Care with Confidence: Episode 4 – Inside Day-To-Day Senior Care: From Inquiry to Match

Care with Confidence: Episode 3 – Inside Day-To-Day Senior Care: From Inquiry to Match

How does Day-To-Day Senior Care find the perfect companions and manage complex logistics across Nassau County? Join Charles Day and tonight’s special guest, Grace Moss, our Care Specialist Manager. In this behind-the-scenes deep dive, we reveal the empathy and strategy used to connect families in need with our trusted caregivers. We discuss our process for "matchmaking," territory management, and how a family’s first inquiry becomes a lifelong relationship built on trust. Tune in to understand the managed system of experts dedicated to your loved one.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey everyone, Charles Day. I'm back here at Day to Day Senior Care for episode three of our Care with Confidence. And whoops, and what we're doing tonight is we have a very special guest with us tonight. Um I'm going to introduce her in a second here. So tonight I'm joined with our very own care specialist manager, and she's the one making the magic happen behind the scenes at day-to-day senior. And what we're going to do tonight is we're going to pull back the curtain on how we find our clients. We manage our Nassau County territories and how we pick the companions you trust in our homes. Welcome, Grace. How are you? Hi, thank you. I'm good. How are you? All right, it's great to have you.

SPEAKER_01 0:57

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

Um okay, so what I'm gonna do first is um could you describe um what the role of a care specialist manager is uh since you've come on board working with us here at day-to-day seni care?

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Sure. Um so basically it's uh my responsibility to um maintain um our current clients, make sure they're happy with our services, our aids, and anything at all, and also to get any new clients um for anybody we need. So um, you know, helping anyone as an elderly companion um support AIDS or bring high-quality AIDS to you and whatever your needs are, that's what we do. That's what I do.

SPEAKER_00 1:55

Yep, absolutely, absolutely. And you're doing a tremendously great job.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Um, and you know, the thing is here, you know, drumming up business too. Well, you've done that. I'm gonna ask you a question real quick here. How do we find families that need us? Is it word of mouth, hospital referrals, or community outreach?

SPEAKER_01 2:18

So we we do it in a lot of different ways. Um, I do a lot of referrals. Um, I know a lot of people on Long Island. I've been um doing this on and off for a while, and um, you know, I love helping people. I always have. Um, we do like referrals a lot of the times, or referrals or referrals. Um, otherwise, I do um, you know, sometimes reach out on social media or um, you know, letting people know what services we provide. And a lot lately it's been people calling me. Um, you know, I heard you helped this person, can you help me? Um, so I love networking and word of mouth the best. And it's so nice when everybody knows each other and says, Oh, Grace helped me get my aid and she helped me with this. And um, you know, your her company with Charles Day, um, you know, it was so reliable, and my mom is so happy with the services. So I love that type of feedback, and um, you know, it's it's always nice to do it that way. But we we try to help everyone, but that's the way that I I get new clients.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Yeah, absolutely. And again, you know, to our our guests that are watching tonight, um, you know about our day-to-day senior care program. Uh, we're we're continuing uh to do our podcasts, and what we're doing tonight is is is this is the first time we're going in depth. We're going with someone who is actually since she started with me, she has taken this company to the next level, um, primarily in Nassau County. We weren't even really working in Nassau County until Grace and I met up. We were just starting to build up in Suffolk County. And as some of you know, our listeners, that when I started last year, I took on the first client in April of last year and then carried some more clients on into our new um our second year. Uh, but when Grace came in, things changed. And she's been wonderful. And um, it's just as we grow, she's the one that our new care specialists that come in. We have a few others that are out there too. When you know you'll get to meet those from Suffolk County. But um, as we bring in new ones, um, you know, Grace, we're gonna we're gonna ask her if she would like to do a little training here and there, you know, things like that. Um, but I have a I have another um question. Um, so you've been uh in day-to-day senior care for a while with us now. What was that one aha moment that made you realize this wasn't just a job, but a calling for you? It really is like a calling for you. I know because we've had that those day-to-day talks. Oh, there you go, day-to-day talks.

