:35)
Yeah.

What's up?

Liz Lewington, LPN (27:58)
illness and we're focusing more on their personal care, a companionship, a care plan can be more if it's nice out go for a walk if it's you know they love to watch this TV show from this time to this time and they like to have someone sit there and comment on the clothes that the women are wearing with them but it's you know it really is again it's so hard to say that it's black and white because none of this is black and white we are completely in the gray area

The black and white comes in when we're talking safety. If we're building a care plan that's around like a potential dementia diagnosis and there's safety concerns that we know about and that we can redirect, that's when those quotations and like building the care plan so that it's foundational and it's walls and everything is built into this care plan when we're talking about somebody that really needs that consistent verbiage and to keep them

feeling calm and supported. But yeah, we're going right back to that whole everybody's an individual and a care plan looks and we build it based on that person and how do we get there? Through conversation. And it may be a conversation that's had with glances in the room. I'm sure you've had that before where

Melissa Therrien, RN (29:05)
Yeah.

Liz Lewington, LPN (29:19)
the person that you're talking about putting care in for tells you one thing and you have eyes behind them going, and you know that they're not showering every day, even though they say they're showering every day and you have to steal a moment away from the client when you're doing a tour of the house and you have to talk in the bathroom about how it's actually going. So knowing that the...

Melissa Therrien, RN (29:26)
Hahaha.

Liz Lewington, LPN (29:44)
that if you're there with a care manager and you're creating that care plan, we will happily take a moment to speak to you directly, either on the phone after or in the home during the visit to actually find out what's going on because we don't want to make this an awful creation of a care plan where the client is feeling this big because you've talked about their incontinence or you've talked about the fact that they hear voices or you're talking about their

Melissa Therrien, RN (29:51)
Yeah.

Liz Lewington, LPN (30:14)
you know, they fall frequently. So creating that care plan that is put in in a respectful manner as well, I know because that's a lot of families struggle with the idea of bringing somebody into the home because they don't want to air their, you know, their parents' dirty laundry or...

their parent isn't open to what's happening because they either don't recall or they're too ashamed or embarrassed about how their loved one, their mom or their spouse or their whatever, even their neighbor is actually functioning. So knowing that the care plan is created and it can always be its fluid document, it moves with the client based on what their needs are and it's extremely individual. Yeah.

Melissa Therrien, RN (30:50)
No

Liz Lewington, LPN (31:02)
So how does Ohana Care incorporate mental health support into their services?

Hello?

Melissa Therrien, RN (31:22)
Okay, Liz, maybe one of the most common questions we get asked is why does Ohana Care have a minimum four hours per visit for in-home care?

Liz Lewington, LPN (31:37)
So it is, I know four hours can feel like a lot, but because we're not task oriented, we are person oriented. really having those longer minimums gives us the opportunity to create that consistency of caregiver. know, our caregivers are half of the components of this process. So giving them a consistent schedule, good hours, it will allow us to match up a caregiver with more consistency and more

you know, more focus on the individual, what their needs are and having the ability to maintain that continuity and consistency does improve the outcomes for your loved ones.

Four hours can feel like it is a long time, but really when we're focusing on the individual, it's not. It's having a shower, it's making a healthy meal, it's cleaning up from the healthy meal, it's being able to have individual time where you can do some physio exercises, follow along with the required care that's needed, as well as giving that person the grace to have a down day or put their

feed up when they're not well enough or

Melissa Therrien, RN (32:52)
Mm-hmm.

Liz Lewington, LPN (32:53)
It's all about consistency and creating that relationship and creating the bond that comes and then having the observation there as well. If you have the same set of eyes walking in the door and they know where everything is, it reduces the anxiety for the client and they can say, this person hasn't had a bowel movement in two days, we need to address this. Or this person's, they're dragging their foot a little bit more than they were yesterday, what's happening?

here. So consistency isn't just about having that minimum for hours, it's about the individual. So maybe it is longer, but the outcome is always going to be beneficial.

Melissa Therrien, RN (33:37)
Yeah, I think the four hours is intimidating for many people. I think we need to back up and go to why our staff, why we require four hour minimum for our staff and full transparency. Good caregivers, loyal caregivers, caregivers that want to be part of your family and provide that consistency of care, you know, and want to build that relationship with your loved one.

Liz Lewington, LPN (33:39)
Yeah.

Melissa Therrien, RN (34:06)
don't want to work for 15 minutes or one hour a couple of times a week. In order for us to retain those consistent good quality caregivers, they want a minimum of four hours. And we know that healthcare workers are in high demand. We know there's lots of them out there and the good ones are very often already working. So the only way that we can maintain a large pool of really high quality caregivers

is to set some boundaries and limitations to the type of care and the duration of care that we can provide. And that four hour minimum has proven to be good for clients, good for caregivers, good for our caregiver retention values. Those are KPIs that I watch. Let's be honest, this is a business and we need to keep track of these sorts of things. So what's our turnover like?

