Times-Advocate, 1988-10-19, Page 11Times -Advocate, October 19, 1988 Page 11
Clients appreciate Town and Country Homemakers
illy Yvonne Reynolds
E*CETER - Among the happiest
partnerships in Huron County.are
some elderly and/or partially inca-
pacitated people, and the trained
homemakers whose van; makes the
difference between going to a nurs-
ing home or hospital and being
able to manage at honk.
Invariably; -a strong pond soon
develops between the clients and
the homemakers, who become
their dear friends. These matches
.are- made, not in heaven, but
Irs Dorcy, where Marie Fydenchuk
has been --homemaker for the past
two years.
"With Marie and homecare, l can
keep our house. 1 couldn't with-
out. It. means a lot, and takes a:lot
of responsibility off me",- Phyllis
Dorcy said. •
She explained_ that h4r 86 -year-
old hushand has his days and.
nights mixed•.up. Shc manages at
night, and relies on a homemaker
for three days a Heck,• three hdurs
each umc.
much. as before.
"Pride is cold comfort. When .1
think of the damage I have done to
my heart and my legs, I wish I had
called in'a homemaker years ago",
she said.
Finkbeiner had been worried that a
stranger coming in would cause
stress.. Shc discovered that her life-
style was not altered but improved
$he reports that homemakers .Flor-
enceLabreche and Grace Sararas "arc
two of the greatest friends in the
:world. They arc wonderful at keep -
11
tl
A VISIT - Exeter Mayor Bruce Shaw dropped in to talk to Muriel Dunlop (right) and Homemaker Grace Sararas to
learn more about the work of Town and Country Homemakers. The Wingham-based agency receives support from
the town of Exeter. •
through Huron's own non-profit
service agency, Town and Country
Homemaker:.
A group of local policitians,
with Ruth Stover representing
MPP Jack Riddell, accompanied
Jean Cladding, the agency's servic-
es manager, owe "walk-aboue' iU-
hcar at first hand what Town and
Country Homemakers means to
the recipients of the service.
At the first .stop in Exeter, all
were ushered into the elegant apart -
"They are the kindest
people I know"
ment maintained by Muriel .Dun-
lop
un-lop with • help from homemakers
such as Grace Sararas.
For the past six years, N1rs.
Dunlop has had a homemaker stop
in for three hours a day:, six morn
ings a week. The homemaker
helps her in and out of the tub,
prepares a hot noon meal with
something left in the fridge for
supper, and keeps the apartment
- tidy. •
When liked her opinion about
hue homemaker,. qtr.. Dunlop re-
plied emphatically, "I couldn't live
without them!"
Shc noted that though the horitc-
maker keep the house clean, they
are not housekeepers.. Besides
looking after her so well. she said
they .spoil her by extra gestures
• like bringing in treats from home
gardens.' -
"They are the kindest people 1
.know, and 99 percent of them arc
perfect", she concluded.
•
• The worlds may have been slight-
ly different, but the tune was the
same at the home of Ed and Phvl-
Fydcnchuk makes the:beds, docs
the- dishes, -vacuums, cleans the
bathroom, prepares a hot noon
Meal, and docs the laundry.`
Fydcnchuk • is .also a friend and
Companion. She and Phyllis Dorcy
have some good chats.
"Shc takes my mind -off myself",
Mrs. Dorcy said. -
* * * *
Homemakers visit Vi and Whit-
- ney Coates five days a wcck.
. "They mean everything to me. -I
can't do- anything", said Mrs.
Coates. She is legally blind, has
asthrna and was recently fitted with
a pacemaker..
"1 couldn't do without our home-
-makers. I can't even -toil water",
Mr..Coatcs added. .
• Each homemaker has her special-
ty. Jean Gingcrich gives the Coates
personal care when she is on duty.
Margaret Jean Wafting clots regular
cleaning, and Joan Fahic tidies the
house "and make them laugh". All
three prepare meals, and help Mrs.
Coates with her hair and her
clothes. .•
"I understand why Mrs. Coates in-
sists on everything being put hack
in its place, because my grandmoth
er was blind", Gladding observed.
* * * *
Irene Finkbeiner tried to remain
independent after returning home
from treatment in hospital for heart
trouble four years ago. She is also
diabetic.
