CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — Looking after an aging loved one can be a daunting and sometimes overwhelming task. Whether you need help full time or for a few hours per week, Always Best Care St. George offers companionship care and nonmedical assistance to seniors in the comfort of their own homes.
Always Best Care St. George will open in late August and is the inaugural Utah franchise partner of Always Best Care Senior Services, which has grown to more than 100 locations across the United States and Canada since 1996.
Always Best Care of Southern Utah owner and administrator Henry Lee said they want to embody the name of the business and “provide the best care in the industry.”
“We’re in the process of introducing ourselves and the services we offer to the community,” Lee said.
Always Best Care delivers their services in a three-tiered approach. Level 1 offers light housekeeping, laundry, transportation, meal preparation and other general help. The next level includes physical care such as bathing, grooming, dressing, help with exercise and facilitating special diet needs. The third and most intensive level provides nonskilled hospice and assistance for individuals who are incontinent, bedridden or confined to a wheelchair.
The goal is always to empower clients to do as many daily activities on their own as they can, Lee said.
“We want them to age with care and independence and with grace. Aging is a part of life, and we do our best to help our clients age with dignity and independence.”
Care includes a free service called “Always in Touch.” On days when clients don’t see their caregiver, they instead receive a checkup phone call from a staff member to help anticipate their needs during their next visit. Lee told St. George News that this amenity distinguishes Always Best Care from other agencies serving the local area.
Services aren’t limited to senior citizens, however. Always Best Care also works with new mothers, veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.
Always Best Care fills the gap between medical care and independence, Lee said, but when clients are no longer able to remain at home, the company offers assisted living placement at no cost.
Providing compassionate in-home assistance to seniors is an inspired mission for Lee and his family, who emigrated from the Philippines 24 years ago. After witnessing his 82-year-old father aging and becoming more involved in his daily activities as a result, Lee felt compelled to bring quality elder care to St. George and its rapidly growing retirement-age population.
He co-owns the business with his wife, Julie. His mother, Lea Geneciran, serves as staffing coordinator and oversees the hiring and training of caregivers. Having worked as an in-home aide herself for over a decade, Geneciran understands the day-to-day demands of caregiving and how equally taxing and rewarding the work can be.
“I joined my son because I have a passion for the elderly,” she said. “They’re our parents, our uncles, our aunts. … I just want to give back to them what they have given to us – the care they deserve.”
Lee said that besides looking out for their clients, a big part of the business is taking care of the caregivers in his employment as well.
“We want to treat them as our family because they are an extension of our business.”
In addition to thorough training and continued online learning, caregivers undergo background checks, drug screening and are educated in CPR and updated safety guidelines necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lee said he is committed to recruiting and retaining top-quality staff by offering a competitive wage.
Along these lines, he has set first-year goals of hiring at least 50 caregivers and providing a minimum of 20,000 hours of service to clients in the St. George area, with plans two or three years down the road to expand into northern Utah and eventually Las Vegas, regions currently without Always Best Care services.
Care consultations are always free and can be scheduled anytime online or by calling 435-216-7080. Lee said his business operates with an “open-door policy” and invites the community to learn more about Always Best Care by calling, emailing or visiting their offices on Riverside Drive in St. George.
“We do put our hearts out there and want to offer the best service in town,” he said. “This is personal for us.”
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Written by ALEXA MORGAN for St. George News.
Resources
- Always Best Care of Southern Utah | Address: 1079 E. Riverside Drive #202, St. George | Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 to 5 p.m. (24/7 call center) | Telephone: 435-216-7080 | Email: [email protected] | Website
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