At a Glance: Nurse Next Door
Services: Casual, enriched, vital
Employees: 70 workers and companions
Established: In Mississauga since 2000
Goals: To provide assistance and care no matter how large or small the need.
Website: nursenextdoor.com
Health care issues within their own family opened Lucie and David Shaw’s eyes to a growing need in our community. When David’s parents became too elderly to care for themselves, family members stepped in to ease the transition. But when the care required more attention, they had no place to turn.
“It can be quite frightening to know you’re doing all you can do, but it may not be enough,” says David. “We saw the need within our own family and we knew it must be affecting others.” The result was Nurse Next Door, a fast-growing home care franchise that offers varying degrees of service for seniors across Canada and locally throughout the GTA.
By offering relief to families that have been forced to take on so many responsibilities, Nurse Next Door fills a growing need in our society while also celebrating aging. “With a large segment of our society moving into their retirement years, greater stress is being put on adult children (and grandchildren) to take care of their parents,” explains Lucie. “The service we offer can relieve some of that physical and emotional stress. The family knows that help is here and that proper care will be given.”
With a team of trained caregivers and professional healthcare providers, Nurse Next Door can meet virtually any need the client requests. The key, the Shaws explain, is to make sure the people they’re caring for are comfortable and enjoying their lives. As a result, the type of care varies by the individual and levels of attention required.
That means visits are broken into three distinct categories: Vital Care, for those with special needs such as Alzheimer’s where around-the-clock care may be necessary; Enriched Care, where supporting life essentials such as meal preparation, bathing and medication management is required; and Taking Care, where companionship, light housekeeping and driving needs are met.
Lucie is quick to point out that care provided by Nurse Next Door is not meant to replace that given by loving family and friends, but rather to complement and to provide qualified assistance and relief for sons or daughters. In particular, she notes, are those caught in the “sandwich generation” who are caring for their aging parents while supporting their own children. For this group, time demands can be great.
“It can be difficult if you have to pick up your kids from school while also facing an important doctor’s appointment for your parents,” says Lucie. “Families are getting pulled in so many different directions that they might not be able to do everything that needs to get done. We can help.”
Talking Point: Transitional Care
Nurse Next Door often provides transitional care for those who have had an operation or are just coming home after a lengthy hospital stay. Here, the goal is to get the patient back to doing the things they love and enjoy.
“That’s what it’s all about, really,” Lucie says. “Getting back into your routine, enjoying your life and doing what makes you happy.”
She says Nurse Next Door strives to provide a type of care which can be a great comfort to those who have sought assistance for a parent or an elderly family member. Organizing meetings with friends, running errands, even going for a walk are activities that may be considered small, but can become difficult if you need assistance to do so.
Lucie says even simple companionship or a visit a few times a week can make a difference in somebody’s life, and Nurse Next Door is there to handle these tasks too.