Right at Home Leads Nation for Most Winning Listings on Caring.com
For the second consecutive year, Right at Home received more Caring Stars awards from Caring.com than any other home care agency in America. Of the 466 in-home care agencies that received the Caring Stars of 2020 award, 170 of them are Right at Home agencies. Furthermore, of the 139 in-home care agencies that received the Caring Super Stars of 2020 award, 62 are Right at Home agencies, more than any other company.
Family caregivers and older adults can access information regarding senior living, memory care and home care services on Caring.com — an online community that provides expert advice on caregiving and a thorough listing of caregiving services with reviews from users. The Caring Stars award and Caring Super Stars award are presented by Caring.com annually to recognize the highest-rated home care agencies and senior living communities on its site based on reviews from consumers across the country.
“Achieving the Caring Stars award or Caring Super Stars award is a distinction worthy of significant celebration and promotion — as it speaks volumes about the difference these home care agencies are making in serving older adults,” said Jim Rosenthal, Caring.com CEO. “We applaud their accomplishment!” We spoke with two Caring Super Stars of 2020 award winners about their work with aging adults in America.
Wall Street Portfolio Manager Found Calling in Caring for Seniors
Lou Giampa celebrated his 16-year anniversary of working as a portfolio manager on Wall Street in the fall of 2013. That same year, his grandmother was diagnosed with brain cancer that gave her symptoms of dementia. Giampa remembered how his other grandmother used to live in a nursing home and his family was not satisfied with the level of care she received; therefore, he decided to leave his finance job, study for the Certified Nursing Aide certification, and become his grandmother’s caregiver.
“It was an incredibly fulfilling change,” Giampa said. “Caregiving helped alleviate the pressure on my family. Ultimately, it was a better option for my grandmother as well.” Inspired by this rewarding personal experience, Giampa opened in-home care agency Right at Home in Westchester, New York, in 2014, extending help to other families in need.
His dedication to helping others has not gone unnoticed. A past client wrote in a review, “The team at Right at Home Westchester went above and beyond to help us get the immediate help we needed for our uncle. Their compassion, understanding and professionalism gave us the comfort and trust we needed at a time that was very difficult. Thank you for all your patience — you made us feel that ‘family’ was taking care of family.”
In the past five years, Giampa’s Right at Home agency has received a total of 34 stellar reviews from clients, 10 of which were during 2019.
Earning Trust From Clients One Shift at a Time
Although home care services allow seniors to maintain their independence at home, the thought of allowing strangers into their homes can be uneasy for seniors. “Nobody wants a parade of strangers in their home, so we make sure our caregivers are well trained and that everyone — both our care team members and our clients — is up to speed with our philosophy of care and systems for communication,” said Shalom Plotkin, owner of Right at Home in Cleveland, Ohio. “This way when we are faced with a potential crisis, we can respond quickly, calmly, professionally and consistently.”
Similar to Giampa, Plotkin was motivated to serve seniors due to his personal experience caring for a loved one. “When my father-in-law’s Parkinson’s got to the point that we were afraid he would fall every time he went to the bathroom, we knew we had to find trustworthy caregivers to back us up,” said Plotkin.
As he assisted with his father-in-law’s care, he discovered how well an agency communicates with the client and family as well as the caregivers’ attention to detail make a huge difference in the quality of care.
“This personal experience informs our care and philosophy,” Plotkin continued. “When we started our own in-home care agency, our goal has been to match the right caregiver with the right client. We want it to feel natural when a new caregiver glides gracefully into the client’s home and puts the personalized care plan into action. That’s how we earn trust, one shift at a time.”
And the sentiment was resonated in a client’s review : “My wife and I were at the Cleveland Clinic for several weeks. When my wife was discharged from the hospital, we stayed in the attached hotel while keeping appointments. I needed to wash clothes, shop, etc. and could not leave my wife alone. The hospital recommended these folks who were very responsive and helpful. I contracted their services for several days for four hours a day. Their staff were terrific, the caretaker was great and overall a good value for the cost. Made a big difference to us at that difficult time. Thank you!”
Plotkin and his team received 23 five-star reviews in 2019, achieving a total of 93 recommendations from current and past clients.