SPEAKER_01 5:15

Yeah. Um, well, just long story short, I always had people in my family to take care of. Um, I'm Italian, so you know Italians always take care of Italians.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

Ah, yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 5:26

And at the age of six, I was helping my great-grandmother Katharina with a lot of different things. I would go over there, I'd stay over. Me and my sister sometimes would take turns taking care of her, whether it was just keeping her company, um, making her meals, doing dishes, um, you know, running to the store for her anything. I mean, obviously I didn't run to the store when I was six, but in Staten Island, where I'm originally from.

SPEAKER_00 5:55

Staten Island, yep, yep.

SPEAKER_01 5:57

Yes, I'm originally from Staten Island. Now I'm currently in Miniola. But I was so used to doing that. And also, too, my dad had polio his whole life. And thankfully, um, you know, as he got a little older, he got stronger and he was able to um get around a little bit better. But I always had a special um, you know, special dad. And he always needed help with his cane, with his wheelchair eventually. Um, so I was so used to this my whole life. And I have, you know, I'm my background really um out of college was I used to work in corporate law firms and I did a lot of computer training with with lawyers. That's what I did for a long time. I always like doing this on the side or helping friends, things like that. Um, so how did I get into this fully recently over the past um you know, uh time? So I got laid off at my corporate job. Um I was there almost 10 years. There were layoffs, so whatever the reason, it was fine. Um, I wasn't sure for what I wanted to do anymore. And I was out of work for about two weeks. And my very good friend Sherry, I'm gonna give her the credit. She said, you know, my mom broke her arm, she hurt herself. Can you take care of her? I know you're out of work. And I said, Okay, no problem. I'll I'll definitely help you with whatever you need. You know, you don't have to pay me if you don't want to, even though it was nice that she did um somewhat. But I started helping her and I had such a good time. I had such a great time. We talked, like I said, I cleaned, I made some meals for her, I helped her with her arm. I I did all these things that just brought me back. And I was like, wow, this is so great. And I started doing that with her, and little by little other people contacted me. I started asking people if they needed help. Within three months, I had 10 of my own clients.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Nice, very nice.

SPEAKER_01 8:07

And I said to myself, wait a minute, what am I doing? Am I going back to corporate law firms with crazy, annoying lawyers, even though we love you all? Um, or am I gonna take care of these wonderful uh people who I really love being with? Um, I love being an elderly companion. And again, I've done it so long my whole life, but now full time for a little bit this past year plus. And like Charles said, I found my calling. I don't want to tell you how old I am.

SPEAKER_00 8:40

Yeah, I try not to share my my age.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

But I can't believe I didn't do this sooner full time. Um, I love it. I love helping people, I love talking to any of my clients about their lives. They have such great stories. We take walks or I push them in their wheelchair um outside. We always have an agenda, um, taking them to appointments, anything like that. But I really love what I do. I feel so happy what I'm doing. And whether it's a friend, family, or referral, um I just I'm so happy. I found this again, and I'm so happy to work for Charles because his company is amazing. And thank you. You're welcome. The service we provide is is wonderful. Um, Charles, you could go into other things, but one thing that I really loved was um when I came on with Charles, you know, if anybody needs snow shoveling or if anybody needs haircuts or manicures, services for everything. So it's not just Grace being um an elder care companion, um, home health aid. It's by the way, if you need anything else, we have services for you. We we can do anything for you. And so many of the people that I work for are so happy for that because I can't give you a manicure, pedicure, haircut, whatever. Oh, yeah, we do haircuts too. Yes, I can find someone who can at a reasonable price, and we're gonna work with you.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

And they go right into the home. I a few of my clients they love it. They just uh when when she comes to do the hair, they just you know, they don't have to leave their home and they get a nice cut. And don't forget our furry companions. We actually have a new person that's signed up in Comac. So my sister's taking Sasha, the uh Saint Cavalier, for an hour to uh be with somebody's father who misses dogs, small dogs. You always had small dogs, so you know, just to have the dog come in for an hour and spend some time with them is it's just very nice. And and that's and that's all we're doing right now. Now, could that potentially be, you know, could uh they need some help with with dad in the future? Well, you know what? Who are they gonna call? Most likely they'll call us back if they want some companion services, you know. Right now they just want a furry companion. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

