Home Helpers Home Care

I live in California and could tell from phone conversations with my sister-​in-​law in the western suburbs of Chicago that she was not doing well. She was a recent widow and was very depressed along with a myriad of physical problems. I tried to get help for her from various social service and religious organizations. None seemed to work. I contacted Mike at Home Helpers and he assigned Tina to visit my sister-​in-​law. Tina was a godsend for my sister-​in-​law. She went the extra mile — more than a mile. She accompanied my sister in law to doctor appointments and cut through the doctor jargon. She was an excellent nurse and case manager for my sister-​in-​law. She brought order and friendship to my sister-in-law’s last months. I should have called Home Helpers a year earlier.

These people are great. Each person our family has met has been professional, caring and understanding. The communication has been outstanding. I feel confident that my mother is in good hands. I recommend Home Helpers.

Ok. I know this long… But Patty and I want to let everyone know what we experienced with Home Helpers Home Care out of Hinsdale, Il (also called Better Care).
So here we go. Today is March 16, 2016. Our Mom passed away 2 years ago today… so, Lets go back.
So my Mom had the onset of Dementia then had a stroke and was sent to the hospital. She recovered and went to rehab, The rehab facility recommended Home Helpers Health Care. They were Quick and responsive to get us as clients. They promised the world… then reality. We had my Mother with Dementia and my father who was bed bound with Lung cancer However he was mentally competent. We had a rotation on 24 hr care. We paid extra for someone to stay awake all night to watch Mom. This is what we were told we had to do by the owner. So here is where it goes to hell in a handbag. Over the course of their employment by us, they referred to my Mom as a cry baby, gave us Grocery List’s one day then gave my sibling the same list the following day, and the groceries were never eaten by my parents… The Front door of the house was left unlocked on numerous occasions. How do we know this, because my cousin let herself in and spoke to my Dad and Mom for about 45 minutes till she went and looked for the caretaker. She was sitting in the back yard on her telephone. On numerous occasions they would play games as they said they had nothing else to do. One of the caretakers on her first days asked if she could borrow money for gas to get back the next day otherwise she would not be able to make it to work. On one occasion, my Mom was walking and lost her balance, she hit her head on the side of my Dads hospital bed and split her had open. Again Dad was bed bound and was unable to help her. He yelled for the caretaker Who Finally appeared. She called 911, after she lay bleeding for fifteen minutes. They never cooked a meal. They said it was not their job. We made all meals and had them frozen. They did no shopping or cleaning… Now lets talk about the laundry. My sister arrived at my Moms house to find Dirty underwear & clothes stuffed in her Drawers. My Mom was left unsupervised on numerous occasions. Potato Chips were poured into the dishwasher, Pepsi cans were found in the wash machine. The hard wired electric light in the corner by the sink was torn out, hanging by the conduit.
One day they felt they wanted to get my Dad out of bed. They did that, However they were unable to get him back into it. So they called and said we needed to get over there. When we got there Dad was laying on the floor watching tv. When I asked where the caretaker was, we were told they had to leave. I asked Why are you on the floor? He said they could not get me back into my bed. Nice Huh???
So we called numerous Times and spoke to Mary Doepke the owner and expressed our concerns and she would get back to us… She did get back to us and basically we were called liars. That her employees denied all accusations. That my father who was there, Sister, both our husbands and our Cousin who let herself in the house all liars.
So today, we get a newsletter from them. Really? with all that has happened you still send us an email talking about the services that they offer as well as classes. This hit a nerve as we never had resolution in regards to the treatment our parents received. I would NEVER recommend this company. Their website has nothing but 5 star reviews. The pictures they that they show does NOT represent same quality as the people that were sent to our house. The turnover was consistent. Again they knew going into this that Mom had dementia. (this was not a surprise).
My father was on Hospice. Even the Hospice people would let themselves into the house and take care of Dad. They did not feel that Mom and Dad received adequate care. And trust me with what we were paying for two people to be watched for 24 hours a day, we should have received Much more then Adequate care. I do have to say that we did find another company to take care of both Mom and Dad till the end. We lost them 8 months apart. And the caretaker we had through another organization was like part of the family. She never once left my Moms side. She held her hand and dried her tears. (and in the end ours as well). However to this day, this experience haunts me. They way Home Helper, Mary, Mike and the caretakers treated my parents and my Family. This will stay with me forever as I felt responsible for bringing them into our home. I wanted more my parents… Not to be haunted by this. If I can spare one other family what we experienced. Then I have served my parents memory well.