The Generations Legal Group Podcast
“Aging” or “Growing Old” has to be better than dying young, right?? Join Certified Elder Law Attorney, Todd Whatley, Founder of Generations Legal Group as he dives deep into the complexities, sensitive topics, and how-to’s of becoming an “aging individual” or caregiver of an aging loved one. This podcast covers senior-related caregiving issues, legal/financial issues, when to stop driving, late in life marriages, grief, death, and other end of life concerns. If you struggle with what to do next, how to cope, or simply the basics on what lies ahead as you or your loved one ages, this podcast provides solutions to your questions.
The Generations Legal Group Podcast
Insights to Personal Care with Teresa Mills from Circle of Life Personal Care
Personal care services provide vital support for families facing the challenges of aging. We explore the offerings of Circle of Life Personal Care and the emotional and practical benefits of hiring help, emphasizing that everyone deserves quality care.
• Importance of personal care services in aging
• Circle of Life's background and service offerings
• Differences between personal care and hospice care
• Screening and hiring practices for caregivers
• Payment options for personal care services
• Recognizing signs for needing personal care
• Emotional benefits of investing in caregiving support
• Circle of Life's nonprofit model and community reach
• Call for listeners to explore personal care options
Information to help you answer all of your questions about aging.
Welcome to Answers on Aging, the podcast dedicated to helping you navigate the complexities of growing older. Your host is Todd Whatley, a certified elder law attorney with a passion for empowering the aging community and their families, From finances and legal matters to health, long-term care and beyond. We've got you covered, Because every question you have we aim to answer. Dive into today's episode and let's uncover the truth about aging together.
Speaker 2:That's right. This is the Generations Legal Grid podcast and my name is Todd Whatley and, as always, I am very appreciative of everyone who downloads and listens, and today I have a very special guest. My guest today is Teresa Mills and she is with Circle of Life Personal Care, which is something that's kind of new, and so that's why we have her on and we're going to talk about that. So, teresa, thanks for being with me today, thanks for having me. So tell me just I think everybody knows what Circle of Life is, but tell me basically what Circle of Life is, and then we'll get into this specific branch.
Speaker 3:Circle of Life was started about 30 years ago a little over 30 years ago as a hospice, and we're very well known, very well established in the area. We have since added on. We have care, navigation as well the DME side for our hospice patients. We just kind of have our hands on a lot of things. Circle of Life Personal Care was started a little over a year ago at the suggestion of some of our donors and our clients who were on hospice, and it is a we're filling a need in the community for personal care and that encompasses bathing, dressing, personal grooming, toileting, mobility and transfers errands, meal prep. I mean just a host of things that we can do.
Speaker 2:So I think my question when we were talking before the show was is this part of Circle of Life Hospice? Do you have to have a hospice diagnosis to do this?
Speaker 3:No, absolutely not. We do have a lot of clients who are on hospice, and that's kind of how this was an outgrowth of that. But we have clients who are not on hospice. We have clients who may have had a heart bypass and need us to. They can't drive, so they need us to take them places where they may have had a hip replacement or a knee replacement, or it could be someone with Alzheimer's or dementia and the family can't leave them alone safely.
Speaker 2:Okay, interesting, and so let's go through real quick. What are some of the services? The typical services, and then maybe some of the unique things y'all can do.
Speaker 3:Most generally, when someone needs personal care, it seems that they're having some mobility challenges. They need someone to help them transfer and that can be using a gait belt. It can be kind of standby as they're using their walker. They're trying to get stronger, or sometimes it's with the Hoyer lift. They cannot get out of bed. So we utilize our caregivers, and we have caregivers that are very experienced. We utilize CNAs and we also utilize PCAs. We don't hire just anyone, we hire the best of the best. So it gives families that peace of mind that there's someone who knows what they're doing that can help them with their loved one.
Speaker 2:And I'm sure there are background checks and things like that.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. We do background checks, we do drug screens, we check references. We're pretty thorough on that. Circle's been around a long time and it's important to us to maintain that standard that they've set.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Circle of Life is very dear to me. My mother volunteered there and then she passed away there, and so it is. You know, it is very special, and so I think one thing that I'm not sure that all care agencies do is you said that you can drive people different places we can.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we do. Part of our background check is a driving and criminal offense check, right? So we check to make sure we clear it with our interviewees when we're talking to them Are you okay driving a client around either in your personal car or in their car? So as part of that we have to have a copy of their insurance at all times.
Speaker 3:If it expires I'm on them. Hey, I need a new copy of this, right? I'm sure it's annoying, but it's part of it. But we can drive and it happens a lot. People don't want to pay the mileage for the personal car, so we'll use the client's car and they're absolutely fine with that. We can take them to doctor's appointments, we can take them shopping, grocery shopping, all kinds of errands, whatever works for them.
