Visiting Angels an angel in home health care

If you or someone you love is elderly but wants to remain in their own home, Visiting Angels of Rochester might be the best thing for you to do just that.

The agency staffs 100 caregivers in the southeast Minnesota region, with clients from Rochester to St. Charles to the east, Chatfield to the south, Zumbrota to the north and Austin to the west. Presently they serve about 100 clients, with 20 of those being in Dodge County and Byron.

And Visiting Angels, which is a non-medical home health care organization, amasses as many as 1,750 service hours a week, said Doug Schommer, Rochester community relations director.

“Our services promote dignity and independence to individuals to enable them to live in their homes,” he said. “Family caregiving is a big commitment and often takes an emotional and physical toll on the family. Having us available allows family members to make memories with their loved one while we provide the services they require.”

Those services are everything from bathing, dressing, medication reminders, and light housekeeping to meal preparation. Visiting Angels provides flexible hourly care.

Respite care for families is offered, as well as hospice support. Care through Visiting Angels is available around the clock, with 24-hour care as a welcome option for families using the agency.

All their caregivers are trained in dementia care, Schommer said. Caregivers also all undergo both a federal and state background check, as well as fingerprinting.

Visiting Angels has nearly 600 locations in the U.S., with seven in Minnesota. At the Rochester office, there are about 15 staff members, including a chaplain. Owners Joe and Kyong Sedelmeyer are on staff as well, having owned the franchise since 2009.

About 80 percent of the Visiting Angels clients suffer from Alzheimer’s, Schommer said, so in addition to being trained in dementia care staff is also trained in Alzheimer’s care.

Visiting Angels of Rochester has been awarded Best of Home Care by Home Care Pulse every year since 2012.

“Our staff has a true heart for helping seniors live a better quality of life,” Schommer said. “The families we care for aren’t just clients. To us they become family.”