The concept of aging in place has become more fluent when discussing the senior community. New studies show that the average lifespan continues to grow and is now 89 years old for females, and 87 for males. Over 18% of Canada’s population is 65 and older, and studies suggest that it will reach 20% by 2025.

An impressive number that can also be worrisome, if we don’t have the infrastructure to keep up with these changing times. To accommodate these statistics, we need services like iAccompany to make the aging process more valuable, and to make aging in place possible.

To make aging in place possible, families need options to be able to support their loved ones and give them the quality of life they are familiar and comfortable with. 

Considering your options early – whether for yourself or an aging loved one – helps to make the process smoother when the time comes. This allows seniors to make graceful transitions into their next chapter, and to not make abrupt changes that can harm their mental or physical wellbeing.

With falls and other injury risks on the mind, it is important to be proactive and not reactive, as an accident or crisis is not a good time for change.

iAccompany is a great step when talking about your loved one’s healthcare. Our service allows our clients to be independent, while getting the help they need. It is a way to keep families connected, by having your questions answered by the doctor, and receiving post appointment reports even though you are not physically there yourself.  

There are many reasons to let your loved one age in place – here are just a few:

• Independence

At some point in everyone’s lives, total independence becomes impossible. Whether it be physical or cognitive decline, we will all need help completing everyday tasks. However, with the help of iAccompany, we can give seniors their independence and control. Allow them to live in their home, but give them the help they need to get around, see the doctor, do blood work or lab tests, and still be in control of their life. 

Adults moving into senior living centres lose a lot of their independence as they are no longer in control of their daily routines or activities. Living everyday as they want is a key to giving aging adults the dignity and independence they deserve. 

• Maintain Usual Routines

Being surrounded by new people in a different environment than they are used to is a big stressor for many seniors. An abrupt change to your schedule such as certain times for eating or activities can be very upsetting. By aging in place, your loved one gets to keep their normal routine, and make small changes to their schedule. Hiring services to come in and help with meal preparation or out-of-home care services like iAccompany, can make their routine better and give them the company they cherish along the way.

• Healthier Environment

By living at home, you reduce the risk of contracting illnesses that often spread in retirement homes. As we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, senior homes can be a dangerous place when illnesses spread. The flu, or other diseases and infections, spread easily and not all seniors have the immune system to fight back. By keeping your loved ones in their home, and still getting them the help they need, you are allowing them to live in a healthier environment where they are less likely to be immunocompromised. 

• Better Quality of Life

Quality of life is a huge discussion when concerning senior care. Aging gracefully and peacefully is important for the generations that do so much to raise families, work to contribute to society, and now deserve to live out their days in peace. Aging in place allows seniors to stay in their place of comfort, a home that holds so many of their memories, and in a community that they are familiar with. As they age, mental barriers can create problems and keeping them in a familiar space can be very comforting for them, and the rest of your family.

• Community Connections

Feeling like a part of the community is important for people as they age. Just like how we grow attached to our home, we also grow attached to our neighbours, church members, and other community activities you may be involved in. As we age, relationships become an important aspect of our happiness, and staying connected to friends is critical. 

Keeping seniors connected is an important part of their independence and allows them to continue to be social and interactive with the community around them. 

• Home is Home

Many seniors have called their residence ‘home’ for decades, where they have formed memories and relationships within their walls and in the community around them. Services such as iAccompany help make aging in place possible.

By having a plan, you can avoid the stress of making plans when it’s too late. Abrupt changes are not good for the mind or body, and oftentimes seniors are put into long-term care too soon. By taking a breath and reviewing your options, you can keep your aging parents at home where they feel free, independent, and in control of their life. At the same time, you can have the peace of mind that they are taken care of – in professional and capable hands.

At iAccompany we provide you with a trusted and reliable service, using our vetted and qualified nurses to better communicate your loved ones healthcare needs. Our goal is peace of mind for you and your family, because we know life doesn’t always make it easy.

Try our complimentary service today www.iaccompany.ca

Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury. This fact is well-known and documented, and is a big concern for people with aging loved ones. 

Unintentional injuries and hospital admissions are common following a fall, plus the continuous fear of falling can take a serious toll on the mental health of our aging loved ones. 

As you get older, physical changes to your body occur that can make falling more likely. Some medications used to treat the conditions of aging are associated with drowsiness or slower reaction time – impairments that can lead to a fall. Many studies have shown that chronic illnesses typically result in an increased risk of falls as well. 

Here are some stats to keep in mind:

• 20-30% of seniors experience one or more falls a year
• Falls are the most common cause of non-fatal injuries
• 85% of falls lead to hospitalization
• The average senior stays in the hospital 10 days longer for falls than any other injury
• The cost to the healthcare system to treat injuries from falling is over $2 billion per year

Common physical side effects are soft tissue injuries or minor fractures, such as a hip fracture, which can cause pain and functional challenges for your loved one. Brain injuries and broken arms are also common afflictions that arise from falling. Although some may see these as “minor” physical injuries, it is also worth noting the negative mental effects seniors may experience after a fall. 

