SWAMPSCOTT — Firstlight Home Care is struggling to keep up with the demand of people needing at home care in the wake of the pandemic. Co-Founder Molly Rowe said this is an issue everywhere.
“There’s more need than ever before for people needing our services, we still can’t get enough quality caregivers through the door,” Rowe said.
Rowe and her husband, Steve Rowe, created the company nine years ago after having a hard time finding care for her father-in-law.
“Caring for an aging loved one is difficult, when they’re close, or far away, you know, they each come with challenges and guilt,” Rowe said. “At the time for us, we thought the only option for him was a nursing home, either be in your home or go to a nursing home, we didn’t realize there was an in between level, which is what we provide to people.”
Firstlight Home Care is considered non-medical home care.
“All the stuff someone does in their daily life to get by, getting up in the morning dressed, going to the bathroom, taking a shower, getting healthy breakfast, running errands, lunch, making sure that the medications are taken … and right down to the end of the day, when you go to bed at night,” Rowe said. “As we age, all of those things get a lot harder.”
They provide all types of care from four to eight hour shifts to 24/7 “care around the clock,” she said.
At the beginning of the pandemic the company was hit hard like most other companies.
“We used to go into a lot of assisted livings and give more care. Obviously, we stopped being able to do that. Many of our clients stopped wanting extra people in their house,” Rowe said.
This then eventually shifted into their clients wanting more care because of the feelings of isolation.
“They’re alone hours upon hours, weeks and days and so that caregiver was really their one contact with the outside world,” Rowe said.
That is where their current problem of being understaffed came from. Without COVID-19 happening, she said she doesn’t think it would have gotten to the point it has.
“I think they’re calling us more because there are fewer caregivers so everywhere they call is telling them they have a waiting list so we as a result get more calls and then other people are probably getting more calls because we refer to them,” Rowe said.
Another reason for this rush of clients may be from their loved ones feeling burnt out.
“People spent two years, closed up, or taking care of a loved one and now suddenly, you know, we all feel that rush to travel and do things and so the, the adult sons and daughters who are caring for someone are saying, ‘you know, what, I need a break, I need to go and I want someone to take care of my mom, I need some more support,’” Rowe said.
As of right now, Firstlight Home Care is just trying to “recruit heavily” and get back to pre pandemic ways “in terms of what we can do for people,” she said.
