Comfort Keepers

Senior Home Care

The peaceful Chesapeake Bay area makes Maryland's Eastern Shore a popular place to retire. Its residents want to enjoy their later years at home with friends and family in familiar surroundings. The local branch of Comfort Keepers, opened by Bill and Jean Shrieves in 2005, can make that happen with a full range of companion care services, personal care services and technology solutions to help seniors live happier, healthier lives at home.

Comfort Keepers is a nationwide company with more than 600 offices and was founded in Ohio in 1998. Bill and Jean currently employ about 100 caregivers who provide about 2,000 hours of care each week for seniors in Dorchester, Talbot, Caroline, Queen Anne's and Kent Counties.

“Keeping individuals engaged in life mentally, emotionally, physically and socially can make a significant difference in their well-being.”

Bill left a career with a major corporation spanning more than three decades to open a Comfort Keepers branch in the area. "We wanted to do something that would have a positive impact on our community," he explains. "A friend in Ohio who was using Comfort Keepers was delighted with the service, so we opened a dialogue with the company. We determined that there was an unfulfilled need in this area and liked the company’s approach to caregiving."

"We practice something we call interactive caregiving," he continues. "Interactive caregiving is about doing 'with' and not 'for.' Keeping individuals engaged in life mentally, emotionally, physically and socially can make a significant difference in their wellbeing. Comfort Keepers assesses the client’s mental and physical ability and engages them in the tasks we are performing, which protects their pride, dignity and independence."

Home visits can be as little as four hours once or twice a week to help with housekeeping and meal preparation or 24 hours a day, seven days a week depending on the needs of the client and family. Comfort Keepers works with hospice in end-of-life situations to provide emotional support, personal care services and housekeeping. Comfort Keepers is also delighted to help clients who might need short-term assistance while recovering from a hospital stay or a hip or knee replacement.

Client Care Coordinator Michelle Lutz, RN, says, "Our clients share a commonality of coping with stressors due to the aging process. Meeting with prospective clients and their families provides an opportunity for me to listen to their concerns. Together, we develop a plan to initiate care that addresses these concerns."

Comfort Keepers enriches the lives of seniors and other adults by helping them live safely, happily and independently in their own homes. Comfort Keepers work with the family and client to enable the best possible living situation for everyone involved.

Only the best candidates join Comfort Keepers. "All of our employees are carefully screened, evaluated and trained to meet our high standard of care," Bill explains. They are naturals at the art of caregiving, and they undergo a thorough screening and interviewing process to identify the most caring and devoted applicants.

Comfort Keepers also provides care for veterans through a program with the Veterans Association. "We are proud to serve the people who have served our country," Bill says.

Comfort Keepers
407 Brookletts Avenue
Easton, MD 21601
410-822-4414

www.comfortkeepers.com/office-596

Pictured: Natasha Holmes, Jean Shrieves and Bill Shrieves with client Joan Whiting
Photography: Bob Gosselin