I contacted Senior Helpers for home care services for my mom because our other nurses wanted…read moreSundays off. The shift was for just three hours of care, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., every Sunday. In those 11 months, we went through at least a dozen caregivers, SMH.
My mother was a total care patient, meaning she needed help with every aspect of her care. I required that every new caregiver would need to train with our weekday nurse first before starting their shift. This was not optional: my mom had to take her meds and eat on a strict schedule, four times a day. I also required that we have the same consistent caregiver. Time and time again, Senior Helpers did not follow through and honor this basic request. Some quit after one shift, some showed up hours late, and some didn't show up at all.
The longest a caregiver stayed was a month. Then they sent inexperienced teenage nurses right out of high school. One lasted a day, and another one didn't even show up on her first day after training. Those young nurses would also ignore my calls and texts. I firmly reiterated to them to stop sending these young, inexperienced nurses and to send compassionate, mature, responsible caregivers. Again and again, my request was ignored.
The worst part? One caregiver sat my mom in her recliner and didn't recline the chair far back enough that my mom fell face-forward onto the ground minutes after the caregiver left.
Senior Helpers didn't even acknowledge it. Kieana from Senior Helpers, with whom I communicated the most, didn't escalate it, nor did she acknowledge, express concern, or apologize. She just sent me a short, cold email stating that, "A new caregiver will start next week," as if nothing had happened.
We experienced constant stress, last-minute schedule changes, and inexcusable neglect. Another time, a new caregiver fell asleep while my mom was on the commode, leaving her there to sit for 50 minutes, during which she could've fallen.
Anytime a caregiver didn't show up, they'd scramble to send someone last-minute, often late, untrained, and unprepared, leaving me to explain everything remotely, 3,000 miles away via FaceTime. One time, a caregiver they sent showed up at 10:30 a.m.!
For a company that claims to offer "peace of mind," they did the opposite. They caused us emotional exhaustion, wasted our time, and jeopardized my mom's well-being. They gave us zero peace of mind. If your loved one is a total care patient, do NOT hire Senior Helpers. They are not equipped to provide stable, quality care for high-needs clients. What we needed was consistency, compassion, and professionalism. What we got was chaos, no-shows, and neglect, leaving us frustrated, heartbroken, and exhausted for 11 months!