I would strongly caution families before relying on A Heavenly Helper for the care of a vulnerable…read moreloved one.
I spent about five days in numerous phone conversations with the owner, Terri, arranging care for my elderly father and had no issues with her during that time.
Then I spoke with Shar/Char, the Director of Operations, for the first time. I was trying to get information that I had previously provided to Terri a few days earlier. From the moment Shar answered, I found her abrupt, cold and combative. When she said she had the information but would not provide it, I asked to be transferred to Terri, since I had been dealing with her all along.
Shar took my request to speak with Terri as "dismissive" and later said it was as though I expected Terri to reprimand her.
When I learned that Shar was the person who would be coming into my father's home to open his case, I told Terri I was uncomfortable with that based on the interaction I had just had with her. My concern was simple: if this was how Shar reacted during our very first interaction, I did not want my elderly father subjected to that behavior in his own home.
Terri defended Shar, said she was the Director of Operations and the person who normally opened cases, characterized my concern as "discrimination," and said she would not have anyone "dictate" her business.
Terri then put me on hold. When the call disconnected, I called back. Shar answered and told me Terri had actually been trying to transfer me back to her.
Shar then confronted me again, accused me of being aggressive and disrespectful, said I was not someone who could decide, "I don't want this person in this home," and told me I did not have to work with their agency. I found her behavior vindictive, spiteful, and unprofessional.
She ended the conversation with: "Have a great day. Goodbye Bitch." And then hung up on me.
My father's care was then canceled the day before services were supposed to begin.
What concerns me most is families of elderly and vulnerable people should be able to raise concerns about someone entering their loved one's home without fearing hostility, personal attacks, or the loss of care.
I was also troubled by the agency's policy of refusing to disclose employees' last names, including management. Terri explained that they do not normally give out last names because they do not want people "looking them up" or threatening them, and Shar said, "we don't even give ours out."
In my situation, however, I was the person who was called a "bitch" and hung up on, and my father was the one whose services were canceled. From my perspective, refusing to identify management staff makes accountability more difficult when something goes wrong, like what we experienced.
I also found additional public-record information that prospective families may want to review for themselves. Ohio appellate records identify Terri Jochum and several related companies, including Angels in Waiting Healthcare Providers, LLC, as being involved in related litigation. One later case concerned $147,398.14 in unpaid legal fees arising from that litigation. OSHA records also show a complaint-initiated inspection of Empro Job Network, Inc. in February 2015, with one violation recorded. There was also a later federal wage-and-hour lawsuit against Empro Job Network Inc. d/b/a Angels in Waiting Home Care alleging unpaid overtime.
Terri told me directly that she later sold Angels in Waiting.
Given my experience, I would encourage families to do their own research before deciding who they want caring for a vulnerable loved one.
