Home Care Provides a New Lease on Life
(written for Lutheran Social Services His Hand newsletter)
With infinite patience, Nicole Hinsenkamp tells Michael Dempsey that the mail isn’t here yet, the mail comes at 2 o’clock and now it’s only 10. She needs to repeat the message every 10 minutes or so, but Nicole doesn’t mind. She loves caring for Michael and helping him live independently in his own home, a tidy three-bedroom rank in Dundee, near the Ohio border.
Michael, 50, suffered severe brain damage at birth and cannot live alone. He lived with his parents until he was 34, then in a series of group homes in Monroe County. Michael was very unhappy in his last placement. An attack by another resident put him in the hospital. His behavior became increasingly aggressive, and he tried to run away.
Michael’s mother, Mary, decided to take advantage of a new program offered by Monroe County Community Mental Health (CMH). She bought a house for Michael a few blocks away from her own, interviewed three home care providers, and hired Lutheran Social Services. To make it cost effective to provide around-the-clock care, CMH requires Michael to have a roommate, who pays rent.
The staff assigned to Michael were unfazed by his compulsive and often combative behavior. They got Michael a kitten, Brownie, They work with him daily to improve his speech. They take him on weekly outings to the library and the bowling alley, and to Walmart so he can exercise by walking the aisles. They frequently drop by to check on Michael between their assigned shifts. Within six months, their dedication paid off.
“He’s a totally different person,” said his mother. “He used to call me four times a day asking to come home. He doesn’t do that anymore. And he’s talking more than he ever did.”
Mary Dempsey is so pleased with Michael’s care that she nominated his four primary caregivers, Steven Bryant, Margaret (Jean) Davis, Nicole Hinsenkamp and Stephen Hakeos, for “Outstanding Caregiver” awards from The ARC of Monroe County, an advocacy group. The awards were presented October 8.
“I am so blessed to have these people,” said Mary Dempsey of the staff. “They would do anything for him.”
(written for Lutheran Social Services His Hand newsletter)
With infinite patience, Nicole Hinsenkamp tells Michael Dempsey that the mail isn’t here yet, the mail comes at 2 o’clock and now it’s only 10. She needs to repeat the message every 10 minutes or so, but Nicole doesn’t mind. She loves caring for Michael and helping him live independently in his own home, a tidy three-bedroom rank in Dundee, near the Ohio border.
Michael, 50, suffered severe brain damage at birth and cannot live alone. He lived with his parents until he was 34, then in a series of group homes in Monroe County. Michael was very unhappy in his last placement. An attack by another resident put him in the hospital. His behavior became increasingly aggressive, and he tried to run away.
Michael’s mother, Mary, decided to take advantage of a new program offered by Monroe County Community Mental Health (CMH). She bought a house for Michael a few blocks away from her own, interviewed three home care providers, and hired Lutheran Social Services. To make it cost effective to provide around-the-clock care, CMH requires Michael to have a roommate, who pays rent.
The staff assigned to Michael were unfazed by his compulsive and often combative behavior. They got Michael a kitten, Brownie, They work with him daily to improve his speech. They take him on weekly outings to the library and the bowling alley, and to Walmart so he can exercise by walking the aisles. They frequently drop by to check on Michael between their assigned shifts. Within six months, their dedication paid off.
“He’s a totally different person,” said his mother. “He used to call me four times a day asking to come home. He doesn’t do that anymore. And he’s talking more than he ever did.”
Mary Dempsey is so pleased with Michael’s care that she nominated his four primary caregivers, Steven Bryant, Margaret (Jean) Davis, Nicole Hinsenkamp and Stephen Hakeos, for “Outstanding Caregiver” awards from The ARC of Monroe County, an advocacy group. The awards were presented October 8.
“I am so blessed to have these people,” said Mary Dempsey of the staff. “They would do anything for him.”