Care Across America
"Care Across America, an Approved Senior Network® Podcast"—your go-to source for engaging conversations and practical insights from home care and senior care experts across the United States. Each episode will spotlight industry professionals, and their referral networks, sharing impactful stories, proven strategies, and innovative solutions in senior care. This podcast is perfect for professionals, adult children of aging parents, and family members struggling with senior care choices and care.
Care Across America
AmanaCare: Reimagining Senior Support Across Nebraska's Rural Communities
Walking the fine line between daughter and caregiver transforms how we understand senior care. In this heartfelt conversation with Heather Shanou, Sales and Marketing Director at AmanaCare, we explore the profound intersection of professional expertise and personal experience that shapes compassionate home care delivery across Nebraska.
Heather opens up about her journey from watching her mother need home care to advocating for families experiencing similar circumstances. "Being able to be her daughter instead of having to empty her catheter or change her bedsheets" allowed her to create precious final memories—a gift she now helps other families experience through AmanaCare's comprehensive services. Her story exemplifies how the company's marketing team brings authentic understanding to their outreach, having lived through the challenges they help others navigate.
From Lincoln to Valentine, Nebraska's seniors gain access to consistent, quality care through AmanaCare's expanding network. The company's detailed intake process ensures proper matching between caregivers and clients, while monthly reassessments adapt to evolving needs. Most impressive is their Care360 program addressing relationships, activities, religion, and safety—a truly holistic approach that recognizes seniors need more than just physical assistance to thrive.
As a faith-based organization, AmanaCare offers spiritual support without pressure, understanding that quality care respects individual preferences while opening doors to community engagement. For rural seniors who often face limited options, this comprehensive approach makes aging in place viable even in remote communities.
Whether you're seeking guidance for a loved one or wondering how innovative care models are transforming senior support, this episode illuminates the human-centered approaches making difference in homes across Nebraska. Subscribe to Care Across America for more conversations with passionate advocates changing how we care for aging adults, one community at a time.
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Hi, I'm Valerie Van Boeven, registered Nurse, and this is Care Across America, where we shine a spotlight on the people, the passion and the purpose behind senior care in the United States. Every week, we're bringing you real conversations with real experts who are changing the way we care for aging adults, one community at a time. Whether you're a provider, a caregiver or just someone who cares deeply about the quality of life for seniors, you're in the right place. Let's get into today's episode. Today we're talking to Heather Schanou. Today's episode Today we're talking to Heather Schanou, sales and Marketing Director for AmanaCare with a headquarters in Lincoln, nebraska.
Speaker 2:I got into marketing because I have a design background and I wanted to couple that with socializing with people.
Speaker 2:So I love that I get to create things and then share them with people and I like to make those connections and just be able to identify with people's struggles.
Speaker 2:And that coincides with my personal experiences, which is my mom needed home care last year and so seeing things from the other side like not just marketing and telling people about the services, but actually needing those services for my family it really puts me in a unique position. I feel like just having that personal side of needing care, having care, and experiencing how that really helped those last few months with my mom because of course they were very difficult, not just for her but for me and my brother and sister too but being able to be her daughter instead of having to be like, okay, I got to empty your catheter now and I need to do your laundry now and I need to change your bedsheets and I need to make you supper that we had somebody there that helped us with those things, so that I could spend quality time with her and create those memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Speaker 1:I think that when you come to the table as a home care provider, as someone who is working for AmanaCare and with your community, the fact that you understand that level of overwhelm and you know what it's like to be on the other side really helps. Not that you wish that on anyone, obviously, but the compassion that you must feel for these folks is tremendous, because being a caregiver is so hard and not being able to just sit there and enjoy watching a movie or whatever it is that you guys are doing together. I think you told me you guys watched was it Wheel of Fortune or no? The little things like that are what matters so much, and so it's really nice to talk to somebody who works in this industry who also understands the other side of that. Yes, so tell us a little bit more about your role at AmanaCare. I am the sales and marketing director.
Speaker 2:I started out being the director of referral partnerships and then some things shifted in this department and just because of some of my previous leadership with another company that was in the home care industry and, I think, just because of how I connect with people, I was put into this position. So, including myself, there are four of us in the sales and marketing department and we're strategically spread throughout Nebraska so that we each kind of have our own territory and we collaborate on a lot of things, like, for example, hallie, who is located in Lincoln. She had someone call in and they're needing home care for their mom who is experiencing cancer and she is in stage four and it is not looking good and she doesn't want to spend her last few months in the hospital, and so Hallie was talking about this family and I said, hey, I would love to talk to them because I've been through that exact scenario. And so just little things like that where we all help each other and we all talk to each other and each other's clients and their family members, because we all have experiences in this from different point of views Like, for example, amber she is in Broken Bow and her husband is actually a client of ours.
Speaker 2:He had a stroke about four years ago and he needs a lot of care, and so she hired a caregiver so that she can do marketing for AmanaCare during the day. But she has a caregiver that comes in and is there during the day and it's just all these different walks of life and all different types of clients and I just love it. I don't love that they're in the position that they're in, but I love that we're able to help them Because, like you mentioned earlier, life happens and when it does, we're there for you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. And one of the things that occurs to me recently is that AmanaCare has really grown quite a bit in the last several months. I know you were always located in Lincoln, but now you pretty much serve the entire state, if I'm correct about that. I know you have several sort of office locations, but you can pretty much serve anybody anywhere. Is that true?
