Comfort Keepers offer successful comforting solutions for in-home care

By ELLEN KOLMAN - Staff Writer - ekolman@starbeacon.com
Star Beacon

July 01, 2009 12:46 am

— ASHTABULA — Bonnie Warren founded Comfort Keepers in Ashtabula six years ago with a vision to help seniors live full independent lives in their own homes.
“I was a banker, but I was looking for my own business, and Comfort Keepers fit my personal vision for the care of aging loved ones,” Warren said. She shares the business with her son Jack Warren, who is the general manager of the business.
Comfort Keepers, an independently owned and operated franchise of CK Franchising Inc. of Dayton, provides non-medical in-home and personal care services for area senior citizens.
“I began a Comfort Keepers in Ashtabula in 2003. In 2006, we bought two franchises and expanded to include Lake and Geauga counties, and in 2007 we expanded again to include Lorain County,” Bonnie Warren said from their new satellite office at 1544 W. Prospect, in the Shear Design Hair Salon building.
“To centralize our main office, we moved it from Ashtabula to Concord Township, but our clients seemed uncomfortable with us serving them from out of town, so we have opened a satellite office in Ashtabula,” Bonnie Warren said. “Although our clients never come to us — we actually go to them — sometimes family members feel more comfortable interviewing us in an office.”
The new office will not be staffed all the time but will be used for phone calls, interviews and as a supply depot for the caregivers.
Comfort Keepers provides personal care services, including bathing, grooming and hygiene care; mobility assistance; transferring and positioning; toileting and incontinence care; feeding and special-diet meal preparation. It also provides companionship services, including incidental transportation services, medication reminders, meal preparation, light housekeeping, errand services, grocery shopping, grooming, live-in services (where available), 24-hour care, and respite care or relief for family members.
“When Bonnie started this business, I thought what a great way to serve this population,” said Diana Chike, client care coordinator. “I have an elderly father, and I can appreciate what our service provides.”
As of April 1, Comfort Keepers was awarded the contract to provide homemaking and chore services through the Ashtabula Senior Services Levy, Jack Warren said.
“We are currently servicing 180 Ashtabula County seniors through the Senior Levy, and we have room for about 20 more,” he said.
Homemaker services provides seniors with limited services, including light housekeeping, laundry, meal planning, meal preparation and kitchen care.
The Senior Services Levy is a five-year one-mill property tax levy, which generates approximately $1.6 million per year. It provides funding for programs that enhance the lives of county seniors. The homemaker service program is free and available to county residents over age 60, to help maintain their health and live independently in their own homes, Jack Warren said.
“Our whole purpose is not to just perform the mundane chores, but to provide companionship and get the clients to interact and help them feel like a valued person,” Chike said. “Our caregivers truly give it their all.”
There are about 95 caregivers employed at Comfort Keepers right now, plus eight administrative employees.
“Twelve of our caregivers are trained in Alzheimer’s and dementia care,” said Jack Warren. “When our caregivers work inside the home, if they are trained to deal with these issues, they can relate to these clients in an understanding way and communicate with them and their families more effectively.”
In fact, the Alzheimer’s Association recognized Comfort Keepers as a premier provider in northeast Ohio.
The secret of Comfort Keepers’ success, even during the economic downturn, is fourfold: face-to-face meetings with clients and families; community involvement; customer referrals; and the hiring of an absolutely stellar staff, Jack Warren said.
“We give our caregivers the tools they need in training and education,” he said. “All of our caregivers are employed and accountable to us. We are bonded, insured and are a drug-free workplace. We do background checks on everyone we employ.”
Comfort Keepers does not accept Medicaid or Medicare. It is a private-pay agency, but it is reasonable and flexible.
“We are available for as little as two hours at a time per visit; one visit per week, that is our minimum. Most agencies have a four to six-hour minimum,” Bonnie Warren said. “Our clients just love our caregivers. They enrich our clients’ lives.”

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