Honestly, our turnover is very low. We have caregivers that advance in their careers to become nurses. I would say that's our highest turnover. Honestly, they have, you know, gained new credentials and move on into a different career path. And we have supported them through that process. I would say our turnover for leaving.

us is very low and I attribute that very much to those minimums and to allowing our caregivers to build those trusting relationships with our clients and that does come with time.

Liz Lewington, LPN (35:40)
Absolutely it does. Spending time with people is an invaluable way to create a relationship and you can't synthetically do that. You have to put in the hours and our clients appreciate that relationship when it's built. Yeah. Yeah.

Melissa Therrien, RN (35:57)
Yeah, I think that does play into the next question of how does Ohana care ensure. sorry.

Liz Lewington, LPN (35:59)
What do families need to know?

Yep. Go for it.

Melissa Therrien, RN (36:06)
I think that plays into the next question of how does Ohana Care ensure caregiver consistency and continuity for our clients? And I think we touched on that too, where we provide them with a consistent schedule. And very often that's a conversation that I have with clients at the beginning of the process where they say, maybe we start with one visit once every couple of weeks and we can change up the day and whatever.

Melissa Therrien, RN (36:36)
And, you know, I'm honest with people. Yes, we can do that, absolutely. But you may forego that consistency and that continuity and that relationship building with your caregiver. And we want to start slow and we want it to work, which is why we don't have any contracts and no commitments. Because if it doesn't work, we totally appreciate that. We want to give it, you know, 100%, 110 % effort to try and make it work. Sometimes it doesn't, and that's okay, too.

But that consistency and continuity comes with the consistency and continuity of a predictable schedule, allowing our caregivers to know which client they're with when, and they appreciate that just as much as our clients do. I answered my own question there. That was terrible, Liz. I'm sorry. Do you have anything you want to add?

Liz Lewington, LPN (37:22)
Mm-hmm.

I know.

think we've got We've got it rounded enough. But I love the how you snuck in there, the contracts and commitments. we don't have any contract. We don't have any contract. We don't have any commitments with Ohana Care. When you sign up with us, the schedule is created and it's only 24 hour requirement for cancellation. So we don't hold you to being able to build your life out from here till the end of time.

And then if you do need to cancel services, you're not charged anything. So it's 24 hours, there's no commitment. And like you said, we can start low and slow. So we can start with those visits every two weeks. can start with whatever you're comfortable with. And we can start with going in with just, well, I need somebody to come and take my mom to the doctor, maybe pick up her medication on the way home, make sure she gets in the house.

and get her something to eat because she's tired after days out. And we can go in and be that person. know, inconsistent schedule, but we're there and we're reliable. And then your mom will get to know, okay, well having someone here when my husband or my son or daughter can't be that person to take me out, you know, having that consistency and reliability does build that foundational relationship, which is where we always start is that foundation.

of reliability and then build from there. So we don't need a contract to make sure that you feel like we are living up to our side of this commitment. that's what we live by and die by, whether or not it's beneficial to us, we are there because it's what the clients need and the family needs. So no commitment and build that consistency out.

how does Ohana Care screen its caregivers?

Melissa Therrien, RN (39:31)
Alright Liz,

Go ahead, keep going, you're good.

Yeah, great question. And we do definitely get asked this a lot. Our caregivers go through a pretty rigorous screening process, sometimes challenging for us to get caregivers on board it when we need them because of this process. But it is something that we take a lot of pride in as far as ensuring that we provide the high quality caregiver that we promised to our clients. So our caregivers are screened utilizing, of course,

criminal record check. We go next level and require a vulnerable sector check. Both of those have to be current within the last six months. CPR first aid has to be active and renewed on regular basis. We also review any of their credentials and their registration. And then with the healthcare aid directory, CLPNA, CARNA, you name it, whichever is their governing body.

We also take a look at their education, their previous experience, reference checks, you name it. And they often have multiple conversations with different levels of our admin team as well through this process. you know, it's a good vetting process in that we require a commitment from the caregiver right from the moment they apply. You know, we ask a lot of them and ask them to prove themselves as truly interested in the company and care to our clients.
Liz Lewington, LPN (41:20)
Yeah, you can

get a good feel for somebody.

I hope so too.

Melissa Therrien, RN (41:51)
Sure, I can do. All right, and that rounds out our FAQs, frequently asked questions for Ohana Care and its approach to personalized support. So thank you for joining us. It's always nice to talk about what we do every day and why we put blood, sweat and tears into this company and to our clients. And, you know, I don't know if you know, but Ohana means family and

We truly take that to heart and watch you as a client, as a caregiver to feel like family. And we truly embrace you and hope to provide the best possible service to you and your loved ones. So thank you, Liz, for your expertise and all that you do for our clients and our caregivers every day. And yeah, I look forward to next week and see what our topic is.

Liz Lewington, LPN (42:41)
Yeah, thank you for listening everybody. Like and subscribe and we'll be back next week.

Melissa Therrien, RN (42:51)
Take care guys.