Helping The Elderly Stay Home
From left: Peter Sosnkowski, Care & Company owner Fabio dos Santos, and Caregiver Debbie Bourke
VICTORIA – Fabio dos Santos says upholding the dignity and respect of seniors by enabling them to have personal in-home care in their later years is some of the most satisfying work he has ever done.
For the past two years as owner of the Care & Company Group, dos Santos and his team of caregivers have been providing vital services for dozens of Victoria seniors, including those who suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s.
“We’re helping people who are having a difficult time dealing with sickness, and when finances and family relationships are involved, it can get quite complicated,” he states. “Caregiving is the heart of what we do. Our team does incredible work with our clients.”
Care & Company staff members are trained to gently enter the complex world of individuals with Alzheimer’s’ and dementia by providing friendly companionship, then slowly helping out with tasks like washing the dishes, making a meal and cleaning. This introduction allows clients to feel their privacy and independence are being maintained.
“We’ve just added a wheelchair-accessible transportation service and have started offering caregiver-assisted outings to Butchart Gardens. Many seniors are just very lonely, but we find that when they are out and engaged, it’s almost like they don’t even have dementia for a time.”
He shares one of the most touching testimonials their team has received: “I believe my Dad lived an extra five years because of the way he was looked after by your team.”
Dos Santos purchased Care & Company in 2021 from Johanna Booy, who started the business in 2005.
Prior to entering the field of senior care, dos Santos built a successful real estate business with RE/MAX in Central Alberta before moving to a career in international sales and business development within telecommunications and broadcasting in Central and South America. That opened the door to work with New Zealand-based Shotover Camera Systems, where he provided Hollywood filmmakers with gyro-stabilized camera platforms used for movies like Top Gun Maverick.
“We moved to Victoria to live somewhere beautiful, and warmer than Alberta, and to connect with a community of entrepreneurs who were using business to do good in the world,” he says.
In 2019 dos Santos and his wife Lee-Ann launched Author Clothing, their online clothing brand is designed to provide young families with an alternative to fast fashion based on fair trade and living-wage employment.
“Near the end of 2020, we were looking for an additional opportunity to build a business, one that would allow me to stay close to home and enjoy being more hands-on with my daughters’ education,” he states. “Care & Company provided a unique opportunity to build a profitable business while also creating meaningful jobs in our community and providing an extremely valuable service to seniors and the families who care for them.”
Care & Company employs 20 full-time and nearly 20 part-time team members but are always looking to hire more.
“Home care is a process, and many families wait too long before realizing they need to introduce home care to their parents,” dos Santos explains. “Feeling like you are losing your independence is a scary, scary thing. We advise starting early by introducing help with shopping or meal prep or companionship outings.
“It takes time to build relationships. Our goal is to provide consistent caregivers for our clients because we know relationships are key for both emotional and physical vitality.”
Dos Santos advises children to start planning early for their parents’ care, including financial considerations.
“A reverse mortgage can enable a loved one to stay in their home as long as possible, even if they don’t have much money outside of the equity in their home,” he explains.
“Aging-in-place in the comfort of your own home, whenever possible, is the very best care scenario. That’s what Care & Company is all about.”
By Mark MacDonald, Business Examiner
