January: The WHY Behind the Work

There is no escaping COVID in the New Year.  Our office has dealt with a spike in sick calls from our Caregivers and clients.  On average, 20% of our Caregivers has been out from COVID since late December.  Several of our clients have also paused care due to getting sick themselves. 

For our fledgling small business, it feels like our ship has met a storm with all hands on deck – scrambling to find replacement Caregivers and putting operational safety valves in place to soften the stress when yet another Caregiver calls out sick.   Nationwide, Home Care agencies are going through similar circumstances.  Some are faltering, some are navigating bravely through it.  I consider our agency to be in the latter group. 

One telling aspect of our office which makes me proud is that we have moved beyond excessive verbal communication in order to tackle daily challenges (all of them COVID related now).  Like the parts of a well-oiled engine, each person understands their job in pushing the agency forward.  I often notice how quiet our fully staffed office is -- except for the flurried taps of fingers hitting keyboards.

San Diego is currently feeling the peak of Omicron cases.  Although dealing with its fallout is stressful, it appears that relief is coming.  The East Coast and parts of the Midwest are seeing a downward trend in new cases and hospitalizations; this means the country is getting better (fingers crossed).

I am calling the past several weeks the Omicron Stress Test.  It has helped uncover areas of improvement and reaffirmed our areas of strength.  As a whole, I am proud of our performance.  In the end, we are motivated to help our Seniors and our Veterans.  They need us to perform at our very best, regardless of circumstance.  The past several weeks has shown our resolve to do just that.

Jesse Yi MD

Senior Helpers East San Diego