It’s a confusing and emotional time for a family when they have to deal with a parent who is mentally or physical incapacitated due to age or disease.
Lake Orion resident Anita Rowley and her company, Adult Personal Assistant, LLC, hope to help ease that journey by offering full and part-time assistance.
‘We’re there to assist them in whatever need they have,? she said, noting that her company can help with anything from light housekeeping and laundry to grooming and bathing, to escorting to appointments and helping with grocery shopping.
Rowley first developed her company after going through an emotional journey herself, when her mother died of Alzheimer’s a little over four years ago.
At that time, Rowley said she did not know much about the disease or what to do for her mother.
‘We had put Mom in a nursing home,? she explained, noting she didn’t feel she had any other choice. ‘I wouldn’t do it today.?
‘I’m so passionate about this disease,? Rowley added. ‘That’s when I started embracing and training through different associations.?
According to Rowley, for some, nursing home care is the best option, but for others that are willing to put in a little time, they can receive one-on-one home care for a comparable price through Adult Personal Assistant, LLC.
The company offers anywhere from three hours of care twice a week (to help with things like housekeeping and errand-running) to full 24-hour care, and anything in between.
To begin the process, Rowley explained, a family will call her and she will do a phone interview, and then set-up an interview between the family, herself and a few of her employees.
At Adult Personal Assistant, LLC, the same one or two people will work with your family member, and they will all be trained at the same time in order to maintain consistency.
‘You need to have that consistent routine,? Rowley said. ‘Especially for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, if they don’t have that, then their days are all thrown off.?
By maintaining that consistency, a bonding occurs. Plus, Rowley noted, if that routine is developed early on in the patient’s disease, as they progress, they are more apt to let their assistant help because ‘they’ve been doing it the whole time and it’s nothing different.?
‘I’m almost like a matchmaker,? she added about the relationships between her patients and employees. ‘I know all of the workers? potentials and personalities, and I try to fit them by picking the right person for that job and really listening to the family’s needs.?
Rowley will also help train families that want to do the care on their own, as well as help them get in touch with resources they may need.
She also offers a free support group for families twice a month on the first and third Mondays. The group starts at 6:30 p.m., is open to all ages and held at the Orion Senior Center.
For more information about Adult Personal Assistant, LLC, contact Rowley at (810)449-0370 or e-mail privatehomecare@comcast.net.