To expand the care and social options for older adults and their families, Your Place Your Way, based in Philadelphia, has set up an office in the Chagrin Falls area that is expected to begin welcoming clients as early as this fall.
Founded in 2018 by co-owners Macaira Koch and Sonia Small, the care company aimed to create a service that would take care of both its employees and the clients they care for, based on the care needs of their own parents in the UK and parents Chef in Cincinnati.
Led by Camerin Winovich and based in her home office in Bainbridge Township, Winovich said that a local location from Your Place Your Way in northeast Ohio is needed because it is difficult for many families to find trusted and caring senior help themselves when options are available to the community. Your Place Your Way is also represented in Cincinnati.
“I had a mother-in-law and brother-in-law who both have full-time caregivers,” she told Cleveland Jewish News on September 9. “My brother-in-law has since passed away, but my friends and I could not find high quality help to find safe care. It is so sad. Our difference is that we’re more like a boutique nursing service. Nobody comes into scrubs. For example, if I have a client who wants to go to the synagogue, then his companion knows exactly how to behave. It’s about respect for us. “
The aspect of respect is what sets Your Place Your Way apart, Winovich said.
“But it’s also about the connection we have with family members and the fact that we want to be their partners in old age,” she said. “We’re not there for the money. We want to be a full partner on your way to aging. We want them to age gracefully, to be their friend and to help them with whatever they need. So when I say ’boutique’ I mean that if we take them out for lunch, we will sit down with them and chat. We will be involved in their lives, understand their lives, their needs and wants, and do our best to make sure we deliver. “
From her personal experience, Winovich said her mother lived in an assisted living community, but still needed private care because the community did not have the labor. She wants every family to feel well looked after and that their caregiver, as Your Place Your Way calls them, can focus on their specific needs.
“For us, we will provide individual health care and services for whatever they need,” said Winovich. “And when someone has an appointment with us, they know their companion. It will always be the same and they will know everything about the customer before they even arrive. “
Winovich said she believes families in northeast Ohio have been waiting for something like Your Place Your Way, a service that not only respects every senior but also celebrates the concept of aging.
“Most of the people I’ve come in contact with don’t celebrate the aging process,” she said. “It’s wonderful that we have people who live to be 80, 90 or 100 years old. We should be able to give them the best possible quality of life that they can handle. So to me, celebrating aging is the difference between us. Most people just see this as a job. But one day we’re all going to need something like this. I want someone to celebrate my aging with me. Don’t just see it as a job. “
To learn more about Your Place Your Way, visit ypyw.org.
