As we reach the official one-year mark since the beginning of the pandemic, it feels fitting that March celebrates social workers. Social workers play an extremely important role in the healthcare system, often helping others to solve or cope with complex issues that affect their quality of life. Social work takes an altruistic soul and a big heart dedicated to making life easier for others. Social work is not just a job – it is a life calling.
Home to Stay understands what a crucial role social workers play, and we feel extremely proud to have one of South Jersey’s best on our team! With her compassionate demeanor and gentle reassurance, Janie De Leon-Male, M.S.S., exemplifies the complete essence of all that a social worker should be.
Janie uses her background in geriatric social work, case management, and elder law in the role of Dementia Coach for our AlzBetter Master’s Program. She joined our team after spending the last 15 years as an Elder Care Coordinator for Rothkoff Law Group. In her new role as Dementia Coach, Janie uses her expertise to help guide the care partners toward effective care-giving practices for people diagnosed with dementia. Janie has a deep understanding of the difficulties families face when being thrust into a caregiving role.
Caring for someone living with dementia can be extremely stressful. Communication issues, lack of education, and burnout can cause great duress. This may leave both the patient and their caregiver feeling frustrated and lost. Oftentimes, we overlook the underlying root cause of the issue. Our instinct is to “fix” the problem, rather than stepping back to analyze the situation and understand the non-verbal cues that are deeply insightful. That is where Janie steps in! She works tirelessly to create a holistic and individualized plan of care centered on creating a meaningful day, giving you the tools to effectively care for your loved one living with dementia.
Having Janie as a part of Home to Stay’s team helps identify and meet the diverse needs of not only our clients, but their families as well. We feel strongly that patient care goes well beyond caring for the patient. We understand that the care partner’s needs must also be addressed in order to provide the best quality care on all levels! Social workers will always be essential!
