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Thousands upon thousands of people all over
our great country are faced with staying in hospitals, nursing
homes, assisted living homes, and convalescent homes. If given
the opportunity, nearly all of them would prefer to be in their
own homes rather than in institutions. They are more comfortable
in the familiar surroundings of their own homes. Yet being at home requires basic maintenance:
housekeeping, laundry, shopping, and transportation activities.
That is where the role of a caregiver called a homemaker/companion comes
into play. A homemaker/companion represents "people helping people
stay independent." A homemaker helps the client do the home
maintenance activities they can no longer manage on their own so
they can remain independent in their own home.
Homemakers have been traditionally
provided by the private side of local home health agencies.
Having been involved in ownership and management in home health
agencies, the Collins’ family knew that the companion /
homemaker side of a private home health agency was often given
secondary consideration. Most home health agencies are not
geared up to provide homemakers. There seemed to be a striking
need for the delivery of homemaker services by qualified
caregivers. The solution? A company, VIP America,
was formed that specialized in providing quality homemaker care.
VIP America
recruits, qualifies, and refers homemakers, companions and
homemaker live-ins with a focus on the delivery of quality
care-- "people helping people stay independent."
After two years in Companion/Homemaker service, VIP America
became a Nurse Registry adding Personal Care
and Nursing Services to meet the ever growing needs of the
elderly and infirmed. This enabled us to offer services to
clients whose needs had increased, allowing clients to remain in
their own homes.
The Collins family, with 25 years
experience in the healthcare industry, incorporated VIP America
in August of 1997. The company is licensed through the state of
Florida, carries liability
insurance, holds a county zoning business operation permit, and
maintains an office suite in Stuart, Florida, serving a
geographical area in southeast Florida from Vero Beach in the north to Palm
Beach County in the south.
Caregivers are
registered through a
screening process that includes an application,
employment history, local, state and federal criminal background checks, skills
survey, psychosocial information, and an orientation.
Clients are acquired through a complimentary assessment process
that includes a site visit, completion of a client intake
survey, and a listing of client service needs and requests.
Caregivers are then matched to clients. |
