As an employee of a company that works to provide exceptional companion care, the value of our services is evident to me. Working with so many families and companion-caregivers guarantees that no two days will ever play out the same, and it is this variety that makes working in human services reliably exciting and challenging.
Still, as a non-medical form of care, people often question what the benefits are when it comes to companion care. What ways are companion care services going to directly help their loved ones? That question has led me to dedicate our April blog post this year to the benefits of receiving companion care, and the benefits of working as a companion-caregiver.
What are the benefits for my loved ones?
Humans are social by nature, and though each person has a different tolerance for social interaction, science clearly shows that all people share an intrinsic need for social connection. Addressing this need is what I would describe as the major underlying benefit to companion care. Thinking about how streamlined modern medical practices have become and how unhappy people are at the fact that their provider only has a few short minutes to speak with them highlights what makes companion care stand out from other forms of care; involved social connection. From my very first day working for Noble Companion, it was emphasized that matching personalities of our companions to our clients is of paramount importance. As time has gone on, I’ve seen the importance of this constantly, and pairing two people who are likely going to have an easy time liking one another will time and time again result in the need for socialization to be met. Older adults are at a much higher risk of social isolation than other age groups in America, and with social isolation comes a much more rapid decline in all facets of health, so the social benefits brought about by companion care can directly address this problem and help keep your loved ones sharp and independent for much longer than they would otherwise.
Of course, companion care offers much more than social interaction. Frequently, people come seeking companion care after they experience an unexpected health crisis. Try as we might, there is no way of predicting a stroke, broken bone, heart attack, or any other medically significant experience. As people and their families work to heal after a health crisis, it is often discovered that the person who is recovering will need additional help with daily activities, and not everybody has a family member who can drop everything to help. This situation highlights another benefit of companion care, the ability to help in situations that have never needed help before. Activities like showering, cleaning, cooking, shopping, and more don’t stop being important while a person is recovering and unable to do them, so having somebody reliable who you enjoy spending time with that can also help you take care of these activities is tremendously beneficial.
Beyond just being beneficial for the client, companion services also offer family members benefits. Peace of mind is an easy one, knowing your loved one is not only receiving the help they need but also enjoying the person who is providing that help can bring comfort to families who worry about their older loved ones when they’re unable to be with them. Also, some families who can make caregiving part of their routine might just need a break. The work of being a family caregiver is taxing both emotionally and physically, so for some families, companion care can help by offering respite to the family members when they need it. People need something to look forward to in order to live a fulfilling life, so if you had a family vacation planned before mom or dad had their health emergency, and now you’re worried you’ll need to cancel, a companion can come fill in the gaps. These per-diem services are hugely beneficial to people and there are always companions who specialize in this type of caregiving, so you and your family can still have something to look forward to while not worrying about your older loved one who is back at home.
If you’re wondering about the benefits of work as a companion
So, let's look at the other side of the aisle now. What draws people to seek companion caregiving as a line of work? What are the benefits for the people who are tasked with the crucial duty of caring for your loved one? Well, there are many answers to both questions, and while work as a companion caregiver is not for everybody, it is an extremely rewarding job for those with empathy, dedication, and human service in their hearts.
Every companion care provider does things a little differently, but here at Noble Companion, we work to pair our companion-caregivers with clients we feel they would be able to easily connect with. This means not simply assigning companions to people willie-nilly but communicating with all parties the expectations and reasons for each pairing. Nobody is forced to work with a client they don’t get along with, and no client should feel dread before scheduled service. This flexibility of choosing who you work with and when you two see each other is probably the most applicable benefit of working as a companion-caregiver, and it is afforded to everybody in our Noble Companion umbrella. With this flexibility, you will find that while working as a companion-caregiver, you’re still able to attend your kids' sporting events, family celebrations, tend to your own errands and chores, all while working with clients who you look forward to seeing.
Tied to the benefit of healthy social interaction that the client will receive through companion care is the benefit of increased social interaction for the companion-caregiver. Fulfilment of the social need is a two-way street when it comes to companion care, and the caregiver is sure to find themselves feeling the benefits just the same as the client. How many other jobs encourage you to spend time with people you enjoy seeing every week? Also, older people have a wealth of lived experiences to share with their companions while socializing; experiences that a person working as a companion may otherwise never be exposed to. Countless times in my experience working for Noble Companion I have gotten to know people who have lived through events that I’ve only ever heard of. Experiences like the great depression, the moon landing, the second world war, the rise of television, and the changes our world has undergone before I was born are relayed to me from a person who experienced them firsthand. I’ve even met people who grew up in a house with their grandparents who lived through the American civil war and can recount what they learned from a secondhand perspective. With so many stories and so much understanding of these legendary events, I always feel beyond privileged to get to spend time with these experienced individuals and reap yet another HUGE benefit of being a companion-caregiver.
Finally, but just as important as the other benefits, is the benefit of leaving work at the end of the day and feeling the emotional reward of making a positive impact in somebodies' life. Anybody who works in the human service or medical field will likely tell you about this invisible benefit to their line of work and how it brings them unique fulfilment at the end of each day. This is not to suggest that other lines of work don’t have their own hidden benefits, it’s just my attempt at putting into words the rewarding feel of companion care work. Any time you can make a positive impact in the life of another person, there is a type of afterglow that follows you around long after your shift is over. Even after a difficult day, this hidden reward resonates in my mind, and speaking personally, this is the single biggest benefit of working in companion care.
So, if you’re considering companion care services,
Or thinking about trying to work as a companion-caregiver yourself, keep these benefits in mind. It should go without saying that this blog entry is by no means an exhaustive list of the benefits that companion care can provide people, but I was aiming to keep this as concise as possible. Over time, whether you’re on the giving or receiving end of caregiving, you’ll surely find your own benefits that emerge from companion care on top of the ones I wrote about in this post. We hope that you can take away a more intimate understanding of companion care services from this blog post, and we hope you keep Noble Companion in mind when seeking services or working in the vast, versatile world of companion care. With Noble by your side, you’re sure to feel the benefits of companion care before you know it!
Sources
CDC Article on Loneliness in Older Adults