​​​​​
Newsletter of the Needham Rotary Club for February 1st, 2022
 
Mark Your Calendar, Upcoming Events:
  • Tuesday February 15th: our meeting this Tuesday will be a (Late) Valentine's Day breakfast in-person at Volante Farms at 8:00am
  • Thursday, March 10th: Needham Education Foundation Trivia Bee in Needham High School cafeteria at 7:00pm
 
Our Speaker: Josh Obeiter, Executive Director/Owner, Seniors Helping Seniors
 
Seniors Helping Seniors (SHS) is a Waltham based, non-medical, senior home-care agency that provides companionship to their clients in the Boston Metro-West community. SHS services are designed to keep older adults engaged in activities that they love with the support of a peer companion. A point of emphasis is the effort that SHS puts into making a high-quality match between their employees and their clients in order to foster a relationship. Employees are typically in their late 60s and are semi-retired from a broad range of backgrounds. They work 10-15 hours per week for SHS.
 
SHS services include:
  • companionship
  • social engagement
  • light housekeeping
  • meal preparation
  • transportation
    • doctor appointments
    • errands/shopping
  • dementia/Alzheimer's care
  • overnight (24 hour) care
  • respite care
  • friendly visits/check-ins
About 80% of SHS clients need dementia /Alzheimer's care. Josh has found that clients trying to adapt to care-givers in their homes are more receptive to care from peer helpers that aren't wearing "medical" uniforms, and who are helping them enjoy their favorite activities. Lively Q&A included questions about cost: $36-40/hour, typical of non-medical homeware, and questions on acceptable sources of payment: mostly private-pay, but long-term care insurance is accepted. SHS also organizes support groups for family and employee caregivers.
 
For more information about Seniors Helping Seniors: 
 
Our Next (Zoom) Meeting: Tuesday February 8th at noon. Our Speaker will be: Susan Howards on Domestic Violence