Falls often trigger a fear of falling in the future, causing our loved ones to limit their activity. This in-turn causes their bones and muscles to weaken and they choose to stay home and get less exercise as a result.

The loss in mobility causes them to feel a decrease in independence, become more anxious or depressed, and confused about what they can and can’t do. Being active keeps them healthy and strong, and reduces the risk of falling in the future. 

At iAccompany, we believe in the importance of aging in place. It is essential to the quality of life, and independence of our elders that they have the option to stay in their house. Our service helps aging in place become a reality.  It also brings peace of mind to their family members about the things they cannot do on their own anymore.

Our service provides a nursing professional to meet your loved one at their home. They accompany them to their doctor’s appointment, helping them walk to and from the building – which is especially important with the slippery conditions of Canadian winters!

Our qualified nursing professional sits in on the meeting between the doctor and your loved one, and asks any questions you might have. The nursing professional accompanies your loved one to any post appointment activities – lab work, prescription changes and the like. They then accompany them safely back to their residence, and send you a secure link with a full-report of what was discussed during the appointment.

Our goal is to help you and your aging loved one navigate the healthcare experience by offering accompaniment, asking the right questions of the doctor, and providing you all the details of the accompaniment. 

Whether other life stresses constrain your ability to accompany your loved one, or you live a distance from your loved one, we can keep you and your aging loved ones connected.

Did you know that our nursing professionals see your loved one TO and FROM their doctors appointment?

Learn how we can help keep your loved one in their home!

Call us at (204) 291 4779

Sandra Charron has been active in the healthcare industry for many years. She spent seven years as a postpartum nurse, and is currently working as a Health Links nurse in Manitoba.

She recently began work as an iAccompany family representative as a way to gain more experience and get more out of the profession which has given her so much over the years. 

Through her experience, she was able to meet and accompany Larry, an iAccompany client that used our service to attend his doctor’s appointment with Sandra at his side. 

“It was a chance to spend a lot more time with a patient. Nursing is a very fast paced profession now – it is very task oriented and there isn’t a lot of time to really be with someone,” said Sandra.  “We are nurses, it’s a compassionate profession and that is the experience I was looking for when I signed up with iAccompany.”

As a family representative, iAccompany offers a flexible schedule, where you can pick the days and hours you are available to attend appointments. During the appointment, you have the time to spend one-on-one with the client, which is rare in the current healthcare climate.

“It is a really nice opportunity to just sit and be, and appreciate the experience,” said Sandra. “In nursing right now we’ve gotten away from the whole human aspect of it, and this service really brings that back”.

The responsibilities of the family representative really differentiates iAccompany from other services. They don’t only bring your loved one to and from their appointment, but sit in with the doctor and take notes on what is being discussed.

“I really enjoyed that reporting aspect of the job. I had my opportunity to be with the client and to spend time interacting with them but then this gave me my opportunity to be a nurse. In that environment I got to take notes and really got to do my job – and that aspect just made me feel complete.”

We know the potential for miscommunication is higher when your loved one doesn’t understand what the doctor is saying and can’t or won’t relay that information to you reliably.  We know the frustration that comes from sitting alone in the waiting room being unable to assist or comprehend the discussion that is underway.  That is why we created iAccompany to be your eyes and ears during the meeting between the doctor and your loved one.

When you book an appointment for your loved one at www.iaccompany.ca, you can pose the questions you would like the nurse to ask the doctor on your behalf.  Your concerns will then be brought up during the appointment, and answers will be recorded to augment the detailed report you will receive, post-appointment, via a secure link.

When asked about the reporting process, Sandra explained how it was very easy and straightforward to submit following the appointment. 

“Sitting down and typing out my notes really allowed me to further think about what occurred in the doctor’s office with the client. It really allowed me to put into practice nursing that I hadn’t really had before, I just really enjoyed viewing my profession on a more autonomous level.”

Our service offers nurses something unique – an opportunity to interact more personally with the people you are helping. This is a nice change of pace for many healthcare workers who have been overwhelmed over the last several months. 

“Nursing has become get in, do your job, and get out. This is something where I knew I would be with the person to the venue, in the office, and then back to the person’s residence. During that time you have someone to talk to, to discuss current events or other things, which is comforting – for me and the patient.”

We provide the best for our clients because ours is a service and not an obligation. All of our professionals are there to help, and have your family’s best interest at heart. 

“If you can’t take your loved one to their appointment yourself, you know you have a professional that is taking care of them, a professional who wants to be doing this,” said Sandra. “iAccompany is motivated to provide people with aging parents with a service that puts their family in capable and professional hands. If I was in that situation myself, this is definitely an avenue I would consider.”

We know attending appointments is not always possible if you have a career, family of your own, or geographical barriers. Our promise is to treat your loved one as our loved one, because we have been in your shoes and decided to create this engaging solution.  As Sandra notes, “I’m just glad that iAccompany is out there to offer this service for people, but also for nurses who feel like they need a little extra in their profession.”

This week, we caught up with the iAccompany Chief Technology Officer, Doug Stoyko. As one of the co-founders of our service, Doug works to keep our online portal secure and ensure your privacy is protected on both our mobile app and website.

