EP 155 SCI Netcast: Christine Randall- Elder Care Consultant

The Senior Care Industry Netcast: Christine Randall Coaching and Consulting

Christine Randall is a native New Yorker who owns Christine Randall Coaching and Consulting, LLC. She is a Certified Jack Canfield Success Principles Trainer, has been a coach and consultant for over 20 years. Christine can do small group coaching and training as well as those who want private one on one coaching. As an eldercare consultant, Christine created a proven methodology for finding quality, professional caregivers for clients deserving to age at home, who need some help. With the same skills and experience needed as a coach, Christine is able to help her eldercare clients move forward to find the peace of mind they need for their aging loved ones.

Christine joins me today to share her passion and experiences in guiding and helping families to find proper care for their aging loved ones either privately or through a home care agency. She discusses the concept behind her first written book and what inspired her to write it. Christine shared how doing her job and her passion creates a big impact in her life.

“I am straightforward, intuitive, and understanding. I will hold you accountable, so you can go from where you are to where you want to be. I can help you clarify your goals, the obstacles in the way of getting your goals, and a plan of action to get there”


-Christine Randall

Today on The Senior Care Industry Netcast: Christine Randall Coaching and Consulting:

• Christine’s first own written book “The Perfect Caregiver”
• Why she wrote her book
• Why people hire her
• Her goal to help the clients
• Importance of having a qualified care agency to oversee the clients
• Christine’s role of being a counselor and a matchmaker for people who are in need of a private caregiver or a home care agency
• The best thing about serving aging adults
  The beauty of talking and learning from people of aging
• How individual caregivers created a big impact on Christine’s life
• Learning about the culture and the people from all over the world and how they care and honor for aging people
• Piece of advice to senior care providers
• The importance of being heard in a caregiver’s point of view
• How Christine balanced her role to the client and to the caregivers
• How Christine celebrates big wins

Connect with Christine Randall

Website: https://www.christinerandall.com/

Email: info@christinerandall.com

Telephone:(332) 248-9030

Buy her book (The Perfect Caregiver):

Visit our website at https://asnhomecaremarketing.com
Get Your 11 Free Home Care Marketing Guides: https://bit.ly/homecarerev

Transcript

Valerie VanBooven:

This is Valerie VanBooven with The Senior Care Industry Netcast, where leaders with three or more years of experience in the senior care market share their advice. So let's get to it, in a few sentences tell us who you are and what you do.

Christine Randall:

Hi, thanks Valerie for this opportunity, I appreciate it. My name is Christine Randall. I'm local in the New York City area. I had previously been working for a private home care agency in the city, working on matching caregivers with the clients and learned a lot and created my own methodology working in that specific agency. And now I'm out on my own and I've written a book and it's called The Perfect Caregiver. I'll show you that, here.

Valerie VanBooven:

Nice. Yay. Awesome. Love it.

Christine Randall:

Yeah. It's on Amazon and I really figured out sort of the key things that clients needed and wanted and the characteristics and the personality traits of caregivers that really show up and make the right match and keep families happy because families want peace of mind overall of anything. And their elderly and aging, either spouses or parents, they need to be treated with dignity, they need to be looked at as whole people, not as this aging person that's just sitting there. And so I really came up with a formula and have many successful matches. So locally, I'm able to connect care with families and not an agency, so they handle all of that, I just make the connection for them.

Christine Randall:

And people that aren't local, they will hire me as a consultant to work with them, if they're working with an agency and they just want my input and expertise or families that just want some information and then they take my information and they find an agency on their own. So I do elder care consulting and actually coaching of families that's really what I'm doing, and that's what I was doing in the agency. I would spend a lot of time with the families to help them navigate this world, which as you know, can be-

Valerie VanBooven:

It's tough.

Christine Randall:

... really overwhelming.

Valerie VanBooven:

Yeah. It is really challenging sometimes, especially if you've never, ever had this type of experience before with an aging loved one, just the lingo, just the way we talk about things, and the acronyms we use, and all that gets really confusing too. Well, first of all, I wanted to tell you congratulations on your book.