So yeah, it's good. It's good to um, yeah, and then we have our big camping uh program that we're gonna, I'm starting to, I'm gonna get everything set up and we're gonna we're gonna be doing a few camping, and then we're gonna have a big camping event um with music and and all of our clients are invited. It's gonna be like a day afternoon on a weekend. So we just want to promote that uh, you know, leading active lifestyles while at home with companionship to keep to be there for that protection and and that that companion um relationship. Really good. So navigating Nassau County as we're going into the uh next part of our um segment here. Um now Grace is is very well versed in the Nassau County region, and I I wanted to um to ask um about how you manage these different areas between the North Shore and the South Shore. I mean, like the logistics, you know, how do we ensure we have enough coverage in specific pockets of Nassau? I mean, or are you just going in, you're just getting calls, and and wherever they land, they land, it seems, right?

SPEAKER_01 12:12

Well, I'm not focusing on um specific areas of Long Island, even though you know I know a lot more people um and clients in Nassau, but um, you know, I'll I'll take business every everywhere or anywhere, but I know the type of aids we have, I know that the location of the aid. So sometimes I try to match the aid with our actual um client um that's looking for us to help them. And um, I don't think we said it before, but we really only hire high-quality aides, um, English speaking, usually with cars, educated certifications. Um, you know, I do some of the work as well. So anybody you get from us is a high-quality aide. That would be someone like your sister that you can trust. We do background checks, we do references. Um, Charles, I, and there's a few of us at the company that interview anybody that we bring to you, and anybody that we hire, it would be someone that I would bring to help my mother. So I would never send you anybody that would be of low quality. And I don't want to speak lowly of any other companies and agencies, but I think you all know what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

No, I I I agree.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

Yes, yes, and that's what I love about this too, and that's why I have so many clients within our company, and so many people call us because it's a different type of service that you would get from an agency or other places, and we do pay a little bit more as well. So, not to get into all of that, but it's just one of those things where that's why I'm proud to work with Charles, because I'm sending you good people, and I'm sending you people that again I would send to take care of my own mother or father. So that's what you get from this company, unlike others.

SPEAKER_00 14:03

No, I appreciate that, and you know, it it's it's something I've learned slow and steady wins the race. It's a popular quote.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

My dad used to say that grandpa net.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

Because, you know, being in in in in uh in the industry for three decades, uh, you know, you had I had to be methodical in each position I was in and to do the right thing. And and um what I'm learning with this company too is you know, the former peers that want that wanted to join me, that have joined me, and others that are are waiting to join when the time is right, or if they make a move in their career, they're gonna call me first. Um, I'd rather have those people coming in to work with us because I know them, I worked with them, than our families, you know, having relatives that are nurses and and therapy, and um, it's just important. And then when, like Greece, Grace had said, you know, we are growing very quicker than I I thought. And you know, I'm always very conservative, but yeah, no, we are we're on pace uh for some good growth this year, and it's only our second year, it's only the first quarter that we're ending. But um, yeah, it's gonna, it's a very uh meticulous interview process if we bring someone in. And even when we bring someone in, it's usually a friend who knows a friend that we still want to be very cautious, you know, because um, and that's why they've got to go through uh Grace and myself two interviews before we even uh you know, after the background checks are done. Because again, I want to follow exactly what Grace said. I want that that reputation that we're working with high-quality individuals, and if it takes longer, I'm in no rush, you know. This is my last ring in the ladder. I'm gonna do this until I retire. So which I don't know when that'll be, but um so uh, you know, it's really good. But let's we'll move on because I can yap, I can yap too here.