Speaker 2:Okay. Do they need a physician's referral for this?
Speaker 3:They do not, okay, no this is just simply. Hey, we need a little extra help.
Speaker 2:Okay, so let's talk about payment. I'm sure everybody's concerned about payment, so I know hospice is paid for by Medicare, but this is not under the hospice diagnosis. This is not part of hospice. This is private pay. What else pays for it?
Speaker 3:Long-term care insurance will pay for it.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:And if the client is eligible for the Veterans Aid and Attendance, that will reimburse them for it as well. Okay, private pay. Yes, we are not the cheapest in the area, but we again hire the best of the best and we provide the kind of service that you expect from Circle.
Speaker 2:Okay, do you want to talk about price?
Speaker 3:It ranges. We also don't have any minimum number of hours. We can go out for as little as one hour or as long as 24 hours, and we literally have clients that run the gamut. We do have some that want one hour. That's more expensive, it's a little more challenging sometimes. So typically our typical rates range anywhere from 30 to 42 or 36 to 42. Pardon me, okay, if it's shorter than four hours, you're looking at more like 45 to 50.
Speaker 2:Okay, got it. So I know we've talked about some people with diagnosis, but what would you tell our listeners out there? What are some signs or things that they need to be looking for, or signs that they're seeing that you need to get someone in to help?
Speaker 3:Yeah, there are so many, as you well know. My mind automatically goes to memory, to cognitive challenges, because that is so common as you age and it can be Alzheimer's dementia. It can just be age-related cognitive decline, because that is so common as you age and it can be Alzheimer's dementia. It can just be age-related cognitive decline, right? So forgetfulness, falls, falls, is huge. If your loved one is falling a lot, you probably need a gait belt, you need a walker, you may need a wheelchair. There's a lot, but you need help Because, as you know as well, falling leads to more ER visits, which leads to more decline.
Speaker 3:It's just this cycle, so you don't want to leave them alone. So, when you need to go somewhere, when you want to be the child, when you want to be the spouse, the niece, the nephew, whatever your role is, you want to be the family member and not the caregiver. When you have to be the caregiver in addition to being the family member and not the caregiver, when you have to be the caregiver in addition to being the family member, it changes your relationship and you don't get to enjoy that loving relationship because you're always on pins and needles, thinking, OK, what do I need to do to keep them safe. That's where we come in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's true, and so one of my favorite stories. I had a client come in one time and she said she said, todd, I just want to take a bath. I just I want to go take a bath without him knocking on the door coming in bugging me. She said I just want to take a bath and she said I've hired home care people to come in and spend time with. She said I don't go anywhere, they just entertain him and keep him off the bathroom door. So I can go take a bath Very common.
Speaker 3:It's that. It's you know. We've had spouses say I want to go to my Bible study, I need to go grocery shopping, I can't leave for more than 15 minutes. 15 minutes isn't a break. It's not even a smoke break if you smoke right. So yeah, taking a bath, seeing your friends, going to lunch, doing anything, just you need you time to be able to love your loved one the way that you want to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I like what you said and I'm not sure if you heard that from me, but I had a client one time who said you know, getting the care that I needed for my husband, let me be the wife again. Absolutely, and it brings tears to my eyes every time I think of that, you know. She said I was anything but his wife and now, with someone else doing all the stuff that needs to be done, I can go sit, hold his hand, kiss him on the cheek. I'm not mad at him, I'm not exhausted, I'm not frustrated. She said I just get to sit there and be his wife and I was like man, that's important. I mean, that's worth 36 to 40 bucks an hour.
Speaker 3:It's huge, it is absolutely huge. It also is huge because of the physical toll that it takes, right Absolutely. And so children are watching their mom or their dad take care of their other parent and they're watching that parent that's doing the caretaking decline and the thing that they absolutely don't want to happen is to lose them both in a short span of time, and that's what happens pretty commonly. Span of time and that's what happens pretty commonly and it's really very common for the like, if there's, if the spouse has dementia, for the non diagnosed spouse to pass before the one because they're expending so much physical energy.
Speaker 3:So, it's huge. I have that conversation all the time with the children and with the spouse to encourage them to get the care and not feel guilty about it. It's okay to need help and that's a big issue as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're not admitting defeat. You're actually getting the care that you need and people you know. No one likes the nursing home and sometimes by hiring a home care agency can put off nursing home admission by a year or two.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, especially when the children or the spouse. You know I've promised them not to put them in the nursing home. It's an irrational promise, but I understand it. Yeah, but we, you know honestly, we are there and most of the time our patients do not go to a nursing home because they've been able to hire us, because, again, we're in that continuum with Circle right, if you're not on hospice to start, we're right there with you, and when you're hospice ready, it's not the same staff, but it's that continuum so they're able to have that comfort.