Christine Randall:

Thank you.

Valerie VanBooven:

And it's always awesome. Is that your first book?

Christine Randall:

Yes. It's my first book and it was a labor of love. And as I was writing it, I realized how much information I really knew. And I was remembering and thinking about the questions that my clients would ask me or even prospects. For me, somebody would walk into or call me and my goal at the end of that conversation, obviously, I want them to be my clients, not going to lie, of course, I would want that, but really my goal is that they walk away with some valuable information that can help them. And it's always like, when you ask the right questions in the right way, it can be really the most impactful thing that you do to help anybody. And that's where my expertise comes into because I legitimately want to know what's going on and what are their routines? How can I help them?

Christine Randall:

The person walking in would say, "This conversation made me feel so much better." And for me, when I get those calls, that's always the goal. I want them to say, "Okay, that." Even if they don't need help at that time, whatever it is, I want them to walk away feeling that?

Valerie VanBooven:

Yeah. Absolutely. I think, I think having a coach or a consultant or somebody to just bounce off all the worries and the stress and the, "I don't know what I'm doing here and help me," it's invaluable. I mean, oh, my goodness. I mean, it kind of almost sounds like I know you're not actually doing stuff for them necessarily in that regard, but like a care manager, it's sort of like that in that there's such a good resource, they know what to look for and you know what to look for. And having a book that you can hand to somebody and say, "You know what, this is really going to help. I can't be right there with you every single time, but if you really want to know what to look for, here you go." So we'll make sure your book and the link to well, your website will be with this video so people [crosstalk 00:05:00].

Christine Randall:

Well, thank you. I appreciate that.

Valerie VanBooven:

Yeah. It's a debate. It's like having a baby. It's very exciting. It's just the [inaudible 00:05:06] to get it, finally get it in your hands.

Christine Randall:

Yeah.

Valerie VanBooven:

Yeah. That's cool. And thank you for doing that. I know that there's so many people out there that could use whether it's caregiver, unfortunately, maybe selecting a nursing home or assisted living facility. We can use as much advice as we can get. It's [crosstalk 00:05:28].

Christine Randall:

Yeah. I mean, in there I go through the pros and cons, if you would hire an agency or do it privately. And as I was writing it, I was like, "Even though I do it on a private basis, really for many people, they need a qualified sense agency, they really do need that." It's not something that if I get a call from somebody and their loved one is very ill or has some very challenging health issues, there is no way that I would recommend that they work with somebody like me, they really need to work within the agency system for the emergencies, for having that RN oversee the care. I can connect them with some, I can connect them with a great care managers. I work with some great geriatric care managers that really they're like the saving graces for families.

Valerie VanBooven:

They know the lay of the land, that's for sure.

Christine Randall:

[crosstalk 00:06:23] land.

Valerie VanBooven:

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Christine Randall:

I get calls from people that don't really understand their long-term care insurance, which I used to sell long-term care insurance, so I help them navigate getting approved, which can be very challenging for people that don't understand and frustrating.

Valerie VanBooven:

Oh, yes. The claims paperwork?

Christine Randall:

Yes.

Valerie VanBooven:

You don't write down the right thing.

Christine Randall:

Exactly.

Valerie VanBooven:

Yep. So it sounds like you are partly a counselor. I'm sure that comes into play and a matchmaker for folks who can use a private caregiver who don't necessarily need a home care agency or a matchmaker for a home care agency. And I under I understand there are definitely folks who can do private caregivers, live-ins that are private. They absolutely, there are some wonderful caregivers out there that do live-in and that's their whole life, that's what they do, and they stay until the person passes away, and then they move on to the next live-in case. Totally love that. But I also agree with you that agency care, especially if somebody's pretty sick or pretty in crisis, they need that backup, they need that extra team members to be there for them [crosstalk 00:07:40].

