MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Home care agencies are one of the many industries having to make changes to their routines and how they care for people due to the pandemic’s impact.
One caregiver at Griswold Home Care in Myrtle Beach tells News13 she’s had conversations with the elderly people she takes care of to ease their concerns about the pandemic.
Things are a little different at Griswold Home Care in Myrtle Beach. Usually, office staff members like Mary Bartos are at clients’ homes for 45 to 60 days getting to know them.
“You want to know how many grandchildren they have. You want to know what they did in their life,” said Mary Bartos, office manager at Griswold Home Care. “The one thing that brought me to working with the elderly was they have a story.”
But now, COVID-19 has forced them to stop those visits. “It’s devastating,” said Bartos. “We’re just having relationships on the phone, and having that personal relationship is a necessity.”
Caregivers are checking in with office staff to make sure they’re symptom-free before they go into a clients’ home to help them out with a laundry list of necessities.
“We can do anything from a two hour shift to just going to the grocery store and putting the groceries away in the cabinet for someone who was struggling with that, all the way up to providing personal care to someone,” said Bartos.
For caregiver Kristen Mosser, who just finished an overnight shift with someone needing 24-hour care, she sees the effects the pandemic has had on clients.
“You know, being confined, not being able to get out as much as they used to,” she said.
Clients’ families know they’re able to contact the office with concerns too, and even though they’re limiting the amount of caregivers going into a home, Mosser says her clients are thankful she can still come by, help out and keep them company.
“It makes them happy that somebody’s there to care for them,” Mosser said.
Because of the current high demand in caregivers, Griswold Home Care is looking to hire more caregivers right now. Call 1 (800) 474-7965 or email myradmin@griswoldhomecare.com to apply.