Older Americans Month was observed in May, but for a select group of caregivers and especially their operations coordinator Ashley Elwell, every month is a good time to care for our elders.
“I really want to flip the script on aging, change the narrative in the community,” says Elwell. “It is not such a negative direction. People don’t need to see it as just a slow decline.”
Already serving 9 nine clients in Pierce County, Elwell hopes those numbers will grow as people become aware of the services offered by Abide Home Care and the atmosphere of respect and attention she fosters in her team.
Working out of Satilla Bluffs and operated by the same parent company, Elwell describes Abide as a sister service to in-home health care.
“We work for the same company, but have different missions,” says Elwell.
Serving both individual guests in the Satilla Bluffs community as well as clients outside the site, Elwell’s team of 15 caregivers focus on the quality of day-to-day life. While some of her team are CNAs and all are CPR trained and certified, Abide’s service differs from hospice and home care. Elwell’s caregivers come to wherever their clients live to help with basic household tasks. Dressing, bathing and cleaning are all vital services they assist with, but Elwell feels that the activities and basic human companionship her team provides are just as important, perhaps even more so.
Clients visited off-site usually just need a little extra help and full time residents typically need more one-on-one care.
“I feel like the longer people live in their home, the better they do,” says Elwell.
When that level of independence is no longer possible, Elwell says they do their best to make clients comfortable in assisted living, but she comes across as many different personality types as their are clients.
“Some of them want independence. Some really want to be taken care of,” says Elwell. “Some of them you have to work really hard to get that smile.”
That smile is what Elwell strives for, even if she has to get her family in on the action to get it. A mother of three, two boys ages 16 and 12 and a 10 year old daughter, Elwell noticed how residents at the facility lit up around her children.
“Some of them are often thinking about grandchildren they haven’t seen in a while, so I’ll bring my kids and they’ll help with bingo or game night,” says Elwell.
When asked if the job is what she expected to be doing when her family relocated from all the way up in Maine, Elwell says she did not predict it but would not trade it for anything.
Drawn by fond memories of his grandparents home in Starke, FL Elwell’s husband Matt searched for work in Florida, but eventually found a good fit for his talents as superintendent of public works in Waycross. A little north of Florida, but still well south of Maine, the family relocated.
“After coming to Waycross, I was looking for part-time work and applied to be a care giver,” Elwell recalls.
Discovering a passion for the job, when the opportunity arose to oversee and direct the full team, she jumped at it.
Which does not mean there haven’t been challenges. Energetic and outgoing, Elwell doesn’t like to sit in the office, so she often gets to see and chat with clients, filling in when a caregiver is absent by helping feed them. This means she sees the good—and the sad.
The good typically outweighs the sad, but the fact is “a lot of our clients in-building have dementia.”
That is when Elwell and her team’s commitment to care is put to the test.
Some residents are very capable. One of Elwell’s favorites is Emerson Pfizer, whose 100th birthday will come in November. A passionate reader like her husband, Elwell enjoys chatting with him. Another resident used to own a salon and still takes great care with her hair and make up every morning.
“I love seeing her taking such great care of herself,” says Elwell.
But other residents might be confused, wanting to go to homes they have not lived in for some time or to talk with people who have already passed.
Elwell says one resident is particularly clever. Disliking the camera placed in her room for her own safety, the resident persistently unplugs it and hides the cord in a new place every time.
Elwell says sensitivity and creativity are required to smoothly redirect these residents to more enjoyable activities and memories. Going for rides, going out to eat, different activities every day and third parties coming in to entertain everyone are just a few tools in her kit to keep the environment fresh and the vibe positive.
While the number of clients in Pierce they serve off site is small, Elwell is confident that if her team keeps doing what they do best, word will get out in the community and they will be able to help care for more older Americans, not just in May but year round.
“I just live in the hope of making a difference in the lives of clients, their families and their caregivers,” says Elwell. “I want all of them to feel safe coming to me with anything.”
Emerson Pfizer (left) shares his favorite activity, reading, with Ashley Elwell, Abide Home Care’s Operations Coordinator for the Southeast Georgia Region. Photo courtesy of Abide Home Care