SPEAKER_02 16:02

Um yapping, yapping.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Um, all right. And that that led to our third part, you know, you know, how does a phone call become a lifelong uh care relationship, you know? Um you know, especially like like Grace, you know, when you when you make that phone call and and we start talking to them, you're calling them, I'm giving them a call. I think they like to know that wow, there's two people on top of this. You want to share some of that that process that we that we do together? Um, you mean when when we hire an aide or we get a client or what process uh yeah, like we like when you you you get a new uh client, you usually text me and say, I have someone, I spoke with them, here's what's going on. Um, could you give them a call next? Let them know about your company. Then I call, I give them a little background on the company. I think the way we we do that is very authentic to the to the potential client, and they and I think they realize, wow, they're really serious about matching up my mom or dad with the right people.

SPEAKER_01 17:09

Well, what I do when I when I get a potential client that needs our services is I make sure I speak to um them. And sometimes it's the actual um client who needs an elderly companion, or sometimes it's their family members or a friend, or sometimes both. So I make sure I connect to them. Um I ask them what the needs are, um, what we're you know, what what we need. So, you know, um 91 years old, um, for example, doesn't walk very well, needs a walker and or um wheelchair, um, would like meals prepared. Um, you know, she likes to be sung to, dance with. Um, you know, uh just because I I like to find out what the needs are and also what you want from me. So, you know, my mom really needs uh to go to church on Sundays, and I can't always take her. She has doctor's appointments once a week. Um, you know, I try to find out all the needs, and after I find out the specific needs and, you know, talk about the personality of the uh person that we're gonna work for, then I meet with them. I meet with both the client and the family or whoever is involved with arranging this um elderly companion, and then from there we match it. So if someone's very friendly, likes to go out and do things, then we're gonna match them with that type of person versus, you know, I like book club, I just like to read and listen to audiobooks. So we want to make sure that we match them with the right person. And again, being a true elderly companion is someone who talks, takes them out, does things versus I'm sure you've heard in the past, you know, other aides just, you know, maybe cook for your mom and then text and talk on the phone all day. That would not be tolerated. Um, I follow up with clients after, hi, how is the aid doing? Sometimes Charles and I will pop in to check in on what's going on. So we just want everybody to be happy, not only the families um and or friends that are taking care of um the elderly companions, um, the elderly people that we're taking care of, but also the people we're taking care of, you know. Hi, how are you? How's everything going? So we try to keep um, you know, the relationships going just because we want everybody to be happy. And I don't want anybody to call me and say, Grace, you know, that girl that you sent me uh, you know, again was on the phone all day or whatever it was, that would never happen. And if that's something that I hear about one time, that aid would be removed and replaced with someone better, but we don't tolerate that because again, we want you to be happy, we want, you know, and eld the definition of elderly companion to me is someone who brings joy to you. Okay, um, yeah, like I said, I love to sing, yeah, as you know, but you know, singing, dancing, music on, nice foods, let's go outside. If you can't really walk, let's at least sit in your backyard, anything like that, because we want you to be happy. Um, and that's what we want. We want the families to be happy and friends, and also um the person that we take care of, the client. So that's what we're looking to do, and that's what we will continue doing.

SPEAKER_00 20:43

Excellent, excellent. Yes. Um, yeah, that's I mean, we I I I can remember our best time yet was was back in in February when um we we just got inundated. I mean, we all of a sudden you uh were able to um secure two new clients, and one of them was 24-hour care, the other one 24-hour care. Here we are. We're really we we were just talking about the month, you know, before, okay, yeah, it's gonna be a better year. We carried over, uh, I had uh like 12 clients. I carried over 10, uh, which was showing some continuity because people will stay with with you if you do the right thing and they have the right staff, just I mean, the right companions, Grace had said. And then all of a sudden, come February, we're we're using every companion we had to cover some of these cases, and ourselves were covering, you know. Um, you got to look at that. I mean, again, I'm not knocking any other companies out there, everyone's doing their thing. There's the franchise companies that have to stay within that box, so they can't do all these other different services, and then there's the others that are overwhelmed, and um, you'll never the the owners can't get there to do it themselves because. They're so big and so busy. I don't want to ever get to that point, but I mean I know that I will still roll up my sleeves at any time, and so would Grace if it came down to it. And we would we would do that. And that's that's a big difference in a in a in a growing company, is having management and ownership just jump in when need when needed when needed to do what we have to do, you know. So and I give you 100%, you know, applause for everyone. Oh, you know, it was pretty pretty tough. It was very challenging uh in in February and carried into March a little bit. And now we're positioning ourselves again. You know, we're positioning ourselves again. We've got more clients on the horizon, and now we're just working out the logistics, you know, the right companion. When are they gonna start? Ray to pay. I mean, it's a lot, there's a lot to take in, but um Grace is kicking it. That's all I gotta say. You're kicking it, Grace.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

