By KEVIN LILLY

Pharos-Tribune business writer



“There is no place like home.”

That statement, word for word from the Wizard of Oz, is also the motto for Help At Home, an agency that provides those who cannot care for themselves the means to remain in their home. The company’s motto reverberates a similar longing for home as in the movie classic.

“When you or a loved one needs to care,” completes the motto and with its recent addition of skilled nurses to offer dietary guidelines via meal preparation and personal care such as help with bathing and assistance with dressing and grooming, Help At Home staff can keep people in their homes longer.

“Home is where people want to be,” said Candy Candlish, nursing supervisor for Help At Home in Logansport. “By adding skilled nurses, we are able to do that.”

Currently, Help At Home has 10 certified nursing assistants on staff, and they are always hiring.

Located at 3412 E. Market St., Help At Home provides alternatives to long-term care facilities. A scenario that plays out too often, Candlish says, is that people are not aware that there is help for the son or daughter caring for a parent or parents or a wife caring full time for a husband.

“People do not realize the help that is available,” said Candlish, expressing a significant concern. “There are people out there that could have used our services two years ago” when the company first set up for business in the area.

Services offered at Help At Home include light housekeeping, laundry, grocery shopping, running errands, transportation, companionship that is available up to 24 hours a day if needed and medication reminders.

First an evaluation is needed to decide what is needed by the resident and also the caregiver. The lives of those who help can be consumed with taking care of someone full time, Candlish says. “They need a break” to relax, a chance to pay bills or to go shopping or “to just get out and away. They need that relief.”

Care for the caregiver is also a priority. Education and awareness are key to making the best of trying situations, says Candlish. “Everybody is different,” and “you are not going to change a 90-year-old person’s habits.”

To do the type of work done by Help At Home, staff must enjoy helping people and be creative. Situations can be stressful and saddening, but the staff is trained to make the best of it, according to Logansport Branch Manager Tammy Lantz.

Dignity is a significant factor to consider and something to restore if possible. For a person who has been taking care of themselves for 60 or 70 years, it is normally not easy for them to admit they need help.

“That is a shock to the system,” Lantz said. Help At Home has several years combined experience.

Its office recently relocated after Salin Bank and Trust donated the building at 310 Pearl St. to the Logansport-Cass County Economic Foundation. Now they are more accessible and more visible, says Candlish.

Anyone interested in arranging an evaluation should contact the office through e-mail or phone.

The goal remains: “To keep the person at home as long as possible.”



New location, new service

Help At Home

3412 E. Market St.

Phone: 722-9358

E-mail: logansport@helpathome.com

Web site: www.helpathome.com



Kevin Lilly can be reached at 722-5000, Ext. 5117, or via e-mail at kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com