Juniper Homecare promotes Aging in Place

BY STACEY DRESNER

WEHA Bear Fair forges a lasting relationship between Juniper Homecare and the Alzheimer's Association

Helping the ever-increasing senior adult population “age in place” is the goal of Juniper Homecare in West Hartford. “Providing the best possible care to help people stay at home is our main priority,” said Anton Brel, Juniper’s vice president of operations.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Juniper’s services have literally been a lifesaver – providing homecare services to seniors who are not only at high risk of infection but were also extremely isolated during the quarantine period.

Juniper caregivers, including more than 30 registered nurses, underwent countless COVID tests and took painstaking precautions that included wearing full PPE – Personal Protective Equipment – to be able to enter clients’ homes to provide the housekeeping, personal care, healthcare, and companionship which allow seniors to stay in their own homes safely and comfortably.

Juniper’s four adult day centers around the state – in West Hartford, Hamden, Hartford, and New Britain – with a total enrollment of around 200 seniors, were forced to close for a few months during the height of COVID, but Juniper’s Meals on Wheels program and its Elmwood Kitchen jumped in to provide meals not only to their homecare clients but to seniors who could no longer attend the adult day centers.

“I think that COVID opened everybody's eyes to the fact that staying at home is probably the best possible way to age,” Brel said. “We worked with the Connecticut Association of Adult Day Centers and the Department of Social Services, and we were able to institute a wellness check and a Meals on Wheels delivery. So, the people who would normally be getting that kind of care were not left hanging. "We had the regular nurses and the staff calling on our people twice a day. Anything they might need – such as medication – we would deliver.

It was a tough time, but we doubled our meal program during that period because state agencies and insurance companies were calling us. Our meal program was completely touchless. We put the meal in a bag, knocked on the door and left it there – and we made sure our drivers would see the person come out and pick it up. Much of it we did probono, just making sure people were okay and their necessities were taken care of.

“We provided the families with tremendous peace of mind. Just knowing that someone was always seeing mom and dad or grandma and grandpa every day.”

Always looking for the next advancement in senior adult care, Juniper has become the largest in-state provider of Connecticut’s Adult Family Caregiving program. Through this program, family members can become Direct CareGivers (DCG) for loved ones 65 and older in the same household and can receive payment up to $28,000 tax free, depending on the level of care that the person needs. Seniors must qualify for the program under Title 19 and must meet certain income thresholds.

“It’s really unique. Honestly, it's like a lifeline for many people,” Brel said, emphasizing the benefit especially for those living with multi-generations in one household. “So, grandma might be living with them, and they want to keep her at home. If she gets sick, then the options are that maybe she goes to assisted living or a nursing home or she gets hospitalized. But we firmly believe that nobody can get better care than from family members,” he said.

Since, in many of these cases, family members must take time off from work or perhaps quit their job to take proper care of their elderly relatives, the stipend from the Adult Family Caregiving program provides necessary income to the caretaker.

Family members who become direct caregivers are trained by Juniper nurses to provide the care their loved one needs. Each family is assigned a nurse who visits and a care team who are there to assist.

“We provide them with a tablet with our proprietary technology so they can get a hold of our office and nurse for anything at any time. We’re there 24-7,” Brel said.

Juniper also gives these families access to an online Family Learning Center, where they're able to browse any type of healthcare topic, like diabetes or nutrition.

“We support, empower, and even compensate family caregivers,” he said. “We think that's very important because a caregiver shortage is actually going to be one of the next healthcare crises. Baby boomers are aging and a lot of them want to stay home, wanting to age in place. So, family caregiving is going to become more and more and more important.”

Perhaps Juniper is so in tune to the needs of families because of its own strong family background.

Founder and president Andrei Brel – Anton’s father -- immigrated to the United States from his native Russia with his family in 1993. After working for the state’s Elder Protective Services department and realizing his interest in working with the elderly population, Andrei pursued a master’s degree in social work at UConn, then founded Juniper Homecare in 1998.

Today, the entire Brel family is involved in homecare. Besides Andrei and Anton, Andrei’s wife Zhanna founded and now oversees the Meals on Wheels program; and their other child, Julia, is a billing specialist for Juniper.

The Brels are proud residents of West Hartford, which is why they had painted on their New Britain Avenue office building a colorful mural designed by artist Benjamin Keller to honor both West Hartford and the town’s Elmwood section. The mural depicts the area’s past – Charles E. Beach, an early area dairy farmer, and Charter Oak Park, a former racecourse and amusement park – and present – West Hartford residents Javiar Colon, winner of the first season of “The Voice,” and Lhakpa Sherpa, who has climbed to the top of Mount Everest nine times.

“We wanted to make the building a landmark,” Anton recalled.

Juniper Homecare is also one of the sponsors of the WEHA Bear Fair, which will feature a town-wide exhibition of fiberglass bears painted by an array of artists. The bears, which will be on display throughout town this summer, are designed to highlight local sponsors and raise money for area nonprofits.

Predictably, Benjamin Keller will design Juniper Homecare’s WEHA Bear, the proceeds of which will benefit the Alzheimer’s Association of Connecticut.

“We were thinking of what our nonprofit was going to be and we asked all of our employees and staff…and we all decided the Alzheimer's Association would be fantastic,” Anton Brel said. “We’re really excited.”

Now that the WEHA Bear Fair has brought them together, Juniper’s awareness of Alzheimer’s and its devastating impact on families and communities has been raised. And they intend to continue their relationship with the Alzheimer’s Association.

“We actually want to make a commitment to the Alzheimer’s Association, so we have become the premier sponsor for all the Alzheimer’s Walks,” said Anton. “They're doing seminars with us and teaching all of our caregivers and our nurses to be certified Alzheimer’s trainers, and we're going to be present at all their walks. So, it's going to be mutually beneficial.”

Juniper will have tents at all seven of this year’s Alzheimer’s walks around Connecticut.

“We have caregivers in all different parts of the state and the walks are in all different parts of the state. So, we’ll invite our caregivers to come out and support it as well,” he said. “Hopefully, there'll be a cure for Alzheimer's in the near future and we really want to be a part of that.” n

Detail from the mural at Juniper's New Britain Avenue location

Founder and President Andrei Brel

Anton Brel, Juniper’s Vice President of Operations.