Author

Thomas D. Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

PRESS RELEASE - Shakopee, Minnesota, November 27, 2006 - We announce the appointment of Jeff Wicklander, to the position of CNO, Chief Nursing Officer for the company.

Jeff brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position, including experience in the emergency, medical and surgical communities, most recently as Patient Care Director for Abbott Northwestern Hospital.

Jeff has a Master of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Minnesota, is a licensed Registered Nurse in the state of Minnesota, a board certified Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and is also a member of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses.

His day-to-day responsibilities will include monitoring all care plans and to:

• Ensure that the personal care assistant is capable of providing services.
• Ensure that the personal care assistant is knowledgeable about the plan of care.
• Ensure that the personal care assistant is knowledgeable about the recipient’s health.
• Evaluate the overall personal care services of the recipient.

We are fortunate to have Jeff’s talent, experience and ethics brought to our company.

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We bring you this announcement to continue our journey of propelling home care for all through positive business decisions that bring top of mind awareness.

My dad always said…change is inevitable, growth is optional…and we are growing.

It’s important to know, that PCA care is available to all, for all the right reasons.

Author:

Thomas D. Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

You know, there are Personal Care Assistance needs everywhere, all the time, for many different types of health needs…right in front of us and sometimes we don’t even know it.

A couple weekends ago we were at Mall of America with some relatives. We were talking about PCA services and someone asked how can you ‘see’ PCA needs everywhere? Considering the line of work we are in, we are probably a little more in-tune than most with Personal Care Assistance services but, it was not always like that, until it hit close to home for our family.

I asked her to look around at all the people and tell me what she sees through her eyes. As she struggled for a minute with the answer, I asked her to think of who COULD use some extra help or assistance with their daily activities routine – the things we take for granted.

Once she started to look around and understand, I mean really look at what people were doing or trying to do I asked her to think about how they might feel now. That is when she really became aware of the people around her and the needs they might have.

She ‘saw’ people with potential PCA needs everywhere…an elderly woman trying to navigate her walker from a store front to a mall bench, a child with Down Syndrome laughing as he ran through the food court, a younger man who was in a major accident with casts on both legs being pushed in a wheelchair, a young mental health patient being lead through the mall for a day of shopping excitement, an older gentleman sitting down attached to an oxygen tank and so on.

She became obviously aware the need is there.

All too often we close the door on this valuable service that is available to everyone because we do not always see the benefit it can bring. I asked, how did you quickly see so many people with this need? Her answer was easy…it was how they might feel without PCA service. That was a path she did not want to walk down. She wanted to aspire to feeling better about things than having to undertake the thoughts of a less than full life without the help of a PCA.

It’s important to know, that PCA needs are everywhere.

Author:

Thomas D. Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

Have you ever been caught off guard by the challenge of care giving to a parent, a spouse or a child in the midst of your busy life? Most of us prefer to avoid this subject. Too many of us are caught up in the physical world with our work, families, attainment of goals, and our material possessions. However, no one knows when they might be presented with this challenge. Perhaps now is the time to think about it.

The numbers of graying “baby-boomers” and the increase in degenerative disease precedes a large population of adults and children who will face having to care for their parents or a loved one at one time or another in the very near future. Care giving crosses all illnesses, conditions, ages and health concerns - physical, geriatric and mental health. Having support through a time like this is so important and we can’t help but emphasize how we must become more aware of this challenge which will confront all of us in the near future, either for a loved one or oneself.

Caregivers, whose numbers are increasing rapidly, are challenged to cope with catastrophic illnesses like cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s, MS and many other debilitating diseases. We provide assistance on practical care giving matters and give meaning to the spiritual and personal challenges that result from being a care giver.

I remember when my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and how my dad, brother, sister and I looked at each other not knowing what that would bring. It was tough not knowing about the future. Even under the most challenging circumstances, taking care of someone you love can transform your life forever. It has ours.

We provide you an opportunity to look at many of the issues one may experience or are already experiencing in your time of need. This reassurance comes from knowing someone is there to help when you need it the most and are not sure who to trust or where to turn.

It’s important to know, that aspirations can be turned into experiences.