It certainly isn’t a typical holiday season.
COVID is on the upswing across Massachusetts, the cold and snow of winter have arrived, days are short and we’ve all been confined in our homes too long.
That sounds like something that Charles Dickens’ Scrooge might enjoy but there have been many kindnesses along the way. We have learned a lot about the things that are most important this year. We are grateful to be in a position to continue caring for our clients and working together as a team and community.
We began 2020 with high hopes and excitement about the merging of Homecare Choices and Care …From the Heart into one. We conclude the year with gratitude that we have been able to remain operational and prevent COVID from spreading among our ranks.
In March 2020, we implemented safe and rigorous precautions and protocols to protect employees, clients and their families from the risk of COVID—and we’re gratified that it has paid off.
Our team has been amazing. Our caregivers have simplified their lifestyles in order to prioritize looking after clients. Our leadership team learned to work from home and our two teams bonded quickly around the mission and became one family of people dedicated to the cause of quality care despite the challenges 2020 has thrown at us.
Rachael Hicks, Care …From the Heart founder and dear friend to many of us had planned to retire at the end of 2020. It was a wild year but thanks to her deep dedication we have made it to 2021 and we are ready to move forward and honor the legacy she has left us.
Maria Melo, an experienced advocate for Cape Cod seniors, will join our care coordination team this month. She will pick up many of Rachael’s responsibilities and will help us create the next chapter.
Maria, Britt Skinner and I are here for you—whatever you need or whatever may be on your mind. (As always, reach out to me anytime by phone, 508-313-2529, or by email at petercarey@homecarechoices.com.)
The Homecare Choices team is your collective “caregiver,” so to speak, and the more we care for each other, the better we can fulfill our clients’ needs and give their families a perfect holiday gift—the peace of mind that comes from knowing their loved ones are safe, content, and benefitting from the support of devoted caregivers.
Our journey through this very different holiday season need not come with the expense of diminished cheer. Despite dealing with restrictions like smaller family gatherings, the big things such as peace and hope are undiminished. There is a light at the tunnel and we are in this together.
Just as Scrooge found redemption at the end of “A Christmas Carol,” each of us can reflect on the wonderful things we do have, and the potential we see in the future, to discover a feeling of joy in an otherwise stressful holiday season that may be most remembered as a bridge through seasonal darkness into the light of a new year and the promise of a new spring.
So let’s celebrate the holidays as fully and creatively as possible. Cherish your families, however near or distant, and cherish yourselves by being safe, healthy, and hopeful for a prosperous new year.
Best wishes from all of us at Homecare Choices!
Peter Carey
Executive Director
Homecare Choices