It's a topic many are reluctant to face, amidst the stresses and hassles of an already-busy life: what is to be done as one's aging parents or grandparents begin to need additional help or care? With constraints on available time, finances, and resources, many people simply have no answer, and yet avoiding the question cannot make the problem any less inevitable. For many families, the issue becomes further complicated by the fact that elderly loved ones may themselves be reluctant to burden family members, or even to accept that they need some help.
For Dana Ginter, a 20-year UPS employee, wife, and mother of two teenagers, the question led to a new interest and a change of career. Her grandmother, soon to turn 84, was beginning to need extra help. "Now that she is in a position to require some assistance, I began aggressively researching in-home caregiving options," states Ms. Ginter. "As I progressed through the options for help, I realized the growing need to serve our senior community. It's not just my family that needs help."
Ms. Ginter found her answer, along with a way to help other families in her area, in the decision to own and operate her own Acti-Kare Responsive In-Home Care location. A respected nationwide franchise, Acti-Kare provides professional quality non-medical services to seniors in need of assistance. With a focus on supporting the client's own activity level and independence, Acti-Kare provides a flexible, individualized service that is easily adaptable to each senior's needs - even if those needs evolve and change over time.
Highly trained and compassionate Acti-Kare caregivers can provide a wide range of services, from companionship, transportation, and mobility assistance, to help with errands, bill-paying, shopping, and nutritional aid, to light housekeeping duties and personal care assistance, and more. Many caregivers have prior experience and/or training in caring for those with Alzheimer's or other special needs, and clients can easily obtain as many hours of support as desired or needed.
"My grandmother has always been an extremely independent woman," says Ms. Ginter about her own family's experience. "Yet she has very limited driving abilities, and I often felt guilty for not having the flexibility to take her to her medical appointments. I see a real need for transportation to and from appointments," she adds. "I had a hard time finding that, and it is one of the many types of services Acti-Kare's caregivers can provide."
"Acti-Kare is an ideal solution for seniors trying to maintain their independence as long as possible," Ms. Ginter states. "Even at 84 years of age, my grandmother still mows her lawn and takes refuge in maintaining her home and landscape -- she does not accept help or assistance easily." For clients or families facing similar situations, Acti-Kare's services provide the needed support while enabling seniors to stay in their comfortable and familiar home environments for as long as possible, maintaining their sense of pride and dignity. "Seniors need someone they trust to help them," she comments.
A lifelong Louisville resident, Ms. Ginter is enthusiastic about the benefits her new Acti-Kare branch will bring to her community, and her endeavor has already won local accolades. "It's exciting to see a successful corporate leader branch out in an entrepreneurial business with such passion and purpose, " says Joe Reagan, President and CEO of Greater Louisville Inc., the Metro Chamber of Commerce. "Louisville is also the international center for the aging care industry and we know that Dana and Acti-Kare will help us create an environment for innovation in long-term care. We wish her the best!"
"My grandmother had herself been a caregiver for several years," Ms. Ginter adds. "She taught me a great deal about our aging society. Now I have the opportunity to not only spend time with her, but to invest in my community and give back to those who deserve it most ... our seniors."
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