October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and as you may have seen on our social media pages on October 7th and 8th, the team at With A Little Help wore pink to honor a team member who is fighting breast cancer. There are a number...
Just like in all families, our team at With A Little Help is committed to being here to support you in multiple ways. As we continue on, in the midst of this pandemic, the common denominator that we hear about most often is not surrounding...
This is such a difficult time for our country, our city and us. The recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, along with the countless others (many unknown to us), brought our country to a boiling point in the past several days...
Ellen became part of the WALH family in 2015 as a caregiver then moved into the office in 2016 as a Care Coordinator. Ellen brought quick problem solving, scheduling finesse and a compassion for our clients in the Care Coordinator role. Her great sense of...
Kathleen[/caption] Behind every successful business is a hard working Administrative Professional. Thank you Kathleen D'Amelio for your 5 years of support at With A Little Help. With your kind, wise, efficient, and mellow style you make all you do look easy. Your essential behind the scenes contributions ensure that With A Little Help runs smoothly and eases the jobs of staff members. Whether you're supporting payroll, scheduling, or helping to organize and produce community events, Kathleen, you always keep in mind what's important to your co-workers. Whether you're ordering supplies, keeping our work on track, or assisting with caregiver trainings you offer constructive feedback and give compliments where deserved. When you come early because it's needed or stay late out of necessity you work hard to reach our goals.
Liz Mulligan[/caption] Liz Mulligan first witnessed elder fraud while working with a client of With A Little Help. Since tracking down over $200,000 stolen by the client's bookkeeper she's gone on to establish a full time fraud fighting business: Fraud Resolution for seniors, LLC. "I was so gratified to help someone straighten out finances," she said reflecting on that first experience. Liz sat down with us to talk about the most frequent fraud problem she sees and to share thoughts on how to protect the elders in your life from financial harm. Charitable holidays bring out our urge to help. Sensational fraud cases make headline news but the dishonest nickel and dime charities that appeal to our giving spirit are the most frequent fraud problem facing elders. Many elders or casual donors don't track these small contributions nor do they research the charities they benefit and that's what small time fraudulent operators count on! "One year a client donated $9,000 in $10 and $15 dollar donations," Mulligan recalled. 
In early December friends and coworkers of Kate Lounsbury gathered on the Bainbridge Island Ferry to remember and celebrate her life. The Bainbridge ferry paused briefly as friends released Kate’s ashes. Kate battled large B Cell Lymphoma for several months before exercising her right to Death With Dignity under Washington’s 2008 law. With assistance from Compassion and Choices, she died peacefully at home among friends on October 26, 2013.
Kate, second from left, with friends from the dance world[/caption] Last October before our coworker Kate Lounsbury died of lymphoma she asked this blogger to write about her choice to use Washington’s Death With Dignity law to acquire legal aid in dying. Kate hoped it would promote wider public understanding. Before writing, I spoke with coworkers and friends and asked for their perspectives on Death With Dignity. Many had voted for Initiative 1000 which established the law with a 58.6% margin in 2008. All said they’d vote the same way again today. That was clear. But some expressed conflict about the actual act it legalized---aid in dying. Would I make that choice? they wondered aloud. How would I feel when someone I loved made that choice?! I think many people experience similarly unsettled emotions. Some are conflicted or opposed ideologically or because of religious faith. Complicating our feelings is the fact that death is rarely discussed in our culture and is hard to imagine. In that, Kate’s view differed from us all. She didn’t have comfortable distance from imminent death. She knew her life would end-- painfully-- and, understanding that, she was unwavering in her determination to choose the manner in which she left this world and her beloved friends behind.
Shawn D'Amelio[/caption] With A Little Help’s Director of Business Development, Shawn D’Amelio, is serving as 2014 Conference Chair for the Washington Home Care Association (WAHCA) formerly known as Washington Private Duty Association (WAPDA). In her role D’Amelio will plan and organize the annual WAHCA conference, Blooming with the Boomers, September 16 and 17, 2014 at the Lynnwood Convention Center. “I’m excited to serve as Conference Chair,” D’Amelio said. “Serving in this role is a wonderful learning opportunity for me and I have been blessed with a Conference Committee that brings a great deal of knowledge about home care and our industry as a whole.” The Washington Home Care Association (WAHCA) is a 9 year old organization active in education, support and advocacy for best practices and industry standards that govern businesses providing Private Duty Home Care in Washington State. WAHCA member agencies such as With A Little Help are all licensed by the Washington State Department of Health. Their caregiving teams pass background checks and are licensed, bonded, trained and supervised.Sarel was drawn to With A Little Help (WALH) in 2002 because of her interest in helping others. She enjoys the wisdom, sharing and continual learning in her work as a caregiver. Her care experience spans Dementia, ALS, Parkinson's, MSA, and Cancer. Outside of professional...