Christine Randall:

Absolutely. And in the book, I kind of go through that. And as I was writing, I was like, "I feel like I'm pushing people to an agency," but I really wanted to make sure that I wasn't being biased, that you should definitely do it privately. They save a lot of money privately, so for some families, that's really a big factor but it's not the right thing. It always has to be client-centered, person-centered, what's the right thing and that's how I operate always.

Valerie VanBooven:

Yes. It is definitely a family by family or a senior by senior decision and it's, everybody's got their own nuances, so someone like you can help walk them down that road or that path and go the right way instead of, [inaudible 00:08:28], not knowing what [crosstalk 00:08:30].

Christine Randall:

Yeah. Sure.

Valerie VanBooven:

So what is the best thing about serving aging adults? You've been doing this a while now.

Christine Randall:

In my book, there's a couple of stories that I have in there. And when you meet an aging person and you really get to talk to them about their lives and what they did in their lives and you're genuinely interested because I believe that the older population has so much to teach us and sometimes you have to kind of get through all this outside stuff to get to the heart of it. So I think the best part is connecting with people of aging, the elderly population, it reminds me of my grand and my great-grandmother and knowing that I have a little part of making their life better, and they're not just sitting there waiting to die that's the greatest thing. To know that I can impact somebody's life by just caring enough and asking the right questions and making sure that the right person is in their home, that's a gift. It's a gift for me, I feel that's the [crosstalk 00:09:44].

Valerie VanBooven:

Absolutely. There's nothing that replaces that feeling that the family is okay, they feel better, and the senior is better, and everybody involved can take a deep breath and, "We're okay now. We're okay. We're going to be okay, this is going to be all right. We were in crisis, but we're going to be okay now." Being someone who can walk people down that path is so rewarding because there are so many pitfalls, there are so many things that can go are wrong if you don't know what you're doing. And so folks like you are so valuable to the whole community, so thank you for doing what you do. And I love seniors too, love listening to their stories, and I hope my kids understand the value of that when they get older. They always think [inaudible 00:10:37] you got to listen, you have to listen, listen to what they're saying, it's valuable information.

Valerie VanBooven:

So I would imagine in your adult career, your life, there have been organizations out there that have really impacted you or maybe a leader of some organization, but someone that you felt like, "Man, these people really do a great job." Is there anybody or an organization out there that you feel you really had an impact on your life?"

Christine Randall:

In this arena, I would say the individual caregivers that I've worked with, they've had the biggest impact. I've learned the most from them about this field and about really what it takes to be a great caregiver and what the elderly need and what the families need. So I would say more than an organization, the caregivers that I've worked with, so many of them come from different countries around the world and I've worked with people from every island you can imagine and different parts also of Africa, of Latin America, of the Philippines, and of Eastern Europe, like the country of Georgia. And from each of those populations that I've worked with, I learn something different. First of all, I love learning about their cultures, it's really interesting, but they're brought up to honor the elderly in a different way than I think Americans are, today's Americans.

Christine Randall:

So I learn a lot from them and their insights into how to help an elderly person. I would say that they've had the most impact on me. And there's a few in my book I talk about, one caregiver in particular, her name is Jevine. I think she's just one of the angel sent from above and that's always my of goal is that a family will say that and feel that like, "This person is an angel sent from above." Their patience and their understanding and what they have to deal with on a daily basis, they're the unsung heroes of healthcare.

Valerie VanBooven:

Yes, [crosstalk 00:12:50].

Christine Randall:

They really are.

Valerie VanBooven:

Absolutely one, up to a hundred percent unsung heroes and everybody in the last two years has been so brave. And for those caregivers who protect themselves at home because they know they're going to go into an aging loved one's house or aging client's house the next day, or they live aging client or whatever it is, those folks really take their job seriously and that's respect and dignity right there when your caregivers are kind enough to not put themselves at risk for COVID or whatever when they're not with you. So yeah, the caregivers are awesome. And that's a great perspective. And your in you're New York, so you have a bigger melting pot than say where I am in the Midwest, but you have a very right now, big melting pot of people.

