Notes from Glenn entering the 20th week of supporting our Clients and Caregivers, with office team & nurses working remotely.
Virtual may be Better. Who Knew?
We “soft” reopened our Mamaroneck office last week with 2-3 WFC office and nursing team members rotating during business hours which gives us a presence for any in-person engagements. Having passed through this sought-after phase, I have to report a surprising and satisfying finding: our team members – caregivers, nurses, and office staff – are enjoying conducting business virtually, with new efficiencies and managing time and workloads.
In the twenty urgent weeks since transforming WFC into a functional virtual operation, we’ve all had time to adapt to our new normal ways. And, it’s fair to say that the pandemic pushed us to make some technical changes and process changes will continue but with an in-person orientation where needed to ensure our caregivers and clients receive the in person interaction and supervision where needed. These include:
- Leveraging our VOIP and Microsoft Teams platforms for seamless communications
- Upgrading user equipment for consistent experience at home, in office, in the field
- Exclusively conducting interviews virtually
- Creating virtual, instructor led training and orientation content and experiences
- Enjoying the benefits of going paperless including our onboarding processes and all records
Thank You, WFC HR Team and Adaptable Caregivers
There are still practices which will need to continue on an in-person basis – competency reviews will continue both in the classroom and in clients’ homes. During this past week, however, we successfully conducted five different virtual in-service training sessions with caregivers. Congrats, HR team, for doing such a great job of making this seamless transition from in-classroom training to virtual learning!
And huge credit goes out to our resillient caregivers with a range of ages and technical skills (and their in-house support from family members) who transitioned to the virtual platform with savvy and an impressive attitude. What a welcome indication that future caregiver engagement and training events, can now go forward as virtual Town Halls and classes with briefer content per meeting but more frequent occurrences per year.
We’ve accomplished all of this without needing to furlough any in our workforce making us a stronger WFC family, indeed.
The Good Trouble with John Lewis
With the sad passing of Congressman John Lewis, we’ve all had the opportunity to reflect on his many accomplishments. Perhaps his most long lasting legacy is that he went out with his head held high and working, working, working until the end of his 80 years. We’ve written often here about active, graceful aging but his life was on an entirely different level of accomplishment, attitude, resilience over a lifetime of struggle and loss and an example for those around him and future generations.
So it came as no real surprise to see a final essay written by John Lewis and scheduled for publication on the New York Times Op-Ed page this past Thursday, July 30th, on the same day as his funeral.
This was a leader who instilled hope, never gave up and kept his eye on the prize. Remarkably, John Lewis’ final essay is addressed to the young people who will come after him as he encourages them to move forward with love and non-violence, two hallmarks of his legacy. Knowing that he was staring down his battle with pancreatic cancer, the 80-year-old “Conscience of the Congress” pressed on with his signature issues until the end with dignity and grace. A civil rights icon, to be sure, but he is also a hero to our senior community for his energy and courage to keep the fight going. Barack Obama: “Not many of us get to live to see our own legacy play out in such a meaningful, remarkable way.”
I hadn’t realized the extent of his tremendous accomplishments and resiliency starting from a very young age. Story after story retold as we mourned his passing left me very moved and even more determined to do more.
“When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.”
John Lewis, Valedictory Essay, July 30, 2020
New York Times
STAY SAFE. STAY HEALTHY. STAY HOME.
Westchester Family Care Inc. assists people of all ages, by customizing home care plans to maintain a healthy quality of life and safety at home.
Contact WFC for an immediate family need or when planning for future needs: info@westfamilycare.com, 914-764-7500, www.westchesterfamilycare.com.
Westchester Family Care Provides Peace of Mind and Confidence that the Elderly Are Safe and Living with Dignity in Their Own Home.