Thank you, Charles. Yes, and I love doing it.

SPEAKER_00 22:57

Yep. So um, all right. So we're we're getting uh towards the uh five-minute mark, and um it's very important that um I also uh wanted to reiterate that you know we're not just day-to-day senior care is not just a server, it's a managed system of experts. All right. So if you're in Nassau County and need guidance, reach out to us. Okay. Um very important. Um, we are ready. You know where to find us on our websites, uh, our website and our social media, Facebook. We have our YouTube channels. Obviously, many the majority of our listeners and viewers are coming from um somewhere on YouTube channel because I know you're watching me. I'm seeing the numbers, and I'm really, really grateful um that you're uh joining us on this venture. Um, anything else you want to share, Grace, before we wrap it up for the evening?

SPEAKER_01 23:53

No, no. I just thank you everyone for joining. Um, if you do need our services, we're more than happy to help. Um, you know, as soon as you know you think you need our help, let us know because we want to um do our search as soon as possible to help you find the best possible aid for your needs. Um, you know, I only I know we only have a few minutes, but just want to share a story about real quick um our recent client. Okay. So um, my a physical therapist that I was in touch with 10 years ago, that is now a good friend. We helped his dad get from Israel to here. We were with him in a hotel room on and off for two weeks 24-7. Um, Charles, with all his experience and certifications and everything, got him very easily into Bristol. That was needed. So just know we could help not only with companion services, but also if the time comes that your loved one needs to go into a nursing home assisted living, we could help you with that transition as well. So anything you need, let us know. And um, that was a that was a great experience. I love doing that. And um, you know, I still I still am in touch with his dad. And um, that's a thing too. We we not only care for your loved ones, but we end up loving them too. So you might visit or call to see how they're doing even when we don't work for you anymore, because that's the type of people we are.

SPEAKER_00 25:30

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. That's right. And and people, you know, you know, potential uh uh clients and families uh just have to know that you know when you have a company and you're and the the the clients are staying with you, that's a really good sign. If they're moving around and they're going from different companies, that means they're not getting the right um connection with their loved ones. It could be for various reasons. So that's what that's why um Grace and I are very, very, you know, we're very critical of those important factors. And that's why it may take a little more time for you to get us involved and get that companion out there, but it's it's it, you know, it's worth it because the end result is you're gonna you're gonna be much happier. Um, and then I I wanted to finish with um one last thing um that Grace had mentioned about transitions, uh, transition specialists. Um I do it myself, um, especially if it's a transition from nursing home to hospital back to nursing home or assisted living. Um, I work with the families. Uh, we have uh a few now that are transitioning either out of a hospital into a uh nursing home assisted living or they're going back home. And we're gonna be setting up some companion care when they get home out here in Suffolk County. And uh we're working on some uh that if any of our clients need it in Nassau County too, we'll be more than ready to assist them. So it's more than just getting a companion, you're getting a company that will be there with you from the beginning to end. All right, all right, all right, yeah. Thank you so much. I had a great time, Grace. I can't believe it's it's it's you know, we're back back at the crunch tomorrow. We got to go back out there. We're pretty busy. All right, all right, you're everyone. Yeah, you have a great evening. Okay, goodbye, everyone.