Valerie VanBooven:

And I would agree too, that other cultures are very much family-oriented, senior-oriented, everybody lives together in the house, generations live together so much more intergenerational. So those folks are bound to be amazing caregivers for seniors, because they've grown up that way, so that's awesome. All right. What piece of advice would you give to senior care providers out there? Whether it's a agency or assisted living facility, you've seen a lot, you've talked to so many families. What piece of advice do you have for folks out there who are running a home care agency?

Christine Randall:

I would say that as the population in, I think 2050, they said it's going to be about 85 million or so people over the age of 65, of that 85 million, more than half will likely need care. So if you do the math, that's a lot of millions of people that are going to need help, whether they do it at home or they do it in a nursing home or assisted living facility, you still need the people there to help. So there's going to be a lot of competition for the really great qualified, certified, skilled, experienced caregivers. And I think that it's really important to know how do you keep them? You have to know what to look for to find the right caregiver, which I talk about in the book, but then keeping them and I interviewed caregivers and I asked them, "What do you want families to know? What do you want them to know?"

Christine Randall:

And the first thing they said was, "I just want to be acknowledged and appreciated. I want them to know that I'm there for them and I want them to just give me a little gratitude, that my job is hard, that it's a hard job." And I know caregivers that stay with families that they make less money from, but they get treated like human beings, that they're a whole person. So I would say to any agency owner, "Remember this is a person, not a commodity that's working for you." And there are some bad apples don't get me wrong, I know, but most of them are not. And they also want to know if you are worried about something they said, "Tell me, tell the families tell me if you think there's something not right, because maybe it's just a communication thing."

Christine Randall:

And I think that if you are owning an agency or you are needing to staff it, look at that person for what they bring to the table and learn from them because they have a lot to offer a lot.

Valerie VanBooven:

Yes. And that's great advice because retention right now is at an all time low and staffing is hard and hiring is difficult. And I agree with you and I've told many home care agency owner, "I know you didn't sign up to be a mother hen, but respect, gratitude, acknowledgement goes a long way, but also compassion because these caregivers just like every other human, just like me, they may be a younger, you may have younger caregivers, you may have older caregivers, but probably a big mix, probably most are a little younger and they have drama and they have personal lives. So not only doing all the things that you just said, but also being able to listen and understand and be compassionate with the caregiver about the challenges they're going through.

Valerie VanBooven:

Nobody's perfect. And I see the agencies in my case, that's my experience, the agencies that are doing the best with retention are the ones who reach out and put their arms around those caregivers and say, "I know this day has been hard or I'm so sorry that you had a flat tire this morning, what can we do to help you? Can I send someone to pick you up? Can I help you get your car towed? What is it that we can do?" So a little bit of mother hen or house mother goes a long way, I think just that.

Christine Randall:

I think that is very true. Everybody wants to feel in life heard and understood and no one wants to feel like they're just a body taking up space, that you know that they're there and they're impactful. And the day-to-day life, especially of a live-in caregiver can become very monotonous.

Valerie VanBooven:

Yeah. That's true.

Christine Randall:

It can be tedious, monotonous, and a little lonely for them. And I think if a family sometimes gives them some respite, "We're going to go take the day, we're going to come, come in, go take a day. We're going to spend time with mom today, go have some fun. Here, go have lunch on me somewhere, go shopping for yourself." Those kinds of things make a huge difference in loyalty and retention and feeling like, "Wow, I matter, I matter to this family." And I think that if there's a problem keeping people today, it's not going to get better as the baby boomer population ages, it's actually going to become more difficult. When I left the agency, I could not believe how many texts I got from caregivers that I had worked with, they were, "I only worked for this agency because I was with you, you always took care of me."

Christine Randall:

And it was, I was a client director, so I had to make sure the clients, these were very high-end clients, felt like they were VIP, what they wanted mattered. But then I had to balance the caregivers and make sure they felt that I was on their side. So it was always like a little bit of a seesaw balancing act and making sure everybody was happy. So for agency owners, I know that, that's a challenge to honor your caregiver and make sure your client feels like you're doing everything they want. Sometimes we have to educate the clients that some of their demands might be a little bit need adjusting.

