By: Joanne Smith,
Certified Nutritional Practitioner
(view her biography)

It seems everyone I talk to these days is either sick, or just recovering from a nasty bug. As individuals with special health conditions or disabilities, we need to take extra special care to ensure that our immune systems are working optimally. Decreased mobility and circulation, as well as altered and compromised digestive systems can often make our immune systems less efficient in protecting us from bacterial and viral infections.

Boost Your Immune System

So boost your immune system and help protect yourself from these dreadful invaders with a powerful herb called Astragalus. The medicinal benefits of herbs have been known for thousands of years. Many aromatic plants contain potent ingredients that can help strengthen and heal the body and don’t have any of the negative side effects associated with many over the counter medications.

For over 2000 years the Chinese herb Astragalus, also known as huang qi, has been known to help protect the immune system, promote healing, provide energy and fight fatigue.

If any of your co-workers, friends or family start sneezing, shield yourself with this herbal armour.

By: Jennifer Watson

>> Another article taken from the Premier Homecare Services Quarterly Newsletter, written by Jennifer Watson. <<

Canada’s leading palliative care educator and spiritual activist Stephen Jenkinson is called the Angel of Death.

A recent PBS documentary titled “Griefwalker” is a friend’s tribute to the work of this Harvard trained theologian. Jenkinson reminds us that death is an integral part of life and that’s why we shouldn’t ignore or deny it but rather befriend it. It is a fear of death which is robbing us of an important and unavoidable transition in life. In the Canadian documentary, Jenkinson asks us to reflect on why life is so important to us, and that the answer lies in the very fact that it ends. “Grief is not a feeling. Grief is a skill,” he mentions. A skill of life is being able to love life while you are living it, being present and enjoying the life you have to live. Grief needs to be coupled with a praise of life, so that where you have one you also have the other.

Many cultures understand the importance of death in one’s life, not only for a spiritual exit but also for the benefit of those loved ones left behind. In the film, Jenkinson speaks to a mother who is in palliative care knowing she is leaving behind a husband and children. He plainly states it is ‘how she will die’ rather than ‘what she will die of’ which will leave the deepest impression on her family and influence their grieving.

Jenkinson offers his teachings to professional caregivers, those in the medical field, volunteers and administrators, and especially for dying people and their loved ones.

You can also read more from him in his book titled “How it all could be: A work book for dying people and those who love them.” His wisdom, humanistic approach and sensible approach to an often “off-topic” topic should not be missed by anyone. Stephen Jenkinson lectures across Canada. Tour stops can be found online at www.orphanwisdom.com . Purchase the “Griefwalker” DVD or look for screenings for the movie directed by Tim Wilson at films.nfb.ca/griefwalker.

Premier is here for you. You and your family are not alone in life’s transitions and challenges. Support, help and resources are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Personalized care for you or your loved one eases your burden and gives peace of mind.

By: Jane Teasdale

What I would like to share is a caregiver journey that I experienced with my father’s passing in 2008. I was very lucky to be surrounded by friends and colleagues from the health care industry – from the hospital to the community agencies –and lucky too that I understood a good bit about navigating the system and being proactive. I preach this in the many presentations I have given to professionals, seniors and baby boomers, so I felt I was well versed. Both my brother and I work in the homecare industry so between the two of us, my dad had an excellent team. In addition, 15 years ago, I was the caregiver for my mother who died of breast cancer, offering my experience in this kind of situation. I kept her home until towards the end and then moved her to the hospital for the last couple days of her life.

Europe Bound

The journey began when my father and his girlfriend were preparing for their annual trip abroad (they were going away for over a month). Before they left, I was going through the usual, “where are your documents?” routine; power of attorney, travel documents, travel insurance, contact numbers, insurance policies, etc. He kept a file in the house and showed me exactly where everything was kept, including the safety deposit key if I needed it.

Two years prior, my father had discovered small spots on his bladder that turned out to be cancerous. He underwent surgery to have them removed and the doctor said he had gotten everything. He was a man that was healthy and independent. He loved to garden and was an avid golfer. He had a clean bill of health to travel.

