Up and Running and Listening!

Benzie Home Health Care — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:45:28 +0000

Talking, Listening and Caring. That’s what trained, compassionate volunteers will do when they call older adults who live alone in Benzie County. The goal of the program is to check on the senior’s safety and welfare and to provide much-needed social contact. The call will be placed at an arranged time each weekday. TeleCare staff and volunteers view the well-being of these seniors as their number one priority. When health or safety concerns are identified, they are referred to an appropriate family member, Benzie Home Health Care staff or other agencies. If a participant does not answer the phone after several attempts have been made to reach them, a series of steps will follow to assure their safety and well-being.

TeleCare is a free community service of Benzie Home Health Care and will begin in early January. Applicants will complete a brief form, listing information such as their emergency contacts. To enroll or learn more, call 231-882-5031.

A Little Christmas Spirit

Benzie Home Health Care — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:28:07 +0000

L-R Suzi, Connie, Mellie, Joy, Diane, Jenya, Mary, Deb

The staff of Benzie Home Health Care recently gathered on a Wednesday morning to put together 45 fruit baskets to deliver to our clients. The baskets included fresh apples, oranges, bananas, pears and assorted candy, along with the good wishes of the staff and Shop-N-Save, who generously donated some of the fruit. We had a great time as we assembled the individual baskets and our clients enjoyed getting a special treat from the people who provide extra care all year long!

2009 Annual Meeting

Benzie Home Health Care — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:17:01 +0000

Benzie Home Health Care held its 34th annual meeting on November 7, 2009 at First Congregational Church of Benzonia. The board members, staff and volunteers were honored. The slate of officers was presented and elected unanimously. The Board of Directors for 2009/2010 includes Randy Gilbert (President), Dr. Ruth Catton (Vice President), Judy Welch (Secretary), Paul Patterson (Treasurer), Mary Bruning (Trustee), Amy Jones (Trustee), J.B. Daugherty (Trustee), Pastor Dan Furman (Trustee), Dr. Gerard Mahoney (Trustee) and Nancy Marshall (Trustee). Pastor Jim Petteys gave the Walk-A-Thon report and presented a check for $15,000 from the Benzie County Ministerial Association to Mary Dykstra, Executive Director of Benzie Home Health Care. Nancy Marshall and Bev Toomey gave a very informative presentation on the Coalition Health Access Program and Traverse Health Clinic. Mary Dykstra presented the annual progress report. To view the Donor Recognition Report for 2008-09, click here.

Dementia Care Workshop on “Enhancing Mealtimes”

Benzie Home Health Care — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:05:54 +0000

The NW Michigan Alzheimer’s Association and Benzie Home Health Care present another in a series of dementia care workshops for professional caregivers in Benzie County, “Enhancing Mealtimes,” on Thursday, September 17, 2009 from 1-3 pm at The Gathering Place in Honor. For registration and information, contact Lisa Teglas (231) 929-3804 or email: Lisa.Teglas@alz.org. Available at no charge through grant monies generously donated by the Campbell Endowment Fund, Healthy Youth Healthy Seniors and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

Welcome to Benzie Home Health Care

lci — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:58:05 +0000

Over the years, budget cutbacks, welfare reform, health care reform and an exploding aging population have caused a wide gap in services to our area seniors, a gap likely to increase as baby boomers age. Benzie Home Health Care is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that exists to fill some of these gaps and enhance the quality of life of the aging population in Benzie County.

We help. Our kind and dependable caregivers can assist seniors in a multitude of ways to help them remain as independent and engaged in life as possible because we understand there is no place like home. We can provide assistance with bathing and grooming. We also provide caregiver respite, to give family caregivers up to 4 hours of time off each week while knowing that their loved one is safe and lovingly cared for. We offer caregiver education and resources to empower family members to not only take good care of their loved one, but also care for themselves. We also provide free medical equipment loans from our loan closet of recycled medical equipment.

