We are a “caregiving” service, not a “sitter” service.

Most agencies do nothing more than provide a person to perform tasks such as assistance, observation, or supervision to a client. Our caregivers are highly trained and competent caregivers who actually do much more than just observe, monitor, assist with, and supervise a client. Our caregivers actually interact with, engage, encourage, motivate and stimulate our clients. Our focus is on what the individual psycho-social and non-medical needs are for each of our clients.

Our Mission

There are three essential and critical elements missing for the most part with health care providers today: Transparency, Communication, and Family Support. Our mission is principled on insuring that these three elements are always provided to our clients, our client family members, and our caregivers.  In fact, Personal Caregiving Services has always been and will continue to have open and honest conversations with not only our clients, but our family members as well, because both need the emotional support to live through the overwhelming stress and challenges they face as family caregivers. That openness allows our experienced caregivers to see what’s down the road, and the honesty allows our clients and Personal Caregiving Services to create practical and well-researched plans together.  Transparency also ensures the best decision is made for the family member who needs the care.

PCS has established a higher standard of caregiving to anticipate and exceed client expectations and needs.

We do this by applying rigorous qualifications and screening of caregivers we hire and in fact only 5% of applicants are hired. We also require on-going training and continuing education in non-traditional areas such as customer service, hospitality, effective communication techniques, team work, and methods to promote and support the psycho-social needs of our clients. Likewise, caregivers receive the same on-going training in dementia/Alzheimer’s care, wound care, rehabilitation, and monitoring and observation of each client’s key clinical signs.

Our caregivers are trained to essentially minimize and even eliminate the stress that the family member(s) are overwhelmed with, and to help the entire family including the client, to improve or maintain their quality of life. It could be the little things such as taking the trash out or walking the dog, to name just a couple of examples, but all performed by a caregiver that doesn’t need to be told what to do; just by anticipating the needs of the client and the family.

A Concierge Health Care Service Provider, Not a Franchise With a Cookie Cutter Mentality

Mr. Gerber and his management staff are available 24 hours, 7 days a week to be responsive to the needs of the agency clients, family members and caregivers no matter what the concern or question may be.  Not all client’s needs or family member concerns are the same, so why would Personal Caregiving Services apply the same management of care needs?

 

Value-Added Care Management Services

Mr. Gerber believes that managing and coordinating the care for his clients and family members is an integral part of caregiving services provided, and therefore, includes his care management consulting in the caregiver’s hourly rates billed to his clients.  Few, if any other caregiving agency allows for that.

Our Caregivers

• PCS caregivers receive on-going education and training from well respected and credentialed professional healthcare resources to provide specialized skills training and education on up to date methods to assist Alzheimer's and dementia clients and tips to improve caregiving skills.
• The average length of service of our caregivers is 2 years. 40% of our caregivers have been with our agency for more than 2 years.  Some of our caregivers have been with the agency for over 5 years and some as many as 10 years.
• The owner and president of the agency, Sid Gerber has over 28 years of experience delivering quality care and emotional support and long-term care consulting to hundreds of clients. He is committed to his personal involvement with each client and is available to his clients on a 24/7 basis nor does he delegate that responsibility to anyone else in his organization.  Because of his years of professional experience, and knowledge, he is able to guide clients and their family members with the best decisions possible.
• Aside from a very thorough and intensive background check including criminal history, reference check, drug test, and misconduct registry check, PCS conducts a pre-employment assessment of its caregivers that closely examine attitude, behaviors and personality characteristics in order to screen those caregivers that could put clients at risk. Some of these characteristics include dependability, honesty, hostility, substance abuse, sexual harassment and cognitive reasoning amongst others. (For more details, refer to our CQA Program)
• Before being assigned to a client, every caregiver is mentored by the client’s current caregiver to review the client’s routine and daily needs requiring the caregiver’s assistance.
• On every assignment, PCS caregivers document such things as a client’s daily activities, personal assistance required, vital signs, meals, snacks, supplements and fluids consumed, sleeping patterns, behavioral issues, and any other significant medical and psycho-social changes that could be a potential issue or problem.