Early Morning Call

While they were in Portugal I received a call from his partner very early in the morning saying that my dad wasn’t eating, had stomach pains and was a bit jaundiced. I had a feeling this wasn’t a good sign so I asked for her to take him to see a Portuguese doctor for blood tests, ultrasound, etc. I spoke to my dad briefly too but his voice was so weak. I immediately got on the phone to my brother in Victoria, B.C., and gave him a heads up on the situation. Since my father had appointed me his Power of Attorney for Care, I was able to speak to our family doctor, who was also my dad’s doctor, to advise her on what was happening in Portugal. She wanted the test results – the blood work and ultra sound – sent back to her.

The tests from Portugal were faxed to our family doctor and she read me the results (I was given this privilege because of my Power of Attorney for Care): there were cancerous spots on his liver. My dad and his girlfriend were not told in Portugal. Meanwhile, I was on the phone with them trying to explain that according to the family doctor, they needed to be back in Toronto as soon as possible. The next task was dealing with the medical insurance, airlines, doctor in Portugal. Could he handle the flight in his condition? What would happen if he became ill on the plane? What does the medical insurance cover and were the airlines liable? I kept my brother informed so he could organize his life, work and family before coming to help the family in Toronto.

The Flight Home

My father managed the flight, but barely. Jaundiced and losing weight, he couldn’t keep his eyes open or his hands from shaking. He couldn’t concentrate very well either. I had my dad and his girlfriend make notes of what had happened in Portugal from when the symptoms started, what tests he had been given, the results from the doctor and how he was feeling. Once he arrived in Canada, the first step was to visit the family doctor so she could explain exactly what the tests from the ultrasound in Portugal had shown. She told him her diagnosis. My father was then admitted to the hospital where more tests confirmed that he had developed stomach cancer in addition to the cancerous spots on his liver. His legs were swollen and I could see we were going to lose him shortly.

The oncologist wanted to try chemotherapy and my father agreed, wanting a chance to see if it would work. My dad was very weak, unfortunately, and I don’t think the oncologist understood how rapidly he had declined from a healthy gentleman to a man near death. The only ones who could see the decline were ourselves and our family doctor. As it turned out, it was not very long before my father was moved to the palliative care floor. His condition had continued to deteriorate so rapidly that the chemotherapy had been ruled out as an option because he would not have had the strength to endure treatment.

In Canada, At the Hospital

Our family arranged a schedule while he was in the hospital so that there was always somebody at his bedside during the days, evenings and nights. He needed a lot of care in the night and there was no way that I was going to allow my dad to be alone. Looking back, it would have been useful to hire in a caregiver to be at his bed side but we had organized enough family members to manage without becoming too exhausted.

From conversations our family had with my father in the past, we knew that he wanted to come home to die with dignity. He did not want to spend his remaining days in an institution. He wanted to look out at his English garden, smell the cooking in the kitchen, listen to his favourite music with all his books and pictures around, hear the noises of the house and neighbourhood in which he had raised his family, and to hear the birds singing. He wanted his girlfriend holding his hand, his grandchildren laughing and playing outside, his children giving him hugs, rubbing his feet and legs, and taking orders from him regarding his final wishes.

Gathering Resources & Planning for Home

The next task then was to move him home from the hospital setting with the proper supports in place. I asked the hospital staff for information about the Freeman Centre and the Temmy Latner Centre. The Freeman Centre is located at the North York General Hospital. They provide palliative care in the hospital, support for the palliative care team in the client’s home regarding medical and pain management, and can offer valuable advice regarding community resources. The Temmy Latner Centre operates out of Mount Sinai Hospital. They provide end-of-life support services to family members and can provide a doctor to visit in the home to direct pain relief management. I also thought it was beneficial to connect with a local hospice in the area so I asked the hospital staff more about Alliance Hospice. Hospice organizations offer many services that revolve around palliative care, including counselling services for adult and children, or caregiver support provided by trained volunteers for short periods of time.

