Good Neighbor Podcast: Delco
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of Delaware County, PA (Delco"") and the surrounding Philadelphia Metro Region.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Delco
Victor Evereklian and Life Force Elder Care: Fostering Community Spirit in Elder Support
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Victor Everaklian of Life Force Elder Care: Fostering The Gentle Art of Aging at Home
Embrace the warmth of community spirit as we welcome Victor Evereklian from Life Force Elder Care to our Good Neighbor Podcast Delco, where the strength of neighborhood camaraderie comes to the forefront. Victor, a beacon of support for the aging population, shares how his team provides non-medical, live-in care, allowing our cherished seniors the dignity of aging gracefully within the comfort of their own homes. His insights into the unique challenges faced by individuals with Alzheimer's and dementia illuminate the selfless commitment of caregivers who put their own lives on hold to ensure the safety and independence of our elders. If you're navigating the intricate journey of selecting elder care for a loved one, this episode offers valuable considerations and sheds light on financial assistance that can ease the burden.
In a heartwarming exchange, between Good Neighbor Podcast Host, Bob Blaisse, and Victor Everklian, the Founder of Life Force Elder Care , you'll hear Bob express his privilege of acknowledging Victor's exceptional contribution to stay-in-home elder care as being a shining example of a Good Neighbor Business. Bob delves into the profound influence that community service has on our local area, sharing experiences that exemplify his unwavering commitment. Take a moment to inspire our audience to play an active role in creating a supportive and vibrant community. This episode is a testament to the power of collective efforts in establishing a nurturing environment where the elderly can continue to thrive while remaining a resident of their own home with around-the-clock companion care there with them in the home they know best. Tune in to feel the impact of solidarity and learn how you too can make a difference in the lives of those around you.
Website: LifeForceElderCare.com
Call: 1-800-200-3685
--- About The Show--- Good Neighbor Podcast is a spotlight on local businesses in and around Delaware County, PA (“Delco” ) and Beyond... The executive producer and host, Bob Blaisse, is a community sponsorship advocate, business branding specialist, and publisher of several hometown magazines, including: Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors, Marple Friends & Neighbors and Newtown Edgmont Friends & Neighbors, mailed monthly to more than 12,000 homes in Western Delaware County, PA, and also available for reading online.
Elder Care Options for Family
Speaker 1Hello , delco . This is Michael Barkan , welcoming you to the Good Neighbor podcast , where fans of local businesses and their neighbors come together . It's my pleasure once again to introduce my friend and neighbor , our host Bob Blasey .
Speaker 2Michael Barkan . Thank you very much for that introduction . Yes , my name is Bob Blasey and I'm coming to you from the Good Neighbor podcast Delco . What's Delco ? Well , it's that very loving name that we give our home community here in Delaware County , pennsylvania . It's the southeastern Pennsylvania County , outside of Philadelphia and lovingly referred to as Delco we like to think , sometimes the center of the universe here in the US . There's a real vibe in Delco , pennsylvania . Today . Our vibe is going to be carried on by a good neighbor business that we bring onto our program with each and every episode . And what a good neighbor this business is , because for 30 years they've been taking care of our neighbors and our family members . It's an elder care business that we're all familiar with . If you've got older persons in your family or if you are an older person and you're getting ready to think about how can I get help in my home . We're going to talk today to Victor Evereklian from Life Force Elder Care . Let me introduce Victor to you . Hello Victor , hello Bob .
Speaker 3How are ?
Speaker 2you Very good . Thank you for coming on to the program today and thank you for being a good neighbor in the Delaware County community here in Pennsylvania and beyond . We'll talk about that . Victor , can I ask what a great name for your business Life Force , elder Care . I mean it says what you do . You're actually not just caring for elder persons but you're actually doing it with , I guess , a kind of spirit and mission that kind of brings the Life Force back or helps protect it when you're in their home . Tell us , is Life Force a non-medical elder care provider , or is there also some medical care treatment that you provide ?
Speaker 3Life Force is exclusively a non-medical home care service for the elderly .
