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Visiting Angels Senior Homecare grew out of a situation in High Point residents Jim and Amanda Gane’s own lives with Jim’s mother, Allene Gane.

In her 80s, Allene lived in Lumberton with Jim’s sister . When Allene developed cancer and suffered a stroke, she began to lose her independence.

After Allene retired from public-school teaching, she continued to teach at UNC-Pembroke, Robeson Community College and a private school. Her health problems forced her to give up these part-time positions, but she still had a keen mind and wanted to learn.

Through a private agency, the Ganes found a caregiver who helped Allene continue to live in her daughter’s home. The caregiver even took her to a local college for computer classes.

“This gave us peace of mind knowing that our loved one was being looked after and was safe until my sister got home from her job,” Jim Gane said. “It was especially important since Amanda and I lived in High Point and couldn’t be there on a day-to-day basis.”

For 18 months, the Ganes saw the benefits of having a trained caregiver in their mother’s life. When Allene died, they thought there must be other families that needed this same service.

They talked with a friend in Fayetteville who had a Visiting Angels Living Assistance Service franchise and begin to investigate living-assistance services.

With more baby boomers reaching their senior years, Jim believed the need for assistance services would only grow. Amanda had retired from Guilford County Schools, and Jim’s experience was in sales and marketing with the furniture industry.

“Our work skills and experience seemed to mesh well for this type of business,” she said.

Jim checked with the corporate office for Visiting Angels. They went through training and learned to set up their business. They were licensed by the state in December 2009.

The Ganes’ experience has made them aware of many problems families have finding senior care.

The Ganes visit potential clients to do an assessment. If they determine their agency can help, their nurse goes out and also talks to the client.

Although they do not offer medical services, the nurse helps evaluate the client. Looking at the client needs, the staff determines which employee has the right skill set. But the final decision is made by the client.

“Essentially, the client selects their own caregiver,” Amanda said. “Our caregivers have the experience, but we also look for someone with a caring personality.”

The business has about 25 employees and 25 clients. The employees all have at least two years experience working in senior care, and many of them are CNAs with specialized training.

“The services we provide have far exceeded our expectations in the variety of ways we can help seniors,” Jim said.

The minimum amount of time Visiting Angels provides is three hours. The business also provides around-the-clock care, if needed. Help includes hygiene assistance, light housekeeping, meal preparation, taking clients shopping and running errands. They even work with patients in the hospital.

Some of the spouses of clients use the service for respite care so they can go to church or run errands.

“If someone is on a special diet like a diabetic diet, we have employees who will prepare meals for them,” Amanda said.

Clients recovering from back or knee surgery often use the services of Visiting Angels.

“We have one client who wanted to go shopping for clothes,” Jim said. “Even though she was in a facility that would take their clients shopping on a bus, she wanted to be on her own schedule and asked us to take her. We checked with the facility first, and the staff said that was fine. It is amazing the varying needs these people have.”

“We have clients who have relatives living out of town and we communicate with them regularly by e-mail or phone. This enhances their own peace of mind,” Amanda said.

Visiting Angels is becoming even more of a family business. The Ganes’ son, Brian, works full time at another job but sometimes comes over and helps with office work and computer problems.

The newest member of the family, Angel, a small dog the Ganes adopted from the Guilford County Animal Shelter, often comes to work with them.

Amanda said there is no problem working full time with her husband. “We are both flexible and forgiving,” she said. “We have different work styles. A big plus is that we give support to each other.”

“When I look at this, thinking about my mom, I never dreamed that we would be doing this type of work,” Jim said. “I am often amazed at the honest, sincere comments some of our clients make about our services. They catch us by surprise.”

If you have news of High Point, contact Kathy Johnson at mjohnson2@triad.rr.com