Everybody has a Dora.
The neighbour, the aunt, the woman two doors down who noticed the curtains had not been opened and went to check.
She was not qualified in anything. She just paid attention, and she kept coming back. Nearly every family has someone like that in its history, and nearly every family found out too late how much of the load she was quietly carrying.
That is the standard we hire against. Not the words on the brochure: the woman who noticed.
[Founding story placeholder: who Dora was, what happened, and why the company started, in the founder’s own words with a real photograph.]
Four things we will not budge on
The same face, every time
Continuity is not a nicety. It is how somebody notices that your mother has stopped eating, or that the bruise on her arm is new. Rotating staff struggle to notice, because they have nothing to compare it to.
Your parent decides what they accept
Care that is done to somebody gets refused. We move at their pace, even when it is slower than the family would like, because a caregiver who is welcome in the house is worth more than a schedule that looks right on paper.
Pay the caregiver properly
Turnover is the biggest problem in this industry, and it is caused by pay and scheduling. We pay above the Edmonton market rate, guarantee hours where we can, and employ rather than contract. That is also why we are not the cheapest quote you will get.
Tell the family the truth
Including when the truth is that you need fewer hours than you are asking for, that the public system will cover this for nothing, or that it is time to look at supportive living.
How we hire
The screening is not the interesting part, since every agency does background checks. What matters is what we screen for after that.
- Health Care Aides registered with the CLHA; LPNs registered with the CLHA and RNs with the CRNA
- Police check with vulnerable sector search, references contacted by phone rather than email
- A practical assessment: transfers, a real conversation with a person with dementia, and how they respond to being refused
- Dementia training for every caregiver, not only the ones on dementia cases
- Employed by us, WCB covered, fully insured, supervised by a named care manager
The people who come to the house
First names, real roles, and one line each in their own words.
Placeholder portraits and names until the real team is photographed, with written consent.
[Name]
Health Care Aide
[Name]
Care manager
[Name]
LPN
[Name]
Health Care Aide
If it is not working
Tell your care manager. You do not need a reason and you will not be asked to justify it. We rematch, at no cost, and we do not treat it as a complaint about you or about the caregiver. Some people simply do not suit each other.
If something goes wrong
Raise it with your care manager first. If that does not resolve it, it goes to the director of care, who will respond in writing. You can also contact Assisted Living Alberta, the Alberta Health Advocates office, or the relevant regulatory college directly, and we will give you the contact details if you ask.