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Elderday Adult Day Health Care Lift Line Senior Center Without Limits Learn more at / Obtenga más información en www.CommunityBridges.org or call/ o llame (831) 688-8840 Day services for adults with complex medical conditions Servicios de dia para adultos con condiciones médicas complejas Transportation to medical appointments Transporte a citas médicas Online classes and workshops Clases y talleres virtuales July 2022 edition Special Advertising Supplement to the Santa Cruz Sentinel Young at Heart Young at Heart In Santa Cruz County Continued on page 2 Lifestyle Coaching Alzheimer's and Auto-Immune Therapy Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement HCG and Healthy Weight Loss Stem Cell Therapy Laser Facial Rejuvenation Botox and Fillers IV Infusions and Vitamin Shots Youthful Looks! Healthy Aging & Curious about in-home care? Visiting Angels has answers There is no "one-size- fits-all" approach that works when it comes to people in need, and Visiting Angels recognizes this. As a business provid- ing in-home care services to seniors, Visiting Angels of the Central Coast (VACC) prides itself on personalized, compassion- ate care. "Our primary goal is to keep loved ones safely comfortable in their own homes," says owner Jeanette Pagliaro. Visiting Angels simultaneously helps seniors who need help, and their families. "Families are often most concerned with hygiene, and they may not be comfortable with assisting their parents with bath- ing, toileting, and other personal care activities. Having a professional home care aide can solve that problem and family time can be just that: time together sharing memories and enjoying one anoth- er." For the aging loved one, says Jeanette, compan- ionship and socialization is often what they need the most. "Once people lose their ability to drive and/or do not feel safe leaving their homes, their world becomes exceed- ingly small and lonely." A number of factors may exacerbate this. They may have lost their spouse, friends have passed away, and family may not live locally. "The social interaction the right home care aide can provide is incredibly important to the health of the elderly senior," she adds. "Visiting Angels offers full-time, ongoing care management," says Cindy Saunders, who has served as VACC's Executive Di- rector since 2014. "Every client has a dedicated care manager who oversees the caregivers, develops a relationship with the care recipient and their fam- ilies, and communicates important information to families about their loved one's overall well-being. This is especially helpful to family members who live out of the area or across the country." In her role, Cindy meets with families and their loved ones, sets up the ini- tial care, does home safety evaluations, develops care plans, and uses the information she gathers at the initial meeting to help match the care recipient with the best caregiver. "We look at a caregiver's skill set as well as per- sonality and whether they might have something in common with the care recipient. It is important to find the best match possi- ble." She is also involved in the agency's day to day operations supporting care recipients, their family members, caregivers, and staff. Cindy finds her job extremely rewarding. "At Visiting Angels, we have the opportunity to make a difference in people's lives. Seniors often feel as though their lives have diminished because they are less independent and can't do everything they once did. With assistance from our caregivers, we help our clients to be more independent, so they can continue living at home, enjoying life rather than retreating from living as fully as they can. I have had the honor and priv- ilege of meeting people who have lived very full lives with amazing careers, who made an impact in their commu- nities." The agency has served homemakers, doc- tors, lawyers, educators, authors, artists, disabled veterans, and those in the service industry, and every client has taught her life lessons. "The most com- mon and consistent lesson is at the end of their lives where people will tell me that love and relationships are more important than all the money or success one could have." VACC provides an array of non-medical services. These include hygiene assistance (bathing/show- ering, dressing/undress- ing, grooming, oral care, toileting and inconti- nence care, and makeup, combing and styling hair, shaving); assistance with ambulation; meal prepara- tion and diet monitoring; light housekeeping; er- rands; shopping; transport to appointments; compan- ionship and socialization; medication reminders; pet care; additional support in an assisted living facility; hospice and palliative care; post-hospital dis- charge care; and dementia care. I spoke to Jeanette about how Visiting Angels helps Contributed Photo By Tara Fatemi Walker

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