To Serve You
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304-343-5800
Charleston, WV -
304-422-4020
Parkersburg, WV -
740-373-7125
Marietta, OH
Care Services
The Independent Living Services Provided by Comfort Keepers®
Each Comfort Keepers client has unique care needs. That is why we offer a full range of in-home services—to tailor care plans that provide our senior and other adult clients the right amount and types of help to support independent living at home. These services are provided by the special caregivers we call Comfort Keepers, to promote independent living to its fullest. Examples of our services include:
Comfort Keepers has provided services to hundreds of families in the Mid Ohio Valley. Our Care Coordinators bring a wealth of knowledge to each unique case and can advise families on how to overcome the challenges and maximize the quality of life.
In-Home Companionship and Care Services
Conversation and Companionship
Comfort Keepers are available to provide clients company and engage in conversation, or to sit down to share a meal together. Social contact such as this is proven to enhance the health, happiness and quality of life of seniors.
Meal Preparation
Comfort Keepers prepare hot, delicious, and nutritious meals, allowing clients to help with preparation according to their ability. Many seniors do not have the opportunity to eat a well-balanced meal, so this service helps seniors get the nutrition they need to enjoy healthier living.
Laundry
These services can be done in either the client’s home or the Laundromat and include washing, drying, ironing and putting things away. Comfort Keepers involve clients to make sure laundry is done according to their preferences.
Light Housekeeping
Comfort Keepers light housekeeping services include vacuuming, dusting, sweeping and mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms (sinks, tubs, showers, and toilets), cleaning kitchens (sinks, appliances, counters, taking out trash), straightening all rooms, organizing closets and drawers, and cleaning any interior windows that can be reached without a ladder. Comfort Keepers does not provide outdoor cleaning or maintenance.
Grocery Shopping/Errands
Comfort Keepers shop for groceries at stores of their clients’ preference and run errands, such as picking up prescriptions or going to the post office. Clients may choose to stay home or help with the shopping and errands as an excellent way to stay active and engaged. Comfort Keepers will use any coupons provided.
Incidental Transportation
Comfort Keepers provides transportation incidental to other care services, such as taking clients to medical appointments, barbershops, beauty salons, shopping, or wherever else a client wants to go. Getting seniors out and about is good for their mind, body and spirit—and an integral part of Comfort Keepers’ Interactive Caregiving™.
Medication Reminders
Comfort Keepers can help ensure that clients take their own medication as prescribed. They can assist with opening medication containers, reading labels and reminding the client when it is time to take a dose. Also, see Private Duty Nursing (PDN) services below.
Respite Care or Relief for Family
Caregiving can be rewarding and often strengthens bonds within a family. At the same time, caregiving can be demanding amidst life's other responsibilities.
Family caregivers and those in their care can benefit from a little time off now and then. That is why Comfort Keepers offers respite caregiving. This service can be scheduled as needed to provide family caregivers time to run errands, go shopping or get some much-needed rest.
Personal Care Services
Bathing, Grooming and Hygiene
Comfort Keepers help clients look and feel their best. These services enhance clients’ mental as well as physical well-being, helping them feel positive about their appearance. Bathing not only cleanses the skin, but goes deeper to refresh the spirit, provide relaxation and stimulate circulation.
Mobility Assistance
Comfort Keepers assist clients as needed with mobility to help them maintain as active a lifestyle as possible. Being able to get out and about offers both physical and mental health benefits to seniors. Physical health benefits of activity include increased stamina and energy, a strengthened heart, lower blood pressure and improved digestion and sleep. In addition, activity improves mood, releases stress and increases mental alertness.
Transferring and Positioning
Comfort Keepers are trained to move and place clients in correct posture position to promote health and safety and proper functioning of the body's many systems. Proper transferring and positioning from or into beds and chairs eliminate pressure areas on the skin, reduce weakening and stiffening of muscles, and encourage proper breathing, digestion and elimination.
Toileting and Incontinence Care
Comfort Keepers compassionately and sensitively care for seniors and other adults, helping them maintain dignity and self-esteem as they receive help with the activities of daily living. Through this caring approach Comfort Keepers help to lessen clients’ embarrassment associated with the loss of independence related to incontinence and need for toileting assistance.
Feeding and Special Diet
For a number of reasons, adults may need help feeding themselves. This loss of independence can be difficult to accept. Comfort Keepers understand this and make the extra effort to turn mealtime into an enjoyable social time.
