Senior Helpers of Lancaster County Achieves AFC Certification

EPHRATA, Pennsylvania—Senior Helpers, an in-home senior care services provider, announced its Lancaster County location has achieved Age-Friendly Care at Home (AFC) certification by Community Health Accreditation Partners (CHAP), a nonprofit organization accrediting providers of home- and community-based care. The locally-owned Senior Helpers of Lancaster County now joins the list of Senior Helpers AFC-certified locations.

Kent and Rebekah Terry own Senior Helpers of Lancaster County. The franchise serves the needs of seniors and their families in the Lancaster County area. 

“It is an honor to attain this certification,” said Terry. “Our decision to voluntarily pursue this certification further demonstrates our dedication to providing a higher standard of care throughout Lancaster County.”

“Senior Helpers’ achievement as the pioneering Age-Friendly Care certified homecare organization is truly remarkable,” said Teresa Harbour, chief operations officer of CHAP. “Their proactive approach in implementing numerous tools to enhance care for older adults, even before receiving the AFC certification, speaks volumes about their commitment to excellence. Their use of LIFE Profile to reduce the risk of hospitalizations, their Senior Gems program for dementia care and their Centers for Excellence for staff training and competency set them up for success, so adding the Age-Friendly Care at Home Certification was a logical next step.”

The AFC certification aims to meet the demand for high-quality care for older adults and highlight companies that use person-centered care to address the needs of every individual. The focus is on the “4Ms” framework (what matters, medication, mentation and mobility), a research-backed and evidence-based approach to care. The 4Ms framework centers around the following care strategies.

1. What matters centers around putting clients at the center of care and empowering them to be involved in goal-setting and preferences for their care.
2. Medication should be used in an age-friendly way that does not interfere with what matters to the client.
3. Mentation aims to prevent, identify, treat and manage depression and dementia.
4. Mobility ensures older adults move safely and maintain function so they can do what matters to them.

In addition to the CHAP certification, Senior Helpers of Lancaster County cares for clients through three programs: the LIFE Profile assessment tool, the Senior Gems program and the Center of Excellence training spaces.

• The LIFE Profile is a research-based technology tool that uses data to identify a client’s risk of being hospitalized.
• The Senior Gems program aims to provide strategies for supporting and caring for loved ones from normal aging through late-stage dementia, focusing on each senior at each stage.
• The Center of Excellence is a training space that simulates a client’s home, allowing caregivers to learn and train how to provide quality care in a real-world environment.

More information on Senior Helpers of Lancaster County can be found here.