I spoke to the local Community Care Access Centre (CCAC; publically-funded homecare services in Ontario) about procuring help for my father. They suggested putting him into Baycrest Palliative but I knew this was not a very good option. My dad had less than a couple of weeks to live and I knew that this short outlook qualified him for the 56 hours of care provided by the CCAC.

Bringing Him Home

Upon discharge from the hospital I wouldn’t allow my father to leave the hospital until I knew CCAC would be in that evening, that the hospital bed, special air mattress, medical supplies, pain medication, diapers and hospital table oxygen had all arrived before the ambulance was called.

Once he arrived home we arranged all of the services he was receiving to suit our unique situation. We decided to have the caregiver provided by CCAC to come in during the evening until morning so that we could all sleep (or pretend too, at the very least). During the daytimes, we had St. Elizabeth Health Care provide nursing staff and we employed a personal support worker (PSW) from Premier Homecare Services who was experienced in end-of-life circumstances.

One thing that Premier Homecare Services did was to make sure that we would receive the same caregiver everyday to look after our father. This allowed things to run smoother since we only once had to explain how my dad wanted his food, how he wanted his cushions placed, when he wanted his bath, or how he liked his water with a lemon in it. The caregiver built up a relationship with my father and my father trusted her. We trusted her too.

The Whole Family Experience

Our family came to trust and rely upon the many people and organizations that had been helping us during this emotional roller coaster. Circle of Care provided the social work aspect since we had small children, family members and my father too who benefited from some in-home professional counselling. Palliative care nurses and PSWs, family doctors doing home visits, older grandchildren, my dad’s girlfriend, my brother and I – we all took shifts so we would not get burnt out. And what a time we had!

It was a highlight and celebration when father was comfortable in his own room to watch his soccer on television – his home team Middlesbrough United playing an epic match. After that celebration he quickly declined each day and it took almost one and half weeks before his passing. I can honestly say that my brother, myself, my dad’s girlfriend and all our family fulfilled my dad’s wishes to prepare him for the journey to the next life.

Community Resources

The following are important points that families should do or discuss with your family members before the inevitable happens:

• Contact hospice in your area and educate yourself on palliative care. Alliance Hospice 416-385-8885, Dorothy Ley Hospice Etobicoke 416-626-0116
  • Circle of Care provides bereavement programs and workshops, individual counselling contact 416-373-4093
  • Temmy Latner Centre 416-586-4800 Ext. 7884
  • The Freeman Centre – North York General Hospital 416-756-6000 palliative care floor.
• Attend local health fairs so you are up-to-date with agencies in your community.
• Contact your local Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) for a list of community agencies (there are different governmental agencies in each province).
• Keep a file of resources for yourself to share with your children/family members/power of attorney.
• Ask to speak to a social worker to guide you through the process. Your experience can depend on the social worker and the knowledge and experience they have off community services and providers so arm yourself with your own knowledge and ask, ask, ASK!
• Research retirement homes, homecare agencies, community agencies, long-term care facilities, etc., with your family so you have some sort of a plan of action when the time comes. Keep a file of the community resources and store it near your power of attorney and other legal documents so you can find it whenever there is an emergency
• Use other community agencies such as Parkinson’s Society, Alzheimer’s Society, hospices, senior centres, your local hospital (some hospitals have brochures and information on the floors for the families) and Meals on Wheels.
• Who has the power of attorney? Where are the documents kept? What are your loved one’s wishes? Discuss with your family what your wishes are about anything – homecare, retirement homes, what your wishes are towards end of life care, funeral arrangements, etc. – so they know and understand what you want done.

By: James Watson

The Canadian healthcare sector faces an uncertain future. With the demands of an aging population looming, many critics question whether the sector is up to the task. I am sure many people have heard the argument and understand its basic premise but here it is again: baby boomers & consequent aging population = healthcare crisis. An aging population will increase the demand upon the healthcare sector’s resources and the current state of the system will be unable to meet increasing demands. Changes – BIG changes – must be made to prepare and meet the challenge.

