A local business helping to keep quality work, services, and care close to home

When Matthew Head goes to work in the morning, there’s one thing he can be sure of: something new and different is bound to happen. In his 10 years working with CareGivers, from when he started as a frontline staff person to his current role as Senior Director, it’s never been any other way. “Over the years, we’ve grown and changed so much from our beginnings as a home support agency,” observes Head, ” that today we call ourselves a ‘community care provider,’ refl ecting the many services offerings by CareGivers.”

About CareGivers
In the mid-1990s, CareGivers Home Care and Nursing was formed to provide care for seniors and adults requiring home care services. Recognizing the need to set high standards for care, CareGivers voluntarily sought and achieved accreditation from the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (now Accreditation Canada)—a standard that it maintains to this day. CareGivers is the only accredited home support/ homecare provider in the province.

Growing and responding to community needs
From that beginning, CareGivers has developed a range of services that meet not just the needs of people requiring care in their home, but busy professionals who would prefer to pay for services at their convenience. CEO Anne Whelan says, “Working closely with our community partners, we are addressing the many challenges of a crisis-driven system. I know how busy families can be, and being able to schedule an appointment to have bloodwork done, or a nurse to visit mom for a wellness check is very valuable to them.”

CareGivers now offers a range of services including:

• Private duty nursing (in home, hospital or long term care facilities);
• Foot care;
• Convenient blood and specimen collection in their offi ce or clients home or offi ce; and,
• DNA testing

Providing trusted, safe and affordable care can be challenging when met with funding challenges. The need to diversify has never been more important in supporting the operations in community care. Economic development and mega-projects have presented an opportunity for growth for CareGivers, and the organization now offers a wide range of training programs such as:

• Canadian mental health fi rst aid;
• Non-violent crisis response;
• First aid training, ranging from emergency fi rst aid all the way to fi rst responder and other advanced Red Cross fi rst aid training

With staffed offi ces across the island, CareGivers also has developed relationships with a number of employers both within the province and in other parts of the country. Matthew Head states, “We have been contacted by a number of employers who like the fact that we have professional offi ces with a clinic and nursing staff in each one, a medical director, and a quality management program.

We’ve been able to develop our business in:

• DOT certifi ed drug and alcohol screening;
• Pre-employment medicals;
• Mask fi t;
• Post-incident;
• After-hours drug screening.

It’s a growing segment for us, one that helps us to retain our nursing staff in the face of very tight margins in the government homecare program.”

For everyone who works at CareGivers, from the newest home support worker to the most experienced nurse, and right up to Matthew Head and Anne Whelan, the company is focused on being part of the community and serving real needs. “The desire to do the right thing and be dependable and accountable is not just learned on the job, it’s deeply rooted in the ethics of the people we hire. And if we need to change what we are doing to meet community needs, then we will,” says Whelan.

It’s a philosophy that Matthew Head embraces. “We’ve become unlike any other provider out there. We know that people are willing to pay for quality care that meets their needs. And we are willing to do what it takes to make sure we meet and exceed those needs every day.”

Call us any time: 1-855-432-7865 • www.caregiversnl.com
facebook.com/CareGiversNL • twitter.com/CareGiversNL