In addition, Comfort Keepers help make certain that seniors and other clients stay on prescribed diets to prevent or control a wide variety of medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis. And in general Comfort Keepers enable clients to eat a well balanced diet that provides the energy needed for active living and nutrients for disease prevention, healing and healthful living.
Care Coordination
Senior Care encompasses many aspects of life requiring a multi-disciplinary team to meet the widely-varied needs of each senior. Comfort Keepers can play a critical role by helping all members of the care team stay informed and coordinated. Family members can be overwhelmed by the time and experience required to coordinate all the details whether the senior is at home or in a facility. Comfort Keepers can fill this role.
Rehab Step-Down/Transitional Care
Making a smooth transition from the hospital or rehab center to home takes planning. Comfort Keepers works cooperatively with your doctor, home health agency, physical therapist, and other health professionals to provide complementary services. This ensures the client is provided a full spectrum of care that will expedite the recovery process and reduce the risk of re-injury.
24-Hour Care
Depending on each client’s needs, Comfort Keepers can provide from just a few hours of service a week to full-time in-home care. Through our 24-hour care service, a team of Comfort Keepers coordinates caregiving responsibilities in shifts around the clock. This offers clients and their families full-time peace of mind.
Specific non-medical in-home care services can be tailored to meet each client’s needs. This type of continuous in-home care service is ideal for clients who are at risk when unattended, such as persons with Alzheimer’s disease or high fall risk and End-of-Life situations.
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Private Duty Nursing (PDN) Services
Setting Up Oral Medications
Comfort Keepers’ Nurses can fill Med boxes or automated medications dispensers, set up audible reminders for medication prompting on PERS as well as provide hand-over-hand guidance to help clients administer their own medications.
Administration of Non-Injectable Medications
Comfort Keepers’ Nurses can administer non-injectable medications including oral and topical medications, eye drops, ear drops, aerosol treatments, nebulizers, respiratory inhalants and oxygen.
Administration of Injectable Medications
Comfort Keepers’ Nurses can administer injectable medications including Intramuscular (IM), Subcutaneous (SQ) and Z-Track Intramuscular medication injections.
Filling Insulin Syringes
Comfort Keepers’ Nurses can interpret BS results and physician-ordered sliding scale dosages, draw up and/or mix insulin for future injections and train client or family to perform these activities and help the client to overcome the visual barriers to compliance in this regard. Insulin injections can be administered as part of our Administration of Injectable Medications service.
General Health Assessments, Care Management and Care Coordination
These Private Duty Nursing services include systematized assessment including vital signs (if done by RN) and reporting of data to the client’s physician. Comfort Keepers can also assist with the ordering of Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and other supplies as needed.
Ostomy Hygiene
Comfort Keepers’ Nurses can empty and/or change ostomy bags, perform topical skin care and apply dressings as well as measure and evaluate output.
Catheter Hygiene
Catheter Hygience services include inserting or changing Foley Catheters, emptying drainage bags (Foley, Supra-pubic, Drainage), changing drainage bags, external hygiene of urinary meatus/stoma as well as measure and evaluate output.
Removal/Replacement of Aseptic Dressings
Included in the service is irrigation of the wound bed, application of topical medications and dressings, packing of wounds and assessment and staging of wounds. Comfort Keepers’ Nurses can also these services on wounds that do not require packing.
Monitor Skin Conditions
The condition of the client’s skin can be monitored by our nurses to promote health and healing.
Oral Cavity Suctioning
This service can include suctioning of the nasal and oral-pharyngeal cavities.
Range of Motion
Comfort Keepers’ Nurses can assist, aid and monitor the client through prescribed Range of Motion exercises to promote health and healing.
Transfer Devices
These services include movement and transfer of the client using a mechanical lift (i.e. Hoyer, Standup Lift), mechanical chair or other slide/transfer device.
Evaluation of Private Duty Nursing Services Care Plan
Comfort Keepers’ Nurses can evaluate the client’s response to interventions, adjust plan of care, communicate plan of care to caregiver, client, family and referral as well as request Physician Orders where necessary.
Train Special Services
Training services include education the client, caregiver and/or family on teachable tasks that may include:
- Diabetic Tracking
- Nutritional Standards
- Medication Administration.
This is particularly important where the family caregiver is changing after ‘covered’ training has been completed.
