Sitters and Doers

One of my greatest pet peeves in this business is the word "sitter." At Home Instead Senior Care, we employ CAREGivers. We do not provide sitters. The implication in the title "sitter" is that the person who spends time will be there in the same capacity as a guard dog or life alert pendant. They are only really there to make sure nothing terrible happens and to alert the proper authorities if it does. A CAREGiver is a different breed entirely. A CAREGiver is someone who is there to live life with a senior, someone to invest their heart into someone else. True, sometimes that is sitting beside someone's bed so that if they wake in the night following an illness they will be comforted by knowing someone is there. But even in those sedentary moments, a CAREGiver is not a sitter. Consider dining at a restaurant. Upon being seated, your table is approached by someone who tells you that they will be taking your order and bringing you your food once it is ready. Alternatively, you visit the same restaurant the next night and are greeted by someone who tells you that it is their job to serve you. While some of the tasks may be identical, the approach is entirely different. At Home Instead Senior Care, everything we do is built around the relationship. We are not "sitters." If anything, we are "doers."

Below is a link to a wonderful article about a relationship that formed over time between a senior and her caregiver.

http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/the-caregiver/