Speaker 2And when we say service from an age perspective , could the services ? Are the services meaning that , like I need some help because I've got to make sure I'm taking my medicines right , or I know that's not medical a bit , but is it more safety or is it more socialization or is it more getting them out of the hospital ? Tell me , is it something that people should think about getting for their elderly parents sooner than later ? When does care like this start to get considered ?
Speaker 3Well , our service is designed to allow people to stay in their homes for as long as possible . According to the AARP , 91% of people in their golden years prefer being in their homes rather than in a nursing home . And , mind you , we are also a specialist live in caregiver service , meaning our caregivers stay with the client 24 hours in their home to make sure that they are safe and independent .
Speaker 2That's different . I didn't . I always thought that these service companies that help with elder care were kind of in and out , but what you've just told us here is that for for elderly persons who are concerned of living alone , but they do not want to go to a resident living place , they want to stay in their home , you're saying that you can actually hire life force to have caregivers come , I guess in rotation , but to kind of be there 24 , seven if needed .
Speaker 3That is correct and that is our specialty , that is our niche . You see , there are many home care agencies out there . Many of them are skilled nursing . Others are non skilled . Like us , we decided early on to be a specialist in live in caregivers . Now , live in caregivers are a breather part . They are a special kind of people . They have commitment , they have a calling to be in this business , because if somebody is going to spend 24 hours in somebody else's home , they are in essence sacrificing their own private time being in their own homes with their own families . So our mission is to find these people , motivate them , train them , qualify them so that they can go out there and render the service that is needed .
Speaker 3When we say live in , why live in ? Because many of the clients cannot be left alone . Just in point , if , for example , somebody has Alzheimer's disease or dementia , dementia doesn't stop at 6 pm when the caregiver leaves for an hourly service and doesn't start at 9 am when the caregiver comes . So what happens during the night time , particularly with something called the sundown syndrome , where people with dementia are more agitated at night , nighttime . So basically , in essence , our service is a preferred alternative to nursing home placement . The clients who are coming to us are clients that otherwise would be institutionalized in a nursing home or some care facility , and we are here to provide them with an option other than that institutionalization .
Speaker 2Certainly , and it certainly is a better option Someone that has had elderly persons in their life their parents . If you are someone who has lost your parents in years past , you know that those final years are important and they can be extended . That's the nature of keeping the life force there . And how does it happen ? It happens best when they are in familiar surroundings . We are speaking with Victor Everaklian , who is the founder of the long-established life force elder care . It's headquartered in Newtown Square , pennsylvania , but it is also serving clients in multistates in the tri-state area of Pennsylvania , delaware , new Jersey .
Speaker 2Victor , I think that you said that so well that I would almost suggest to you that Lifeforce Lifeforce Eldercare is almost a residential living category business . It's just that the residence is the client's own home and this is different . This is very different and I guess because it seems like it's more hours by . You know a representative of your company trained in this service coming into a home , but for more hours . Can you speak a little bit to what you've learned ? That families you know adult children that have to reconcile this and figure this out ? There is funding available through the senior citizen funds of Medicare and such . Tell me a little bit about not as much the cost for this kind of services , but I'm thinking about where funding comes from for families that may not have the money or may think that it's too expensive . Is it achievable ? Can it ? Is it in within reach for families that don't think it is ?
Speaker 3Okay , we have three sources of payment for ourselves . Initially , when we started Bob way back in 1989 , the sole funding source was private pay . As time went by , other sources have come into existence . The most important one is the state sponsored waiver program , which is a Medicaid program , also known as community health choices . When a client is eligible for assistance at home with care , the waiver program allows that client to receive services in their home at the expense of the state , the Commonwealth and we are an approved vendor to the Commonwealth we have been since 2003 . And as we speak , more than 50% of our current client count is funded by the state Medicaid program called community health choices .
Speaker 3So that's the second source of funding . The first one is private pay , the second is the state Medicaid program known as waiver , also known as community health choices . And the third source , which started with the bank but now has been sort of like retreating , is the so-called long-term care insurance market . What I mean is insurance companies started selling long-term care insurance policies in the mid-90s and it was the rage of the day , if you will . People were buying it like hotcakes . But then insurance companies started receiving claims and they realized that they had underpriced and oversold these policies . So now there is a general retreat in the marketplace for long-term care policies . Here they have curtailed the benefits , increased premiums or a combination of both . It's no longer the great white hope that people were expecting .