Now here is some good news: I am not the first one to think or write about all this. Policy-makers, government agencies, hospitals, nonprofit organizations and private businesses have been planning for this for quite some time. Even still, it is difficult to say whether we will be prepared. I would like to illustrate the complexity of this problem by taking a closer look at a particular service that Premier Homecare Services provides and is well-versed in. Palliative care or end-of-life care is a topic that has been gaining more and more attention (deservedly so) in the healthcare sector and should illustrate the problem well.

Palliative care is a complex service with many component parts like in-home support, bereavement support, care team support, children’s support, information & education support, pain relief and symptom management. Each of these services may be provided in its entirety or to a certain extent by different providers and organizations. For example: A hospice may provide substantial bereavement support and children’s support but may be limited in how much caregiver support it can provide. On the other hand, a private agency like Premier Homecare Services can provide 24 hour caregivers but cannot provide professional bereavement support or children’s counseling. The reality is that substantial planning is required to coordinate all of the different services and providers, to the extent that the service and provider landscape can quickly become a maze.

This sort of confusion is symptomatic of the looming problem in the healthcare sector facing an aging population. There are so many service providers, organizations, agencies, companies, institutions, bureaucracies, initiatives, aging-at-home strategies and 25 year outlooks claiming to have the solutions that many individuals and families suddenly realize they do not have the knowledge or experience to determine which option may be best in a care situation. Add to this the inherent stress and intensity of the circumstance and it quickly becomes a Catch 22 of information overload.

A colleague of mine with Hospice Toronto (hospices are nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing palliative care and beds) offered me some statistics on death and end-of-life conditions in Canada:

According to the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA):

• Approximately 259,000 Canadians die each year;
• Each death affects approximately 5 family members and/or caregivers;
• With the advancement of treatment therapies, Canadians are living longer in declining health for much longer periods of time than ever before;
• Many Canadians will die with at least two chronic diseases; and
• With our aging population, deaths in Canada will increase over 27% to 330,000 deaths annually by 2026, and 29% to 425,000 by 2036.

As the population ages and advances in healthcare technology extend life and prolong end-of-life conditions, the demand for palliative care services will increase substantially too. The question is whether the current system will be able to meet the forecasted demand.

Palliative care delivery and the healthcare sector as a whole could be made more efficient if access to different service options is improved. Some professionals are already in place to assist this. Social workers, for example, perform highly undervalued work in advising families during  their crisis.

The great problem facing the healthcare sector may not only be whether the service capacity exists (while this is still a very important concern) but whether someone can figure out how to procure the help they require. Knowledge is the solution here and a priority must be placed on public education. Empower the public by educating them about available services before a crisis occurs. Empower professionals like social workers by providing service pathways clear of bureaucratic obstruction and lethargy. Empower Canadians to secure the healthcare services they deserve. In order words: allow for and encourage self-directed care by Canadians as they age.

Here are some additional links to some palliative care related websites:

• What is Palliative Care?
  http://www.palliative.org/PC/GeneralPublic/PalliativeCare/WhatIsPC.html
• Palliative and End-of-life Care
  http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/palliat/index-eng.php
• WHO Definition of Palliative Care
  http://www.who.int/cancer/palliative/definition/en/

From Our Community Newsletter, Autumn 2009:

Whether your loved one has been in a skilled nursing facility, hospital, hospice or a rehabilitation center, homecoming brings many challenges and changes. Living alone after a medical event or moving in with you, a plan is needed before coming home.

Be thankful that your loved one is healthy and able enough to return to a familiar home environment where they can feel more comfortable and less like a patient.

Life will present many new changes in their ableness around the home, the level of support they may need for the short or long term, changes in medications, managing time for appointments and rehab visits, as well as the anxieties about if or when the next hospitalization may occur.

Talk to the Professionals

Talk to the professionals about what to expect. Use this as a starting point to base your plan upon. The health professionals at their current facility may recommend you to purchase and install home equipment such as a Hoyer lift, grab bars, a showering chair, hospital bed, a wheelchair, oxygen, and a personal response system for future emergencies. Other home modifications may be needed to ensure a safe environment. Prepare for all of this before they return home, and know how to use it. If you don’t require the equipment for the long term, rentals can sometimes be found at some home care supply stores.