We care. We’re in the compassion business. Every person deserves to spend their senior years in comfort and dignity, and so we serve them. Our caregivers are competent, well respected, absolutely dependable and love what they do. Two of our staff members have been with us for over 18 years. In the past year, our RN and 6 home health aides have traveled 31,000 miles to make 2600 caregiving visits.

Our Mission

- To provide compassionate, practical and high quality home support to any Benzie County adult over 60.

- To ensure that eligibility for services is not based on ability to pay.

- To continually develop and maintain a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization funded primarily by donations.

Our Primary Goals:

Lessen isolation
Promote independence
Assist as needed with activities of daily living
Help maintain activity levels
Provide friendship, support and peace of mind to our clients and their families.
Respite and education for family caregivers.

Benzie Home Health Care
P.O. Box 804
209 S. Benzie Boulevard, Beulah MI 49617
Phone 231.882.5031
Fax 231.882.5933
E-mail info@benziehomehealthcare.org
Hours: Monday 12:30 to 4:30, Tuesday through Friday 9 to noon.

29th Walk-A-Thon A Success!

Benzie Home Health Care — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:29:34 +0000

The 29th annual Walk-A-Thon was held Saturday, August 1, 2009, with nearly 100 participants and over $15,000 in pledges raised. This event is our most important fundraiser and is critical to our goal of helping seniors in our county remain safely and independently in their own homes for as long as possible. Many thanks to all the wonderful participants, teams, donors and volunteers: Benzie County Ministerial Association for sponsoring the event, Pastor Jim Petteys for his leadership, Liz and Bill Crawford for organizing the delicious brunch, the local chapter of Gleaners for helping with registration and food costs, Pedal Perfection for the use of a surrey bike and bullet bike and to Shop-N-Save for their donation of food. Thanks also to our business underwriters for their help with advertising, brochures and team packets: Crescent Bakery, Community Drug of Benzonia, Bayside Printing, West Michigan Bank and Trust, Franke Family Dentistry, Frankfort Pines, State Savings Bank, Nugent Ace Hardware and Shop-N-Save.

Alzheimer’s Presentation for Family Caregivers

Benzie Home Health Care — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:51:30 +0000

Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease requires incredible patience, understanding and compassion. It can be heart wrenching to watch a person lose their memory and ability to think clearly and eventually their physical abilities. An estimated 135,000 people in Michigan are facing the challenges of this devastating disease.

The Alzheimer’s Association held a free, informative presentation for families and friends caring for a person with dementia at The Gathering Place on March 26, 2009, hosted by Benzie Home Health Care and Benzie County Council on Aging. A “Creating Confident Caregivers” series for family caregivers in Benzie County is in the planning stages. For more information, contact Deb Monroe at the Alzheimer’s Association (231) 929-3804 or email: Debra.Monroe@alz.org

Dementia Care Workshop on “Reducing Pain”

Benzie Home Health Care — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:47:50 +0000

A dementia care workshop on “Improving Communication and Understanding Behavior” was presented on March 12, 2009 at The Gathering Place in Honor and was attended by 50 direct care providers from Benzie and Manistee Counties.

Our next workshop, “Reducing Pain”, will be held on May 28, 2009 at The Maples of Frankfort. For more information or to register, contact Lisa Teglas at the Alzheimer’s Association (231) 929-3804 or by email: Lisa.Teglas@alz.org

Workshops on Dementia Care

Benzie Home Health Care — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Planning Committee

Benzie Home Health Care will sponsor a series of workshops on providing quality care to dementia patients. There is no charge and the training is open to all direct care providers in Benzie County, thanks to grant monies from The Campbell Endowment Fund, Healthy Youth Healthy Seniors, and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. The training will be led by The Greater Michigan Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and is part of their Campaign for Quality Residential Care. The first workshop will be held on March 12, 2009, hosted by The Gathering Place in Honor.