Speaker 2Well , there probably is even other sources and it's a person like Victor Everettlian that can help you . If you're listening today , I would highly recommend that you reach out to this man . I'm impressed , victor . I have to say I just had a kind of a real flashback there when you talked about funds being available and the different sources that the goal is for both elderly and also , more importantly , the adult children of the elderly to recognize . Your parent can get care in their own home and there's monies that can offset the expense . So everyone , when they're thinking about , is mom or dad going to have to go into a retirement home or a nursing home ? You know those expenses are high , but you also know that maybe the life force starts to drain in them when they're in those homes . It's retained when they're in their own home and money is available to help offset the costs so that the savings isn't drained .
Speaker 2While you were speaking , victor , I had this clear memory of almost 20 years ago . My mother was passing away from Alzheimer's . We took care of her and it got bad to the end and we had to have her go into a nursing home . She only survived a few months there and yet what ? What was something that I was disappointed to learn . Several years later , when my father got elderly and more so . He lived in 94 and it was time to go into residential living and get in out of . He wanted to go into kind of a not not nursing home but residential living in a senior center , we learned that he had a benefit as a World War II veteran . That was for assisted living and by the time he was 90 he was eligible for it just because he was 90 , but we found out that my mother would have been eligible . So if you're out there listeners and your parents Are , your father , say , was a service veteran in time of war , which includes lots of years there , and even Vietnam is the big one these days . Right for this elderly group getting out more elderly . Now , keep in mind that the wives of veterans are eligible for that . That Assisted living benefit which at the time was for us when my father went in was probably about 1500 dollars . It's probably 2500 by now and that's a big difference when that money becomes available For you to be able to either go into residential living , you know , or have your parents stay at home and use those funds with a company like life force elder care .
Speaker 2Victor , everett Lee and you are a good neighbor in our community and we're very happy to award life force elder care With our good neighbor award and and I want to thank you for sharing this information Because you may never know the things that you've shared here today for listeners even around the country Are going to have them reaching out to service organizations to learn more and finally make the step that we need to get care for mom or dad and we now feel more comfortable that they may not need to go into a nursing home . We can bring someone to their home . That's what life force elder care does and they do it very well . Victor's been doing it for 30 years . If you'd like to reach Victor ever actually and you can reach him direct at his company at the phone number I'd like to give out here 610 359 026 0 , and if you'd like to check out the life force elder care website , I believe Victor , it's simply just life force .
Speaker 3Liveforce elder care dot com the whole word well , that makes sense then .
Speaker 2Life force elder care dot com , and the phone number again is 610 359 026 0 . Victor , is there anything else you'd like to close our episode out with today ? To be able to have our listeners Know is something that Is important when you're making this decision .
Speaker 3I want to comment on what you just said about the veterans benefits , and that's a very important information the veterans Benefits is not easily understood or accessible for the average person . That is why we have contacts with veterans benefits certified analysts Whose business is to navigate the VA system and assist the client with obtaining the benefits that they are entitled to .
Speaker 2That is a very important thing you mentioned at the end and , more importantly , victor , is it your firm will actually handhold your clients towards that organization if they're not receiving those benefits today ? As a consultant , you'll actually help them get into the system to be able to achieve and be eligible for that additional benefit that can help offset the cost of bringing really life force care giver into the home of your Parents or your own home if you actually need care and you want to stay out of that a nursing home . It's real important that you think about this more and it's really important that you maybe reach out to life force elder care , the co and founder of life force
Good Neighbor Podcast Episode Featuring Victor
Speaker 2. Victor , ever , actually and again , you are a good neighbor . Thank you for being on our podcast episode today and I wish you the very best .
Speaker 3Thank you very much , bob , and we are here at the service of the community .
Speaker 1Thank you for listening to the good neighbor podcast hosted by Bob Lacey . This is Michael Barkan inviting everyone to get on the good neighbor team . Nominate your favorite local business to be featured on an upcoming episode by going to gnp delcocom or by calling Bob at 610-557-3745 .