Getting Support

Despite how confident you are that you’ll be able to manage your loved ones increased care needs as well as your own life and busy schedule, professional support is often a necessity. The right home care company will match the right caregiver to the unique needs of your loved one. At Premier Homecare Services, we adjust your individualized care plan and services as the needs of you and your loved one change. From 24-hour and Live-In care to hourly schedules, you have the flexibility to change the level of care as your loved one’s health and ability improves.

You Can Do It

You’re not alone in your challenges. Support, help and resources are all available. Realize that helping your loved one through this difficult time is honouring them and may someday provide you with treasured memories.

____________________

>> This entire article was taken from Premier Homecare Services’ Our Community Newsletter, a quarterly newsletter we enjoy sending out to our clients and professional partners. You may download a copy of the Autumn 2009 edition (download PDF version here) or contact info@homecarephs.com if you would like to subscribe to receive future copies of the newsletter. Thank you.

Keywords: senior care, in-home care, homecare, hospital discharge, senior care options, home care, caregiver, live-in caregiver, caregiving services, caregiver information and advice, living assistance.

By: Joanne Smith, Certified Nutritional Practitioner
(more about her)

This week I want to tell you about a highly nutritious food that I believe is too often neglected in discussions about healthy eating. This inexpensive, tiny, gastronomic gem has many health benefits and I don’t think we see enough of them on menus or in recipes. What I’m referring to is the powerful pea!

Before I describe all the positive effects that peas have on our well-being, I think it’s important that I first clear up some confusion surrounding its identity. Most people mistake the pea for a vegetable, when in fact it’s a legume.

Little Legume, Big History

Many of you may also be unaware that this legume has a rich and significant role in our culture and history. Once upon a time, about 5000 years ago, our Egyptian ancestors worshipped and buried the pea with their Pharaohs to take into the after life with them. This valuable food source was not lost on the Romans either. They honoured the delicious pea by including it in nine elaborate recipes in Rome’s first cookbook. The pea also holds the distinction of helping develop agricultural societies 1000 years ago, as it was one of the first cultivated food crops. Furthermore, it was the pea that sustained the masses during England’s 16th century famine, hence the well-known English children’s rhyme:

Peas porridge hot
Peas porridge cold
Peas porridge in the pot 9 days old

And lastly, for almost 200 years a single pea has been the focus of one of the most famous children’s stories of all time – Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea.

Nutritional Benefits of Peas

So what makes the pea so very special, you ask? From a nutritional perspective, they are one of the few inexpensive, delicious and easily edible seeds that pack a tonne of health benefits. Here’s a sample of what they offer – they are:

• a great source of protein & complex carbohydrates,
• low in fat & calories,
• high in fibre (helping to reduce cholesterol and improve bowel function),
• have the highest vitamin C content compared to other legumes (the ability to boost our immune system), and
• a great source of vitamin A, B, E, iron, potassium, calcium & magnesium.

The culinary possibilities for peas are also limitless:

• Liven up any stew, soup, casserole, salad or curry.
• Enjoy a hot bowl of peas with mint sauce.
• Make refreshing dips & sauces.

And if all this were not enough, this nutrient dense food employs thousands of people in the agricultural industry around the world. They are also environmentally friendly because they have special characteristics that enable them to take nitrogen from the air and fixate it into the soil through their roots (see: nitrogen fixation). Thus, peas actually enrich the soil they grow in.

All I’m saying is, “give peas a chance!” So if you have any delicious pea recipes you’d like to share, please write in.

___________________
Joanne Smith, Certified Nutritional Practitioner
Ph:  416.992.2927
Email:  fruitfulelements@gmail.com
Website:  http://www.fruitfulelements.com/

By: James Watson

In the last blog article I wrote about the inherent “green” qualities of home care in terms of how it contributes to strong and sustainable communities by empowering seniors to remain in their homes. I explained how communities with many seniors, with strong knit social ties between the young and old, might be better poised to advocate around common environmental causes and create positive outcomes.

