There are over 13,000 home care agencies in operation in the United States, according to data maintained by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC reports that of individuals over the age of 65, more than 70 percent will require some type of supportive care.
Agencies like AAA T.L.C. provide a broad spectrum of care options to assist a person in maintaining the most independent level of living possible. AAA T.L.C. provides home care services in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and elsewhere in Southern California. Margie Meza, a member of the AAA T.L.C. team, sat down for an interview about the work of the agency and its commitment to providing compassionate care to people in need of assistance from all walks of life.
Margie Meza: Patient Relations and Marketing Manager
Margie Meza, the patient relations and marketing manager for AAA T.L.C. Home Care sat for an interview about the work of the agency. Margie has a background in nursing and works with both incoming and existing clients of the agency to ensure that they obtain the specific services required to meet their unique needs and desires. In addition, Margie is involved with community outreach, sharing the mission and work of AAA T.L.C. with the community at large.
History of AAA T.L.C.
Margie gave an overview of the history of the agency. She explained that AAA T.L.C. has been in operation for over 25 years. A fair assessment is that AAA T.L.C. is a true pioneering agency in the realm of home care and home health care.
The company is committed to providing its clients with the highest quality caregivers, according to Margie and is evident from reviews of the company. This includes caregivers needed for short term, long term, or specialty care. The team at AAA T.L.C. includes:
- Registered nurses
- Licensed vocational nurses
- Certified nurse’s aides
- Caregivers
- Companions
Short Term Home Care
Margie explained a number of ways in which individuals can end up needing short term home care for a host of reasons. The team at AAA T.L.C. provides a broad spectrum of short term home care services for clients in a wide array of different situations, according to Margie.
An aspect of short term care provided by AAA T.L.C. involves post-surgery recovery care. According to the team at AAA T.L.C., “if you or your loved one has recently undergone surgery, it’s critical to get the appropriate recovery care. Our nurses and caregivers go above and beyond to make your healing process go smoothly and quickly. You will be back to your usual activities as soon as possible.” This type of assistance may continue through a physical or occupational therapy process as the needs of a particular individual may require.
Another example of the broad range of short term home care services AAA T.L.C. provides involves situations in which a family might have something going on that necessitates additional assistance for one of its members. Margie provided an example that focused on a family reunion around the Thanksgiving holiday.
“With guests coming in from out of town, and all the other activity, a family might need very short-term assistance to make sure Grandma is taken care of over the holiday,” Margie said. She went on to explain that the team at AAA T.L.C. is capable of developing a specific program to support a family during the holiday season to ensure that the unique needs of a particular family member remain fully met, even with the chaos that oftentimes accompanies a family reunion of gathering.
Long Term Home Care
AAA T.L.C. also provides clients with long term care in their homes as well. The agency sums up the role of its caregivers in a long-term situation as one in which the take the time to find out what is needed and favored” by a client. AAA T.L.C. then builds “connections easily and forms bonds that last for many years.”
Margie made mention of one client that fairly recently passed away. This particular woman had been a client of AAA T.L.C. for about 15 years before she passed on.
In this case, toward the end of her life, the client ran out of money to continue to pay for services offered by AAA T.L.C. “We continued to provide her the services she needed at no charge to her. We are different from many other home care companies because we are committed to serving people not just because we are in business. We also serve people out of our heart,” Margie said.