Her health quickly deteriorated as
she tried to keep up with the tasks
expected of a farmer's wife. Soon
her hushand was caring for hcr, a9d
doing many 'of the household
'chores. A friend -suggested she ask
frit a homemaker. She (lid, ,last
year.
The change is remarkable. Physi-
cally, Mrs. Einkheiner is much bet
ter; she is not in bed one-quarter as
ing my morale up".
Finkbeiner noted that she was
able to weather a three-week flare-
up of her diabetes at home with the
help of hcr homemakers. She com-
pared the cost of having a home-
maker for three or four hours a day
with a three-week stay in hospital.
"My homemakers havc-added
years to my life", Finkbeiner said.
* * * *
The ladies who are employed as
Homemakers are just as enthusiastic
as those they serve. Joan Fahic
summed up their philosophy:. "Wc
are our clients' eyes and Icgs and
arms and voice. Looking down the
road, someday we may be in the
same position:'
Fahic has always liked older peo-
ple, and feels homemaking is her
calling, a chance to pass on some of
the kindness she received from older
people when she was a child.
- ''I love people, and I love helping
them. You become part of the fam-
ily. But you have to like what you
arc doing, or you wouldn't he doing
it", Marie Fidenchuk commented.
"We're certainly not doing it for
the money", Florence Labrcche ob-
"1 couldn't do without
our homemakers"
served. Shc enjoys being a home-
maker, and admits than "my clients
arc always at the back of my mind",
even in off-duty hours.
Grace Sararas primary concern -is
not Money, either. Shc stays as a
homemaker because "1 feel good at
the end of the day, knowing I am
enabling people to stay in their own
homes where they are most happy".
Homemakers' services are pur-
chased by the Homecare department
RENEWING ACQUAINTANCE - Allan Walper (left), a member of the board of Town and Country Homemakers
(which is based in Wingham) chats with Whitney and Vi Coates and Homemaker Joan Fahie.
of the ministry of community and
social affairs, Huron County social
services department, the Cancer So-
ciety, and private clients. Town and
Country charges S8.65 per hour for
the homemakers' services. Fourteen
percent of this is used for adminis-
trative costs, and the rest pays the
homemakers. A yearly campaign
raises money to subsidize those
who need the service, and can not
afford to pay all or any of the
charge.
The dedicated and caring home-
makers employed by Town and
Country Homemakers arc paid from
$5.20 to S6.50 per hour, less deduc-"
tions for Canada Pension and Un-
employment Insurance, plus a bene-
fits package adding another 14
percent, and 21 cents per kilometer
after the initial eight.
Homemakers are given a two-day
orientation course when they are
hired. They receive a Level 1 clas-
sification after 120 hours of service,
primarily general housekeeping.
Graduation from the 12-wcck home -
"They are wonderful at
keeping my morale up"
making course. at Conestogft- Col-
lege and 500 hours of servicearc re-
quired to move to Level 2 and such
responsibilities as providing, clients
with special diets and personal care.
Promotion to Level 3 is accom-
plished through furthcr training via
advanced community courses and, in-
house training through lectures and
actual experience with the VON,
physiotherapists and other -special-
ists on geriatric care, Alzheimer's
disease, chair lifts and similar top-
ics.
* * * *
The service manager agrees home-
makers are special people."If you
don't have a good sense of your own
worth, you can't handle this job.
Some clients have idiosyncrasies a
homemaker has to'adiust to. You
don't always sec people• at their
best, and must sometimes work to
Town and Country Homemakers
is in the forefront of homemaking
agencies, and has been a model for
other communities. A campaign is
SHARING A LAUGH - Stephen Reeve Tom Tomes enjoys a joke with
.Irene Finkbeiner (seated) and Homemaker Florence Labreche. He had
been invited to the Finkbeiner home near Crediton to hear at first hand how
much Homemakers are appreciated by their clients. -
protect their dignity and privacy",
Jean Cladding elaborated. "Each
,brings something special. Because
most come from a rural communi-
ty, they are used to working hard
with little monetary reward."
now under way to raise the profile
of the non-profit organisation, and
make people more aware of the in-
valuable contribution made to resi-
dents of Huron County - by these
exceptional people. -
FRIENDS - Homemaker Marie Fydenchuk has been helping Phyllis and Ed Dorey stay in their own home in Exet-
er. Visiting are Town and Country Homemakers services manager Jean Gladding (back Tett) and Ruth Stover from
MPP Jack Riddell's office.
4
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