SYNERGY HomeCare feature Oklahoma Senior Journal by Robin Gunn

SYNERGY Creating a whole that is greater than the pieces alone

by Anne Richardson

Like a puzzle, each SYNERGY HomeCare Team member is a unique piece, fitting together to make one workable whole—something greater than the individual pieces.

The result is an amazing company that values its clients, and humanity in general, in many ways. That’s what SYNERGY HomeCare is doing every hour of every day. Creating SYNERGY Through Connecting As a Team

President & CEO, Weama Kassem

Hourly to 24-hour care, wherever home may be.

Connecting caregivers and management makes SYNERGY HomeCare’s staff a family. Every company strives for a teamlike approach, but how many have a CEO who cooks a special lunch each week for the whole staff? Or hosts Saturday in-service lunches once a month for caregivers? President & CEO, Weama Kassem, has a true servant’s heart. In her desire to succeed in business and in her passion to serve others, she has created something special.

Read more about SYNERGY HomeCare

serving families throughout the Oklahoma City metro. © OKLAHOMA SENIOR JOURNAL 2016-17

Pulling the

pieces TOGETHER by Anne Richardson

President & CEO with a Servant’s Heart For Weama Kassem, “caring for people and providing hospitality are my natural passions. And part of my culture is to care for seniors.” Upon graduation from Oklahoma City University, Weama was terribly saddened to see such a need for compassionate senior care. This drove her to find a way that she could make a difference. Combining her loves of caring for others and hospitality, Weama began seeking a source through which she would be able to provide senior care on a wide scale. As a result of her research on senior care franchises, her heart connected with the mission and values of SYNERGY HomeCare. Weama has gained a positive reputation and is one of the go-to companies when assistance is needed as people age in place. Her relationships with referral sources has created an effective and creative collaboration. SYNERGY has become a top non-medical provider of choice in the continuum of care for several Home Health “You can give or get help if we touch one another, person to person, heart to heart. ” —Weama, President & CEO of SYNERGY HomeCare in Edmond

Our SYNERGY Team is at your service.

and Hospice companies throughout the metro. SYNERGY HomeCare has experienced impressive growth since 2013 in the northern metro area and the SYNERGY brand has begun to take root. Although the metro area is geographically widespread, the small town culture naturally evolved into relationships extending southward down the I-35 corridor allowing SYNERGY to begin penetrating the Moore/Norman market. In order to provide brand continuity, the next logical step was to acquire the centerpiece, which is the Oklahoma City territory. Weama believes in the law of attraction and has drawn a team to her that has similar values. Together, they have created their own synergy and taken the mission to the next level of meeting people in the context of their crisis. Weama sets the example for 24-hour availability for her staff as she leads the way in going the

What is a

C.A.R.E. Team?

Weama makes lunch each week for staff and any visitors—you are invited to come by to enjoy homemade cooking from Weama! She feels it’s another way to serve, share and connect with people.

extra mile for her clients. This might even mean picking up a caregiver with car trouble just so that the client with Alzheimer’s has the smiling face that he is familiar with and with whom he has a comforting relationship. It could also mean providing a meal for a client. Through Weama’s leadership, her SYNERGY team puts an extraordinary amount of emphasis on the C.A.R.E. concept and provides extended caregiver education on client engagement.

Our Offices 13720 N. Bryant Ave. Edmond, OK 73013

405-254-3046

SYNERGYHomeCare.com/edmond

and Madison Executive Suites 480 24th Avenue NW Norman, OK 73069

405-701-0791

SYNERGY HomeCare is the only nonmedical home care company with the proprietary C.A.R.E. Team approach.

C.A.R.E. stands for Coordinated And Responsive Engagement It’s not just about providing home care, but about finding solutions. SYNERGY goes above and beyond providing basic homemaking, personal care and companion services by: • Coordinating with family members and providers as we observe, note and interact with our clients making the information available to them. • Responding by incorporating this information into the caring services we provide to our clients each day. • Engaging family members, medical providers and clients in order to improve the quality of life for the families we serve, providing positive outcomes for all involved. Caring for a senior is a team effort. SYNERGY’s participation in the continuum of care means you can depend on us to protect your well-being. The first step to coordinating care is to sit down with you and create a customized care plan that includes a centralized list of all care provided. We adjust care plans as needs of the client and/or family changes. We take client satisfaction so seriously that we engage an independent surveyor to conduct monthly satisfaction surveys.

synergyhomecare.com/agencies/ok/norman/ok04/

Serving OKC, Edmond, Moore/Norman & the greater metro area © OKLAHOMA SENIOR JOURNAL 2016-17

SYNERGY HomeCare is proud to serve Oklahoma's Veterans!!