Speaker 2:The staff you had can talk to the staff that you get.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. It's that continuum.
Speaker 2:So they're able to have that comfort. The staff you had can talk to the staff that you get. Absolutely, it's very simple. Wow, I hadn't thought about that, but that's great. So y'all started a year ago. Correct. Things are going well.
Speaker 3:Things are going really well.
Speaker 2:I bet I mean Circle of Life just has a really good name in the community and they do a lot of good work. So what area do you cover?
Speaker 3:Pretty much anywhere Okay.
Speaker 2:I mean.
Speaker 3:Madison County, washington County.
Speaker 2:Benton.
Speaker 3:County? Yes, absolutely, we are all over the area. We we can even go to Carroll County. It's just a matter of finding a caregiver, either there or one of our caregivers that will go there. Like I, have clients in Madison County right now, which is a growing area. People are trying to move out further, right? Yeah, that's true. So a lot of clients in the Centerton, bella Vista, rogers area, so a lot up here, and then, you know, obviously in Fayetteville, greenland, west Fork, all over.
Speaker 2:Okay, do, and you know obviously in Fayetteville, greenland West, fork all over Okay. Do you go into Missouri and Oklahoma? Not yet, okay, you just can't or you just don't.
Speaker 3:No, we haven't explored that just yet. We're still getting our feet under ourselves for this, but it is going really well. It ebbs and flows somewhat, but I'm never bored.
Speaker 2:I can imagine. I can imagine with staffing and people, and so that's another thing real quick, that I tell people they're like man, that's a lot of money and you know that's expensive and I'll just hire some girl from the church or whatever. The problem is, when you have one person that you're relying on, they don't show up and you were planning on going somewhere. You don't get to go somewhere.
Speaker 3:Happens a lot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, where with y'all? If someone doesn't show up, you're like well, okay, you're one or two phone calls away from someone else who can show up.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:You have people on standby ready to go, so that somebody's going to be there. Yes, you have people on standby ready to go, so that somebody's going to be there.
Speaker 3:Yes, and the other nice thing about us is that my team lead and I split on call. So there's one of us on call 24-7. Okay, Something happens at 8 o'clock. They're supposed to be there at 10 o'clock. We're on the phone, scrambling, trying to find someone and I would say 99% of the time we find someone. Our caregivers are really good. They care. That's why they do what they do and that's part of what we screen for. One of the questions we ask them is what brought you to caregiving? And almost all of them have a personal story. You know my grandpa. I took care of my grandpa, my aunt, my mom, whoever it is. But they see the value in it and they also know how hard it is to take care of your loved one yourself. So they're wanting to help.
Speaker 2:Wow, okay, interesting. All right, how can people get in touch with you?
Speaker 3:Well, our Circle of Life website. We do have a page on there, so you can always find us there, but you can reach us directly by calling or texting 479-334-3319. Okay, or you can call 479-872-3394.
Speaker 2:Okay, and those numbers will be in the show notes so you can check out the show notes when you get this podcast and it'll be there. Is there anything else that we didn't cover that you want to talk about?
Speaker 3:No, it went so easy. I was like it just flowed. It's just a conversation. Yeah, it was great.
Speaker 2:Well, I am so glad because I love circle of life. I think y'all y'all do a great job. I've been on your board before and I just think in your nonprofit right.
Speaker 3:Yes, the personal, care is still it's still a nonprofit and I have to tell you, include this or not being a nonprofit makes a difference, sure, and it doesn't always, but in this case, in my experience, circle is a unicorn. We do things differently, but we this case, in my experience, circle is a unicorn Okay, we do things differently, but we do things for the right reasons. Okay, and that means something.
Speaker 2:It does, it does, absolutely so, okay, well, I would encourage all, if you're struggling a little bit and need some help, y'all do free phone calls.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. We do an assessment on everyone and have that conversation and we follow up, whether they choose us or not. A lot of times we just want to make sure that they've gotten the help they need. Good.
Speaker 2:So, even if you're not sure, particularly if you're not sure call, and it may not be the right time right now, but they can have you on their list and you've got Circle of Life on your list as being OK. Now I need somebody, and it's just a very, very good process. So I encourage you all to call 479-334-3319 or 479-872-3394. Ok, well, teresa, thank you very much for being here and hopefully we'll have you back in a year or two and you can. You can have some cool stories and tell us how good it's going. Okay, sounds great. So thank y'all for listening.
Speaker 1:I appreciate it and we will see you next time and that's a wrap for today's episode of answers on aging. Thank you for joining us on this journey of discovery and understanding. For more resources, detailed show notes and expert advice on the many facets of aging, don't forget to visit our website at wwwanswersonagingpodcastcom. Remember, growing older might be inevitable, but doing it with grace, knowledge and empowerment is a choice. Until next time, stay informed and keep those questions coming.