This week I would like to broaden the topic beyond only homecare to include senior care in institutional settings like long-term care homes, retirement residences and assisted living communities. I wish to emphasize that such green potential may exist within them and that all it takes is a little innovation and creative thinking to tease it out.

Greening Senior Care

Long-term care homes, retirement residences and assisted living communities present considerable challenges for a greener, more sustainable future in senior care. They are often housed in large buildings with equally large energy expenditures. They all have large common living areas and corridors that must be lit and heated or cooled regardless of whether they are in use. Family members wishing to visit their loved ones will often drive to the building, parking in an outdoor lot where a productive green space like a small park or forest could have been instead. Yet even despite these negative characteristics, these buildings may also present great opportunities for more “green” personalized care.

Green Roof Potential

Take the following long-term care home as an example of one embracing its greener side – here is a link to the news release: Wellesley Central green roof illustrating sector’s evolving sophistication. The release profiles the Wellesley Central Place, a long-term care home in Toronto’s downtown core that has incorporated a green roof into its building’s design. The green roof’s use of solar panels provides a source of renewable energy while the planting of grasses and other plants provide the building with better insulation and greater overall energy efficiency. In addition, the unique gardening opportunities presented by the green roof allow for activities that keep the home’s residents mentally stimulated and physically active.

An Environmental Legacy

With the senior demographic growing ever larger in Canada, the implications of their care decisions will grow too. It is up to the service providers to provide consumers with environmentally sound options so that everybody may receive the personalized care they desire while guaranteeing a positive environmental legacy for younger generations.

By: James Watson

I wanted to write about something in this blog that has been on my mind ever since before I began working at Premier Homecare Services but had yet put any pen to paper over it.

It all started with a conversation I had with one of my professors while in my final year of an undergraduate degree in Environment & Resource Studies at the University of Waterloo. I had been presented with the offer to come work for Premier Homecare Services once I graduated. A great opportunity, no doubt, but I was conflicted over how my education might have no relevance. I visited one of my professors in the Environmental Studies Faculty for advice and I was grateful I did, for what she said reinforced my final decision to take the position and enter the homecare business.

Do I take the job?

I sat across from her in her office and explained my situation; she already knew some of it. Academia was not my thing but I was still very passionate about everything I was studying – environmental issues, economics, peace and conflict studies – so how could I tie all that in with this opportunity I was given? I went on to clarify, the best I could at the time, what Premier Homecare Services did: “they help seniors remain in their home by employing caregivers that will visit them and help them around the house.” She began smiling from ear to ear … I was immediately reminded that I was speaking to the professor who taught the course on Sustainable Communities and Good Governance.

“That is great!” she declared. “The elderly form the very roots of a community. They know its history – both human and environmental – firsthand. They knew next to everybody in the neighbourhood. Move them out and seclude them in nursing homes to the disadvantage of the whole community! If the community ties breakdown, so too are any environmental safeguards at risk.” She was entirely right and it clicked in my mind instantaneously. We continued discussing the various aspects how seniors contribute to a sustainable community and I left feeling confident in accepting the job offer.

Senior Citizens and Sustainable Communities

It is true because sustainability is not only about placing a park here, planting a tree there and installing some solar panels on your roof. No. Rather, sustainability is a mindset, an ideal that an individual and community alike must strive toward. A strong knit community with social ties between the young and old will be better poised to advocate around a common environmental cause and mobilize actual, positive change. It might be a downtown community creating a neighbourhood garden to grow fresh vegetables or a suburban community protesting the introduction of a big box store into their neighbourhood, but in either case there is little doubt in my mind that our senior citizens would be among those leading the charge or support those who are. They would be the ones teaching the children which weeds to pull in the garden or testifying to the importance of small, local business in front of the town council meeting.

Empowering seniors to remain in their homes, among their communities abundant with history and social resources, in my mind, is most certainly a step positive step toward sustainability. That the provision of in-home care acts toward this end reinforces my confidence in embracing the opportunity I was given.