Speaker 2:but you can pretty much serve anybody anywhere. Is that true? It is true, yes, we have five offices and I'm going order of Scotts Bluff, north Platte, kearney, lincoln and Omaha. But we do have clients as far north as Ainsworth and Valentine and we had a lead over in Lyman. I can't remember exactly what happened there, but that's like as far west as you can go, and we've also had some in the lower part like Imperial, and so, yeah, the whole state, we cover the whole state of Nebraska.
Speaker 1:And that is a big territory, so that's amazing. I'm so glad you guys can be anywhere and I know that's not an easy task either, so that's much appreciated. So let's talk about what happens when a spouse or an adult child of an aging parent calls up and their level of concern and overwhelm and stress. So what happens when they call one of you one of the offices? What happens next? What happens when they call one of you one of the offices? What happens next?
Speaker 2:We listen to them and try to gather as much information as we can about the situation.
Speaker 2:Most of the time we're able to help them, but in the event that we're not, because we are non-medical, so sometimes they need a little bit more than what we're able to provide. We do have power partners that we will talk to them and see if they can help them instead and from there we do an in-person consultation. So one of our care coordinators goes into the home and meets the client and any family members and gets a better idea of what the situation is like, because sometimes there's things that we might notice that you didn't, and so we get that better idea of what the situation is like. And then the next step would be a meet and greet with the caregiver and the care coordinator oversees that. So it's not just two random people meeting each other, but the care coordinator knows the caregiver and has met the client, so she or he sometimes will oversee that. And then from there we just start the scheduling. And then we have the ongoing support, because the care coordinator, she, advocates for the clients.
Speaker 1:So at least once a month, if not more often, we'll check in, see if there's been any health changes see if everything's still a good match with the caregiver and if it's not, we make those adjustments because the client's needs and preferences that comes first always Sure and, as you know from doing this for a long time, as you have clients that start out, maybe they just need a little bit of care, maybe they just need a few days a week or a few hours a day every day. Whatever the case, as time goes on those needs might increase. Sometimes they don't, but a lot of times they do. As a disease progresses or if they have dementia, as it gets worse, they might need additional caregivers, they might need more shifts. So, yeah, re-evaluating that care once a month, that's great, because it does sometimes change pretty quick depending on what kind of disease process we're talking about. So tell us about the 360 program, because I know that really impresses me. I know it's on your website, but tell us how that works.
Speaker 2:Sure For Care360, that is more than just the person's needs and their daily activities. But we look at relationships, activities, religion and safety. So for that, for the relationships, we also kind of couple community with relationships. So it's family and things out in the community that they might be involved in or might want to get involved in, or if they want to stay connected with family members or friends. If it's through social media, email, having coffee with them, we can help make those things happen.
Speaker 2:And then activity that's either mental or physical activity. So if there's things that the physical therapist would like them to do, we can assist them with that. We're not physical therapists but we can help them with what the physical therapist has told them to do. Or maybe chair exercises, doing crossword puzzles or board games. And the next religion if that is that they want to go to church, we can help them get there. We can bring them back.
Speaker 2:Maybe they want to visit with their pastor or priest. We can get in contact with them to make that happen. We can get them access to Bibles or Bible verses or whatever those resources look like. And then safety we look at the home. We see if there's any barriers or issues as far as might be safety concerns, we can check the smoke alarms. We can help hook up the clients with things that they might need to make their home more safe, because there's not everything. We can't install a window or things like that but we can help them get someone who can do it for them and we can keep that as low cost as possible, because we have a lot of resources and connections all over the state.
Speaker 1:So it sounds like 360, it helps with just about everything but that those care coordinators and the caregivers who obviously are communicating back with the office and the care coordinator and the family. Really it takes care of just the little things about the house that you notice that you could make a little safer. That's a big deal. Sometimes just clearing a great pathway so it's not full of clutter, or being able to change out some light bulbs just little things that might make the house a little bit safer. That's enormous, because just keeping somebody from falling is that fall risk is super high as we get a little bit more debilitated. And boy, just cleaning up a few things to help folks around the house is such a good idea.
Speaker 1:So 360 sounds like it just it takes into consideration everything from the family, spirituality and community all across the board. That's awesome. You don't hear that a lot. You hear a continuum of care and you hear a lot of things, but AmanaCare is a faith-based organization as well. It's a very big part of why you all the founders, started AmanaCare and I think carrying that through to be able to help your clients with that is really nice. We don't hear that a lot and that's so refreshing.
Speaker 2:Yes, and while it's something we don't push on people, if it's something that they're not interested in, that's totally fine. Yes, and while it's something we don't push on people, if it's something that they're not interested in, that's totally fine. We're not going to make them do things like that. It's the client's decision. But if they do want to get more spirituality and religious involvement in their lives, we are more than happy to help them do that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think sometimes just to be able to have a visit or maybe go to church once in a while how many seniors feel so shut in and that's something they enjoyed their whole life and they would love to do that, but they don't. They can't drive anymore and their family doesn't live close enough to help. So those are the kinds of things or maybe it's just going out and having lunch with some friends Whatever those little things are that you guys can help them with it helps their heart immensely. That's awesome. All right, I want to thank you for talking to me about AmanaCare, because when we get into our rural areas I know folks feel like they might be underserved, but with organizations like AmanaCare out there in Nebraska, there's so much more that they can. They have so many more options for care. So I want to thank you for talking to us about that.
