My Biz: Right at Home provides non-medical services to seniors, disabled

CEDAR RAPIDS - Renee Riffey witnessed firsthand how hard it is to be a full-time caregiver.

'My dad was diagnosed with a brain tumor and lived about a year,” she said. 'I saw the toll his care took on my mother at the time. I was young and didn't have the capacity to help at that time.”

Riffey knew she wanted help people stay in their homes and remain independent as long as possible. So nearly two years ago, she opened a franchise of a home care agency known as Right at Home.

Respite care, non-medical care, home health aides, dementia care, companionship and homemaking are some of the services the agency provides for seniors and disabled adults.

Riffey, a former IT corporate staffer, employs 49 people.

'We don't do wounds or medication management,” she said, 'but we provide a valuable resource to the community with our trained caregivers.

'Home care is serious business,” she added. 'You can't get more personal than when you are bathing your mother or when you are changing someone's undergarments. It is human work, and it has nothing to do with technology or widgets. It's emotions, feelings and life, and we have to adjust to life.”

Riffey took a nurse aide training class at Kirkwood so she would understand what was being taught to potential employees.

'It gave me an appreciation of what it would be like to walk in their shoes,” she said.

The home care industry still is relatively new, and the public and state legislators still have very little knowledge of its needs.

'There is very little legislation coming up that even addresses home health services,” she said. 'Define that. What does that mean?

'If my people can come in and help somebody with a bath, or if we can clean their home for them once a week and provide a little help and companionship, those things alone might help keep that person out of the hospital, or a care facility for a while longer,” she added.

With thousands of baby boomers turning 65 every day, and people living longer and wanting to stay in their homes, the need for home care is on the increase, Riffey said.

'The Silver Tsunami is coming and we aren't ready for it,” Riffey said. 'We are behind the eight ball from a legislative perspective. We have to educate the public and especially our legislators on what is going on out here, and then help create the proper laws and legislation that will support the needs and care that is going to be needed by this aging population.”

AT A GLANCE

Owner: Renee Riffey

Business: Right At Home - Home Care Agency

Address: 3525 Center Point Rd NE - Ste. D, Cedar Rapids, IA

Phone: (319) 826-6608

Website: www.rahcr.com

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