Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Sarah Barker, founder of connect our elders. And today I have Christina McGinnis as my guest. She's the founder and owner of hands in heart home care. Thank you so much for being with me today. Christina, thank you so much for having me, sir. It's it's I'm excited to be here. I'm really excited because you and I have had some conversations. And I know that even prior to this homecare company, and you made your move to Yuma that you do have a lot of experience already in this industry. So it's not, you know, you're not going cold into establishing this company. With that said, Could you go ahead and share with the audience, your background? How long have you been in healthcare? And what has your journey been like? Sure. Well, I started in healthcare originally, in 2005, I was living up in Seattle, and I just really didn't have any sort of direction, I guess. So I applied for a job. And it was through health care agency home care. And they hired me, and they gave me a chance. And I just I loved it. I loved working with the clients. I loved working with elderly I loved working with a disabled, it was just an amazing experience. And and I learned a lot along the way. And I became a medical assistant after that. And but I really just in my heart really wanted to continue with the with the caregiving I just really enjoyed that. Not so much what what is it that you know about yourself? Or why cuz you mentioned that you just fell in love with it? What is it that you find so fulfilling about serving this population? Well, I just feel like they're the Forgotten people of our society, unfortunately. And, you know, their stories and their lives. They're so amazing just to sit down and talk with them. And they want to share, and I just felt like that was my calling, just to listen to people and their needs, and be there for them in whatever capacity they needed. me there. That's beautiful. Thank you. That's beautiful. So with establishing hands and hearts home care, what is your story? How did you end up deciding, you know what, I'm just going to do this right, I'm going to start this caregiving agency. Well, that was just a crazy thing. One day, I was working as a caregiver, and for another agency, and at that point, I was in California. And I was working for a particular client, I was with her for almost six years. And she just really gave me that confidence to like, you know, you can help more people. If you open up a business, that way, you know, you can hire people and get out there more, because your philosophies and the way you are just would be great, because it's just not really out there with other agencies. So by starting your own homecare organization, right, you can increase your impact your footprint, and with your particular philosophy. So speaking of that, um, when she said your philosophies are different, what is it that that makes you different, and how it plays out in your home care company? Um, well, I really believe in hands on and i and i really am a firm believer of learning who these people are, what their interests are, what their hobbies are, what, who they were in their past, you know, they're not just an 85 year old sitting in front of you, they have a whole life of what. So I was trying to match my caregivers, with their interests, so that they can actually make that true connection. And it's not just a job, or you're supporting the sake of social well being of your clients, it sounds like they're there. Of course, there's the safety, right, making sure that they're warm and rested and fed and safe, right. But it sounds like you really are focused on the psychosocial well being of your clients and making sure that they're engaged in activities and conversation while they're home. So it's not just a caregiver shouldn't just be a task to do or go over help somebody make their bed or give them a shower. You're in their personal life. So you need to make that connection with them, or else it just becomes like non meaningful. And I think those are meaningful connections. It's what makes a difference. Do you think so? Not only the benefit for your clients, right? Because you're really increasing their quality of life as a whole. Yeah, but what about caregivers like when you're training your caregivers to interact in this manner? Do you find that they feel more invested in the position they feel more fulfilled by the job that they're doing? Absolutely. I mean, one of the One of the hardest ways to find a caregiver is finding that compassion with people. Because that's not something that can be trained, I can train a caregiver how to do a transfer safely, I can train a caregiver how to give a bath, or how to speak with somebody with Alzheimer's, we can have all the training in the world. But if they don't have that compassion in their heart to really want to learn about who that person is, then, you know, then they're not the one for me. I'm very, very picky on who I hire, to make that that is that's that's a really good thing, right? You know, and I know, there's probably the struggle of well, I need to get caregiver so you just want to hire but but being choosy and being selective is really going to play out well in the end for your organization, right? Because you have the right people, so the clients are going to be more satisfied, the families will be more satisfied with the care that you're delivering. I think that's wonderful that you you feel so resolute right in in your approach and how you want to serve that. It's wonderful. Okay, so explain, if you don't mind, explain to the audience. What non medical homecare is what what is caregiving? So caregiving is when we go into a person's home, and we're going to help them with their daily activities, whatever they would normally do on their own, we're going to help fill in those gaps. But being non medical means that you know, we don't, we don't provide shots or medication, administer administration. But we do provide reminders to take their medications, we do provide those types of things, but it's more personal care and more task. Like if they need extra help around cleaning their house, maybe there's a lot of clutter, we don't want them falling. So safety is like our top priority for our clients. And then as you said, with the caregivers that you're selecting, they are engaging the client conversation, absolutely activities, like playing cards or writing. I have a client that loves to watch western movies. So I tell my caregivers sit there and