Much like the other founders, the iAccompany service was born out of necessity in Doug’s life. His experiences of trying to juggle his own responsibilities on top of taking care of his aging parent were causing a lot of stress for Doug and his family – and iAccompany became the perfect solution.

“In our personal lives, we noticed that we were having trouble getting our parents to appointments and really understanding what was going on in those appointments,” said Doug.

From there, Jeff, Byrnes, and Doug asked some nursing professional friends if they would attend the appointment, listen to the suggestions, and take notes on the conversation taking place between the patient and doctor.

Over time, Doug noted the peace of mind it brought to both him and his aging mother. “The more we did this the more comforting it was for us and the more comforting it was for our parents as well.”

They quickly noticed how this could be an incredible service for people all over to utilize.

What differentiates iAccompany is that the nursing professional does not only bring your loved one to and from their appointment, but also sits in on the meeting between the doctor and patient. This eliminates the miscommunication barrier that often arises when information is not being shared. 

“The report following the appointment allows you to understand what transpired, and gives you a full understanding of what was discussed during the appointment,” said Doug. 

As Chief Technology Officer, Doug also enjoys the technology iAccompany employs – which keeps you informed on where your loved one is at all times. From your cell phone, you can track the process of the appointment right from picking up the patient, going to the doctor’s appointment, and coming back. This can also be viewed on your desktop by visiting our website and logging in. You’re fully informed during the process and most importantly following the appointment with the full report from the nursing professional. 

The full report documents what transpired during the appointment including comments and suggestions from the doctor as well as the answers to any questions you may have had prior to the appointment.

We realize how comforting it is for users to get all that information right to your handheld device. Even if you cannot be there yourself, we are providing you the information as if you are there. 

“At iAccompany, we utilize state of the art web and mobile technology so you can track the status of the appointment – from the pickup back to the drop off. It’s all posted on Google platforms so you can rest assured that all the information you provided us is completely secure,” said Doug. 

As someone who went through the experience himself, Doug would recommend iAccompany to anybody who has a family member or friend who you’re having trouble getting to medical appointments, or you just want more insight into what’s going on in those medical appointments. 

“If you just want a little more reassurance as to what is happening – iAccompany is the service for you.”

You can download our app by searching for iAccompany in the App Store or get it on Google Play. You can also visit our website at www.iaccompany.ca and get started today.

This week, we caught up with Jeff Reitberger, Chief Executive Officer at iAccompany. He discussed the inspiration behind iAccompany and how he felt the effects of elder care in his own home, prompting the idea that built our unique service.

“The iAccompany inspiration came from my wife. Her mom, who was in her mid-80s, had a number of chronic illnesses and saw her doctor and specialists numerous times a year,” said Jeff. “My wife tried to accommodate those appointments but it took a huge amount of time away from her full-time profession. One day she said to me, wouldn’t it be nice if there was a business that could provide those accompaniment services for me.”

And so iAccompany was born.

In 2020, Jeff Reitberger, Byrnes Benoit, and Doug Stoyko, decided to turn this great idea into a service that would provide care for elder parents on behalf of their adult children.

Jeff became CEO and focused the basis of the company on helping people in the same situation as his wife. People with full-time jobs, young families of their own, or who live in different geographical locations from their aging parents –  iAccompany serves them all.

According to the Caregiver Action Network, more than 65 million people, 29% of the U.S. population, provide care for a chronically ill, disabled, or aged family member or friend during any given year and spend an average of 20 hours per week providing care for their loved one.

Many people do selfless work, but at their own expense. Oftentimes, caregivers feel guilt, stress, and anxiety when supporting loved ones, which leads to burnout. With very little options in terms of alternate solutions, iAccompany is here to alleviate those stressors, and lend a helping hand in difficult times. 

“The iAccompany experience centres around the qualified nurse who accompanies your family member or loved one. That qualified nurse is going to make sure that your loved one gets to the appointment safely and reports on the details of the appointment so you can best assist your loved one going forward,” said Jeff.

The nurse is the key factor that bridges the gap between the elder parent and adult child. If you are busy with work, occupied by your kids activities, or do not live near your loved one, our service allows you to be in the appointment without physically being there.

In Jeff’s experience, a big issue was the miscommunication between his wife and her mom when she was not there to attend appointments because of work. She often missed out on what the doctor said, and information was not passed on from her mother. This issue sparked another idea – having the accompanying nurse send a full report including doctors comments, future course of actions, and answering any questions you may have had prior to the appointment. 

“There will be clear and concise communication between the doctors, the nurse, and the patient. And there will be a clear readable report at the end of that appointment,” said Jeff.

In conclusion, the idea that sparked iAccompany hits close to home for many. It is a problem that numerous families face at some point in their lives as loved ones get older and doctor appointments become more common. Instead of taking on the stress and responsibility all by yourself, let iAccompany help. 

CEO, Jeff Reitberger, knew it was a great idea from the beginning, and continues to work so our service can bring peace to families everywhere.

“I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend iAccompany to my family and friends. We strive to improve appointment outcomes, we strive to provide peace of mind after your loved one has been at a doctor’s appointment, and we treat your loved one as our loved one.”