The team at AAA T.L.C. is committed to developing a specific service program for each individual client, depending on that individual’s needs, goals, and desires. Examples of the types of assistance AAA T.L.C. provides to its clients include:
- Menu planning
- Physical and speech therapy support
- Stimulate cognitive thinking
- Medical appointments
- Social engagements
- Hair appointments
- Walks
- Shopping
- Community events
- Classes
- Religious services
Specialty Care
The team at AAA T.L.C. includes professionals that can provide specialty healthcare services to clients. The agency can provide specialty care for a broad range of reasons, including:
- Alzheimer’s and dementia
- Diabetes
- Parkinson’s disease
- ALS
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Kidney disease
- Stroke
- Congestive heart failure
- Transplants
The professionals at AAA T.L.C. are considered to be the “go-to team” when it comes to assisting clients in different ways, according to Margie. Indeed, doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers turn to AAA T.L.C. when they have patients in need of supportive services in a variety of areas that include:
- Physical therapy
- Geriatric care
- Post-surgery care
- Hospice and palliative care
- Respite care
AAA T.L.C. Resources and Partnerships
AAA T.L.C. utilizes a network of partners and resources for its clients. In addition, many hospitals, skilled care facilities, and other organizations turn to AAA T.L.C. when they have clients of patients in need of reputable home case assistance of the type provided by the agency. AAA T.L.C. makes note of some of its partners and resources that are included in its network:
- San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center
- Center for Assault Treatment Services
- One Generation
- Cedar Sinai Board of Governors
- Northridge Hospital Foundation
- Jewish Home for the Aging
- The Tower Cancer Research Foundation
- The Neurocommunity Community Foundation
- ALS Foundation
- National Parkinson’s Foundation
- Alzheimer’s Foundation
- Magnolia Council
A Tale of Two Brothers
During the interview, Margie shared the story of two elderly brothers who were in need of the type of assistance provided by AAA T.L.C. This situation presents a prime example of how AAA T.L.C. is the “go-to” agency for challenging cases. The two men had lived in a house together for years. One of the men was essentially confined to a sofa in the residence, where he has spent more of his time for years. For an extended period of time, the brother confined to the sofa was unable to care for himself. He depended on his own brother for all of his care.
Margie explained that the more mobile of the two brothers were hospitalized. He ended up spending several days in the hospital.
Not long after his admission to the hospital, the staff at the medical center learned of the man’s helpless brother back at their shared home. “The hospital reached out to us,” Margie explained. The hospital staff asked if the team from AAA T.L.C. could go to the brothers’ home and provide temporary assistance to the man left behind. The brothers had no money to pay for this type of service. According to Margie, AAA T.L.C. followed its commitment to serve “out of our heart” and at no charge to these men in need.
Team members from AAA T.L.C. made a home visit and found the conditions of the residence to be deplorable. Margie explained that the staff was unable to enter the premises for some time because of the need to eliminate at least some of the foul-smelling air.
Margie explained that the AAA T.L.C. team could not address the horrible condition of the residence on their own. By way of example, she explained that the immobile brother had essentially been spending all of his time on a sofa for years. He was unable to utilize the bathroom and relied on adult diapers. Even with adult diapers, the team soon discovered that urine and feces had become so infused in the sofa that it had soaked all the way through and passed onto the floor.
The existence of dangerous biohazards in the home was apparent, which only underscored the need for AAA T.L.C. to reach out professionals to assist in addressing the situation at the residence. “We contacted Eco Bear,” Margie said. “They came in and cleaned up everything.” Eco Bear is family-owned biohazard remediation and residential cleanup service serving Southern California.
She noted that the owners of Eco Bear were compassionate and caring. The Eco Bear team helped bring order to the lives of this elderly gentleman at no charge.
Now that the dangerous waste and other biohazards have been eliminated from the residence, AAA T.L.C. continues to work with the brothers to ensure that their basic needs are met and that their home remains in a habitable, safe condition.
The Prevalence of Hoarding
The story of the elderly brothers shared by Margie might not exactly fit the definition of a hoarding situation. Items and waste accumulated over time at their residence largely because the two men were not well equipped before the assistance of AAA T.L.C. and Eco Bear to address basic sanitary and related issues.
Margie went on to note that AAA T.L.C. does confront hoarding with some regularity. One of the surprising points she made about hoarding referrals to the agency was that they do not commonly come from family members. “Most hoarding referrals come from hospitals and other agencies, and not family members. Over time, a family comes to accept a hoarding situation with a relative. This becomes part of the problem,” Margie said.
She went on to explain that because a family comes to some level of acceptance in regard to a relative’s hoarding, family members don’t take any action themselves to rectify the problem. Intervention and remediation end up taking place after a third party, like hospital staff, becomes aware of what is going on in a particular residence.
Conclusion
More information on the extensive services provided by AAA T.L.C. can be obtained at the agency’s website at www.aaatlc.com. An individual or family interested in learning more about AAA T.L.C. can schedule an appointment with the team by calling (866) 608-6608.