watch it with them. He enjoys that, like, you know, let's be there for them. It's not just about mopping the floor, like let's sit down with these people and enjoy with them what they're doing. See picture on the wall, ask them about this moment in their life or who is in the picture. They love to share those things. So that's what we'll try to do. They do they do. Okay, so I feel like you've already answered this question, you know, so the next thing I wanted to ask you is, why should someone choose? handed hearts right home care? And I feel like you've already talked about it. But go ahead and feel free to elaborate on why somebody should choose to work with your organization? Well, well, number one, I'm very hands on I as the owner, I communicate with my caregivers regularly, even though I may not see that I communicate with the families regularly. I do stop and visits, I make sure that their needs are getting met, I meet I try to meet with my clients at least once a month or once every two months. We kind of review their care plan to see if any of their needs have changed. So I don't just you know, sign them up. And that's it. They're on their own. It's like we go I see them. I definitely interact and communicate. So I just feel like we're the homecare agency that has the professional homecare part, but we also have that personal touch. And I feel like they become family. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. When I text some of my clients, we send little emojis to each other. It's just very personal. You know, and, and I, I love that and I love being able to do that. Mm hmm. Well, one of our audience members, I'm not sure if you're connected with her. If you're not you should definitely connect with her. Tammy Moses. She specializes in in importing solutions. And so people that have had struggles around that, but she's she's wonderful. As you can see she's saying yes, the human connection is so valuable. Thanks for watching, Tammy. Okay, so, so we've talked about what non medical homecare is. And we've talked about your beliefs and really engaging the client. Is there another area where you guys specialize in? Um, yes. Um, yes. So we specialize in Alzheimer's and dementia. I am currently with a training program called choir. And they're amazing and they've they've collaborated with the Alzheimer's Association to develop this program. So we have classes. We have roleplay where we actually, you know, how do you talk with a client with dementia? How do you redirect? What if they get angry? What do you do? You know, so we have these trainings, and we have ongoing trainings every month, in services, I call them. And then Personally, I have a lot of experience, my mother had Alzheimer's, she has passed away, but so that journey with her has really made it personal. And it's so important to be educated about it, you know, not a disease where the person just is forgotten. There's just bits of their, of their memory that they can't put things together. But if you sit there and are with them, in that moment, wherever they may be, you'd be surprised how much they actually know what's going on? Well, I do and it's gonna be scary, or, you know, there's the whole for caregiver right remembering or for family member, remembering that it's not them, it's the disease, right? They you have to step into their reality because they can no longer step into yours. But I think for like for your organization, having the caregivers be trained, like this is it provides them It provides them tools to know how to communicate with with clients with Alzheimer's and dementia. So that's, that's great. You've taken it to a whole new level, in the in the service providing Okay, well, Christina, is there is there anything else that you want the audience to know about you and about your home care company? Um, I'm not really, I think I wanted to say, I, I just want to put out there, you know, if your family is ever a need, or anybody out in the audience has any questions, feel free to call me. I mean, even if you comment from another state other than Arizona, at least I can walk you through the process. And you know, maybe put your mind at ease answer any questions. You know, I'm here all the time, just even for a conversation. It doesn't have to be, you know, anything dramatic. No, that's really kind, right. That's very kind that you're offering yourself to just answer questions. You know, whether or not it turns into a client for you that you're there to help guide people, I appreciate your help. We all need support that sometimes in our life. And, you know, I was very fortunate my when my mom had Alzheimer's, we had hospice care come in. But we also had a caregiver that was there with her 24 hours, especially during the last year of her life. And it just made all the difference to know that you have that support. It does. Yes, absolutely. So to make sure that family members aren't getting hurt, and they need to know Yeah, and burnout is so huge. And especially if you're a caregiver for for your loved one. Sometimes you just need to vent or talk about things. And you'd be surprised at how you might feel like you're alone, but it's so normal, all of your reactions and all that you're feeling and what you're going through is completely normal. It is normal, and they need somebody like you who has personally had the experience to let them know, right? You're not alone. Hey, there's help for you. People that are listening, how can they reach you and learn more? I can either be reached on my phone, or text or email, any any of those ways are any any which way I respond fairly quickly, even if it's after hours, so Okay, and what is your website for people listening with? The website is www dot hands. The letter N hearts homecare.com. Okay, wonderful. Well, thank you so much for being my guest today. I'm really excited for how your company is growing. And I love your philosophy behind it. As a reminder, I'm Sarah Barker, founder of connector elders, our entire intention is to empower the aging process. And we do that through providing education around all of the elder care resources, navigation through those resources to help families feel empowered in making the decisions. And then of course, ongoing advocacy. Thank you for being my guest. We'll have to come on again and talk specifically about my plane. You're you. You're great. You're great. Okay, well, thank you. Those of you who want to learn more, go to her website, and we'll have her back on soon. Have a good day. Thank you.