(continued from page 11)

Serving our Veterans SYNERGY HomeCare is one of the largest approved providers with the Veterans’ Administration. They understand the special needs of Veterans and provide individualized care for each Veteran’s need. Relationship Building with SYNERGY’s Pr mise Team Caregivers

Our

Pr mise Team

SYNERGY is filling in the gaps with pieces you may be Commitment unaware are missing ... SYNERGY HomeCare is the only home care George (pictured below) and his late company that provides a 2-hour promise. Our wife had a 71-year-long marriage. 2-hour promise means one of our PR MISE He lost both his wife and sister TEAM Members, with appropriate certification simultaneously. He was very for your care needs, will arrive at your quiet and withdrawn after these service location within 2 hours. devastating life changes. After his *restrictions apply. 11p-7a excluded caregiver began working with him, he started to come out of his room more and engage with life. His SYNERGY caregiver motivated and encouraged him through conversation, crafts, and recalling memories of his past. This is how the caregivers approach all their clients—like family. TM

“We are ALL Caregivers” In Weama’s eyes, everyone is a caregiver at some time in their life. She strives to always find what her team can do differently, and better. “Our happiness is happy people,” Weama says. SYNERGY’s services include a wide variety of home care services, respite Engaging in activities together. care, surgery recovery assistance, care management and palliative care. Their duties within those areas include things such as reminders for medication, providing transportation for errands and grocery shopping, client engagement and cognitive therapy, light housekeeping, as well as meal planning and preparation. Each personal care plan is customized to fit the client’s own needs. © OKLAHOMA SENIOR JOURNAL 2016-17

Providing RESPITE CARE for family caregivers SYNERGY HomeCare believes that part of their mission is to meet families in the context of their crisis. Our nation identified a new crisis and the Sandwich Generation was born. That means a growing number of families are taking care of an aging loved one. Caring for an aging parent is a labor of love, but it is still labor. Many family caregivers sacrifice personal time or become stretched thin between the needs of aging parents, the needs of their children and/or grandchildren or just as importantly, their own needs. Family caregivers experience burnout and failing health in large proportions. Providing RESPITE CARE means families are able to rely on a SYNERGY caregiver to take the lead for a few hours or a few days. It is an excellent solution that allows family caregivers some much needed time for themselves without worry, and it allows the one needing care to remain in their own environment. How SYNERGY Brings It All Together SYNERGY excels at finding what pieces are needed to perfectly fit the life of seniors, creating a better life for aging loved ones and their families. Learning about the client and matching compatible caregivers is essential. Does the client have a pet? Do they have allergies? Do they smoke? Do they have a hobby? What was their former profession? Do they need just a few hours or do they need someone to stay overnight? Many factors are used in determining the best care plan and caregiver for each client. SYNERGY HomeCare approaches each new client like family and each situation as unique.

What makes SYNERGY HomeCare the missing piece to your story? • Telephone access to management 24 hours a day, 7 days a week • 24-hour availability • 2-hour Pr

mise Team

• Supervising RNs on staff • Caregivers are W2 employees, not contracted • One of Oklahoma's largest care providers to Veterans • Complimentary care assessments • No minimum hour requirement • No contracts... just care

Call Today for Your COMPLIMENTARY No Obligation In-Home Consultation and Care Assessment Our Offices 13720 N. Bryant Ave. Edmond, OK 73013

405-254-3046

SYNERGYHomeCare.com/edmond

and Madison Executive Suites 480 24th Avenue NW Norman, OK 73069

405-701-0791

FALL/SPRING 2016-17

TAKE ONE - Complimentary

O • K • L • A • H • O • M • A

MAKING A BETTER LIFE FOR THE

50+

Journal

SYNERGY: Creating a whole

greater than the pieces alone

≈Our Pr mise... to cover shifts within 2 hours.∆ *restrictions apply. 11p-7a excluded

Meet the team on pages 6, 10 & 11, 32 & 33.

Inside:

The VOICE and The PRINT for the 50-Plus Community: Robin Gunn & Eunice Khoury

Directory Listings Over 6,000 +

50a

Pet Section ~ 7th Edition It’s All About

Resources, Numbers and Websites

“PETS” & the People They Own...! ®