Nail Care
Nail Care includes the cutting and trimming of both finger nails as well as toe nails by our nurses.
Bowel Program
Special services in the Bowel Program include supervision of timed toileting and massage of the abdomen.
Specialized Care Services
Dementia Care/Alzheimer’s Care
Many of the Comfort Keepers offices provide care for clients that are experiencing symptoms of dementia. Some clients may experience momentary confusion or lapses in memory, but others are dealing with advanced stages of dementia conditions. For those that provide this specialized care, specially trained Comfort Keepers will provide activities that can improve a person’s quality of life such as music and other activities to stimulate the senses.
End-of-Life Care
Our compassionate Comfort Keepers come to the aid of individuals who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. We help them and their families with emotional and moral support as well as helping out around the home and providing personal and companionship care—whatever is needed.
Comfort Keepers can support the family directly or work in partnership with a hospice agency or medical provider to fully meet the family’s needs.
Our ultimate goal is to help families make the most of their time together, helping to lighten the burden at a very difficult time. Through respite care, we give family caregivers needed rest.
And we can continue to help after a loved one’s passing. Our Comfort Keepers help families deal with the grief and assist with tasks such as organizing personal items and moving belongings—or just being there to listen if family members need to talk.
Parkinson’s Care
Clients afflicted with Parkinson’s face their own uniqueness of challenges. Comfort Keepers can provide assistance with specialized training to help Parkinson’s clients maximize their quality of life.
Veterans Care Programs
Veterans or surviving spouses of veterans in need of in-home care may qualify for benefits through the Veterans Administration. Comfort Keepers is proud to serve those who have served our nation. We assist veterans and their spouses in the application process and provide in-home care services for approved participants in VA programs.
SafetyChoiceTM Technology Solutions
Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS)
For safety and security when a caregiver is not in the home, the SafetyChoice® Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) is an excellent and affordable choice. Seniors can easily summon emergency help at the push of the button on the pendant, wrist band or base console. Daily reminders can be recorded in the voice of a family member or caregiver to provide additional level of comfort.
Medication Management System
The SafetyChoice® Medication Management System can help a senior stay on schedule with a confusing array of multiple medications. This machine helps to organize medicines in a secure compartment and dispenses them in accordance with the prescribed schedule with associated visual and audible reminders. If a dose should be missed, the system automatically sends an alert to the Comfort Keepers’ Centralized Monitoring Center so a loved one or caregiver can be notified.
Portable GPS-Based PERS
Similar to the home unit described above, the Portable PERS with GPS technology is designed for active seniors who spend time away from home or live in rural areas. This small device, about the size of a cell phone, clips to a belt or arm band and allows the Comfort Keepers’ Centralized Monitoring Center to easily locate a senior who becomes lost or needs help.
Door and Window Sensors
Safety is often a concern of loved ones when a person with dementia begins to wander. These sensors can help to promote security by allowing the Comfort Keepers’ Centralized Monitoring Center to monitor doors and windows. If a door or window is opened, the monitoring center will alert the loved one or caregiver on the responder list.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
In conjunction with the PERS base system described above, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors allow the Comfort Keepers’ Centralized Monitoring Center to monitor for smoke and carbon monoxide and, if detected, dispatch the local fire department. In addition to an audible alarm in the home, voice contact will also be made through the two-way communication feature of the PERS to make certain the client and caregiver are aware of the situation and get to safety.
Bedside Pressure Mats
These wireless floor mats can be placed at bedside or other designated area and monitored by the Comfort Keepers’ Centralized Monitoring Center. When pressure is detected on the mat, an audible alarm can be initiated in the home and monitoring center personnel will contact the designated responders. The mats are ideal for monitoring the safety of people who are at risk of falling or wandering due to dementia.
24 Hours Round-The-Clock Monitoring Center
Always There. Comfort Keepers’ SafetyChoiceTM Centralized Monitoring Station (CMS) never sleeps. Our caring, professional CMS operators are ready 24 hours a day to respond immediately to alerts received through the SafetyChoiceTM in-home safety technology devices described above. A response professional will initiate a call to the client or will respond to a call from the client through the two-way, PERS home console, determine the nature of the call, dispatch appropriate help to the situation—an ambulance, neighbor, family or friend and, unlike other systems on the market, will stay on the line to reassure the senior until help arrives.