"HOW I BECAME THE ULTIMATE CAREGIVER"

I’ve been an admirer of Tena L. Scallan’s advocacy work on behalf of caregivers for years. Tena is a natural born nurturer who combined her talent for entrepreneurship with her care experience. Tena IS The Ultimate Caregiving Expert - you can see it in the love and determination in her eyes. Here is Tena’s guest blog post.

I would like to introduce myself and tell you about my website The Ultimate Caregiving Expert.  My name is Tena L. Scallan and I create caregiving solutions for busy professionals.  I provide Virtual Assistance to help lighten the load of entrepreneurs who are trying to run their business while taking care of a loved one at home or in long-term care.  I also provide Caregiving Coaching/Consulting Services and sell products that caregivers need via my resource-filled website.

I have a collaborative problem-solving approach to family caregiving. I put myself in the shoes of caregivers who may be busy adult children of aging parents/relatives, caregiving professionals, entrepreneurs or executives and I provide a range of solutions to challenges that seemed at first, impossible to overcome.

Why did you decide to be a caregiver?

As "The Ultimate Caregiver" I relate to a problem and am passionate and knowledgeable to fix it and feel that I have a moral obligation to share my experience with the world, dedicating my life to helping others in need.  I would love to assist the world with all aspects of caregiving. My mission is to be a strategic partner with caregivers by applying my expertise, knowledge and experience, while providing innovative and cost-effective solutions to those facing challenges in health care today.

The implementation of my mission involves listening closely to my clients, taking the time to learn about their needs, and understanding their environment. Through my work with hundreds of clients, I have established a reputation for my capabilities in private and healthcare environments.  

How did you get your experience?

In the beginning, I grew up in a family with many health problems. I was always in doctors’ offices, hospitals and other medical facilities.  I started my passion for caregiving as a young child, then became a candy striper at age 14.  After I finished school, I worked at a Home Health agency for 7 years, then ran my own homemaker/companion service for 12 years and worked in every department of a hospital for 6 years. I gave up my business because of the growing rules and regulations in caregiving and decided to do something about it.  My family & clients called me The Ultimate Caregiver and the name stuck with me throughout my life. 

Why did you write “The Ultimate Compassionate Guide to Caregiving”? 

It started off as a training manual for my employees to follow as if I were doing the work myself. I saw a powerful need to educate family caregivers in the home.  The book came from my many years of experience and I mirrored it to what I taught my employees. It is the must-know of caregiving.  Furthermore, my book is an encyclopedia of information that teaches families and caregivers how to care for their loved ones.  Also, I have broken the book down on my website to provide each chapter in a series of quick e-books to help with many caregiving problems that can arise.

Caregiving and COVID

Caregiving today has become so confusing!  There is so much information to digest. I have come up with a post that 25 other caregiving experts has offered their advice and knowledge on COVID to help all caregiver called How 26 Caregiving Experts Help New Caregivers With COVID-19.  Caregiving Experts and Caregivers are in unprecedented times with a disease that has no cure and unfortunately, we are in a new normal with this.  They can be overwhelming enough without Covid-19, but not impossible.

Conclusion

You too can be The Ultimate Caregiver by having patience, being gracious, and staying organized.  I am here to help you in anyway possible.  Caregiving can happen at a moments notice and you may not know what to do at first.  My website was created to help with anything caregiver related.  Thank you for the opportunity to tell you about myself.