New Service Offers Seniors Relocation Aid

For people of all ages, the very prospect of relocating can be overwhelming.

It is especially intimidating for older persons who, when wrenched from friends and familiar surroundings, also face the excruciating ordeal of winnowing the possessions of a lifetime.

What to keep?

What to give away? Throw away? Sell?

What to pack? When? Where will it all fit in the new, more-confined space?

When grandma or grandpa no longer can maintain at home and move to a retirement apartment or a nursing home, a million questions arise. Confusion reigns.

But Honoring Elders can make it easier, say Patrick Spiger and Peg DeVries, a husband and wife team which is charting new dimensions in elder services in the Spokane area.

Spiger, a former business development expert, and DeVries, a licensed hair stylist, operate a new in-home service that specializes in helping older persons to continue to live independently as long as possible.

Honoring Elders assists the elderly with everyday tasks in their own homes. Services include transportation to and from health appointments, light housekeeping, errands, laundry, shopping, meal preparation, hair care, and what Spiger calls “personalized care.”

What’s that?

“Dusting,” says Spiger. “Or, arranging pictures on a wall. Or going for a walk in the park. We listen to what older people say they want, and then we do it.”

Workers are carefully screened, bonded and insured caregivers, according to the Honoring Elders’ guarantee. Rates vary from $15 per hour to packages of services performed for a weekly or monthly rate.

“We started this business in December,” says Spiger, “to give seniors a better chance to stay in their homes.” Soon they discovered a need, as well, to help seniors move, when the time comes.

What they do is both an art and a science, says Spiger, combining logistical expertise, counseling skills, sensitivity, business acumen, the ability to juggle and coordinate a variety of tasks, and above all knowledge of the do’s and don’ts.

A relocation specialist listens to clients’ concerns, assesses the situation, and, if the customer wishes, handles every detail of the move from start to finish.

“We can advise you on which pieces of furniture to bring along, which to get rid of, and how to do it,” says Spiger. “We assist in packing and unpacking. We clean the house. We clean out the garage. We set up the new apartment.”

A single coordinator manages the whole move. But clients can select among a variety of specialists - moving and storage operators, estate sales agents, house cleaners.

Honoring Elders takes snapshots of where things are in the home a customer is leaving. “Then, in their new home, we put things back where they belong - right down to the Bible on the nightstand, the tissues in the drawer, great grandkids’ photos on the wall,” says Spiger. “That can be a great comfort to a frail 85-year-old great grandma who has just made the most difficult move of her life.”

For those with family members, neighbors, or parishioners willing to work, Honoring Elders will develop an organizational plan with a checklist, turn it over to the client, and assist as needed. “We outline the pricing,” said Spiger, “and they can take what they like.”

This is the first such service in Spokane, but it has been successful in larger markets such as Los Angles and Minneapolis.

Ann Beyer, of Mission Ridge Assisted Living, says skilled and reliable relocation help is a “badly needed service in this market niche.”

During 15 years in senior care, she observes, “I have seen a lot of trauma associated with the process of making a move from a long-term residence to some form of assisted living facility. Many residents are ill for several weeks after making the move on their own.”

Others in the elder care industry also speak highly of the service. Says Charlie Yeaton, administrator of The Academy Retirement Community, “I feel this service can be of great assistance to many of our prospective clients.”

, DataTimes MEMO: Associate Editor Frank Bartel writes on retirement issues each Sunday. He can be reached with ideas for future columns at 459-5467 or fax 459-5482.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Frank Bartel The Spokesman-Review