By: James Watson

Many of you who have been following the blog since its start in January (2009) have connections to Premier Homecare Services via our Toronto office location. I would like to take this occasion to emphasize our especially outstanding franchise opportunity available in Toronto.

How great of an advantage is it to enter a marketplace where everyone already knows your name, your brand and your reputation? How great is the business potential in Canada’s largest metropolitan city? We are actively seeking ambitious, hard-working entrepreneurial types willing to champion new franchise offices in the major neighbourhoods and cities of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA); to take full advantage of the exceptional advantage we are offering. To inquire further, visit our franchising site, www.phsfranchise.com.

A Competitive Advantage

Since its inception over 5 years ago (6 years this November), Premier Homecare Services has succeeded in building an excellent reputation across the GTA. From our North York office (Leslie St. & York Mills Rd.), we have thoroughly engaged the community across the region, raising our profile as a trusted service provider and community resource. The seamless delivery of our in-home care services, backed by our unrelenting commitment to customer service with a personal touch, has no doubt reinforced that reputation and is the reason we continue to succeed today. “It’s because nice matters!” declares our Founder and President, David Watson.

It is with belief in our business model that we decided to make the move toward franchising. It is with this same belief that our brand has been gainfully embraced in franchise locations and their communities across Ontario – Cambridge & Guelph, Kitchener/Waterloo, Kingston, Mississauga, Sault Ste. Marie and our latest opening in Windsor. It is with this same belief that we look to intensify our efforts within Toronto.

Proven Business Model

Premier Homecare Services has proven successful in Toronto, Canada’s largest market. We consistently provide homecare services to new clients in all neighbourhoods of the city – from the southern extent of Etobicoke to the eastern lies of Scarborough; from downtown condominiums all the way up past Steeles Avenue. And we regularly receive requests for service in cities outside our reach – like Richmond Hill, Markham, Aurora, Newmarket, Pickering, et cetera. Yet the fact remains that we have a single office in North York to serve this entire area. “This presents a considerable hurdle we must overcome each day in order to provide the personalized standard of care we are committed to,” explains David Watson. “By opening new franchise offices across the city, we are enabling ourselves to better provide our clients with the best service in town!”

Franchise with Premier Homecare Services

Visit our franchising site to inquire further: www.phsfranchise.com.

There is a lot of buzz right now about the upcoming flu-season ripe with risk from the H1N1 influenza. Many of us deal directly with especially high-risk populations like seniors, so we must be especially adamant about preventing the spread of infectious diseases. At Premier Homecare Services we have taken proactive steps to educate and prepare our team.

Preparing Our Caregivers

Our caregivers, of course, interact with our clients on a day-to-day basis, so it is very important that we reinforce a focus on prevention. The following information is taken from the Premier Homecare Services Caregiver Manual, which we provide to each of our employees:

How Caregivers Can Offset the Spread of Infectious Diseases:
· Practice good hand washing techniques.
· Use hand sanitizer. Always carry it with you and use public dispensers, where available.
· Practice safe food handling techniques.
· Keep immunizations up to date.
· Do not put fingers near eyes, nose or mouth.
· Wear disposable sterile gloves when in contact with blood or body fluids.
· Wear masks and protective eye wear when there is a risk of being splashed with blood or body fluids.
· Avoid contact with any sharp objects.
· Eat a balanced diet every day.
· Get enough rest each night to feel refreshed.
· Exercise in moderation every day.
· Bathe, wash hair and brush teeth regularly.
· Wash cooking and eating utensils with soap and water after each use.
· Have their own personal care items (e.g. face cloth, drinking glass, toothbrush, and razor).
· Teach clients about infection control.

Infectious Disease & Hand Washing

In addition, we have produced the following 2-page flyer that emphasizes the importance of preventing the spread of infectious diseases and includes instructions on proper hand washing procedures. We invite you to post this in your workplace and take a proactive step with us toward combating influenza.

The influenza flyer is available here in PDF format: flu-flyer_fall-2009