Valerie VanBooven:

Yeah. [inaudible 00:20:19] all of you in here. So yeah, I totally, yeah, I understand. And high-end clients, they have high-end expectations and so I totally get it. But it sounds to me like you were that glue for those caregivers and you were that house mother. And that, I say that with respect and just, you were that person they trusted and you were the person they liked and that's what agencies need. If it's not the owner, if it's not the staffing person, the scheduler, there's somebody in that mix needs to be that trusted ear and the person that they know they can go to when they're having challenges and the person that reaches out to them to make sure they're okay. If agencies have that human, they have a much better chance of retaining people than if nobody plays that role at all.

Christine Randall:

Absolutely. And I did my own scheduling, I did everything. So I was really hands-on on both sides of it, which was when preparing for the holiday season, I would do it months in advance. Trying to get who's going to work Christmas, who definitely has [inaudible 00:21:36] want the time off, who's willing to do it. And you want the relationship because a lot of times you're in a bind and you're like, "Can you please come? This person got really sick last minute." And if you don't have those relationships, then people aren't going to do it because when people answer the call last minute, it's usually not about the money they're doing it to help you, they're doing it to help you out. "Yes, Christine, I will go and help you." I appreciate it that type of a thing. So it's really important. I agree with you. I never thought of it as a mother hen kind of thing, but I think you're right.

Valerie VanBooven:

[inaudible 00:22:16] I mean, counselor, it's counselor, a social worker, a listener, a mother and I can't remember being a very young registered nurse and people would call in sick or call and ask me and it would depend on who it was that called me sometimes, if I would say, "Yeah. I'll come in for a 12 hour shift," it depended, it was the relationships that mattered. If I was dead tired and a good friend called and said, "I have to call in sick, can you help them in the floor today? It would depend on who calling me and it is a relationship business and healthcare is very personal.

Christine Randall:

Very personal. And I think elderly healthcare is so intimate, you're in people's homes, and you are helping them through their daily activity of living, and you are in their house, and their personal belongings are everywhere, and the caregivers learn the dynamics of the family. I have lots of stories out there.

Valerie VanBooven:

I bet you do. Oh, my.

Christine Randall:

They learn a lot and it's really kind of fascinating as well. I really like learning that stuff.

Valerie VanBooven:

That's very cool. All right. Well, my last question is this, and maybe this was the day your book came in the mail. I don't know. Tell us how you like to celebrate big wins or just in the back of your mind, you get off the phone or off a Zoom call and you know, "Ah, I made a difference. These people are going to be thrilled with this caregiver or this match worked out great," how do you celebrate?

Christine Randall:

I don't know if I've ever too much [crosstalk 00:24:03].

Valerie VanBooven:

[crosstalk 00:24:03].

Christine Randall:

Yeah. [inaudible 00:24:05] I was very excited when my book first came out the first couple of weeks, it was number one in aging, new hot releases. So I posted that all over the place, so that's how I celebrated that I was texting everybody, so I was super excited. This year with the caregivers that I work with, I never knew that there was a Caregiver Day or something and I sent them gifts packages, a caregiver gift package and that was really, I loved doing that. And then they surprised me and sent me this beautiful package for Christmas, which I was like, "You guys shouldn't be sending me anything. Don't do that. Don't lose your money on me." They were like, "No, no, no, we love you, blah, blah, blah." So I think I celebrate by sometimes I can, if I can take them to lunch here and there, it's just-

Valerie VanBooven:

Little things. Yeah.

Christine Randall:

Yeah. Little things and nothing big.

Valerie VanBooven:

That's awesome. Well, congratulations again on the book and we will make sure everybody has access to it and can get it, and your contact information, your website information, so they can go there and if they need someone to point them in the right direction, whether it's local or across the country, I think you're the right choice. So we'll make sure they [crosstalk 00:25:23] that.

Christine Randall:

Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. And I think you do great job and I'm honored to be part of your network.