PROFILE
Comforting Companions Meeting people where they’re living – physically and mentally
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iving with a progressive illness can be isolating not only for those living with it but also for their friends and family. They try to provide support to let their loved ones know that they’re not alone, but it’s often difficult and the type of care they require is beyond their skillsets. For those who don’t live close and whose loved ones are not able to use the phone, they’re unable to stay in touch. And for others, it’s not that they don’t want to visit. It’s that they don’t always know how to communicate with their loved ones during a visit, as their abilities change. Having watched her brother slowly lose his abilities to Multiple Sclerosis, Yvette Gagnon started to realize a new calling. After his illness became life altering and he entered a facility for much-needed around-the-clock care and assistance, Yvette left her 14-year career to start
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By Mina Atia
CONTRIBUTED: WHETHER LIVING AT HOME, IN A RETIREMENT COMMUNITY OR A LONG-TERM CARE SETTING, COMFORTING COMPANIONS' CLIENTS ARE PROVIDED WITH CONSISTENT COMPANION SUPPORT THAT CATERS TO THEIR DIVERSE NEEDS.
Comforting Companions. Its vision is to help families provide companionship support for their loved ones through a very isolating and emotional time, a time Yvette has herself experienced. For her, it is about meeting their loved ones where they are living, both physically and mentally. “I started Comforting Companions to help families care for those they love,” she says. “So they would know there was support out there from people who truly understood their challenges and wanted to spend time with their loved ones. To bring joy to their days and help them in any way they needed.” Comforting Companions Care Providers Inc. focuses on the emotional and social wellbeing of loved ones. Whether they live at home, in a retirement community or a long-term care setting, they are
BUSINESS VOICE
provided with consistent companion support that caters to their diverse needs. “Equally our services are focused on the families who love them and hire us, and I think that is part of our success,” says Yvette. “Families want to know someone is there for them, so we stay in regular contact with every family, so they know that their needs and wants are gently mixed into our visits with their loved ones.” The focus of comforting companions is not on physical care but more on providing emotional care depending on where they are in life. Whether a client is starting to have difficulty with daily tasks at home or is more advanced in their illness and is unable to move and speak, the companions find comforting ways to engage them. They adapt by learning as much as they can from families and friends to create a sense of wellbeing.
