Roxana and CareForce: The Story of a Life Well-Lived at Home

This article is sponsored by CareForce

Roxana Phillips is an exceptionally lively, witty and very sharp woman living in her own home on the Eastside. At age 80, Roxie, as she prefers to be called, has a fascinating background that includes work as an archeologist and historian. Roxie is also an artist whose paintings adorn her home among others. “I get a lot of compliments from friends and family,” she admits modestly when pressed about her paintings.

“I had my own archeology company in San Diego,” says the irrepressible Roxie. Developers hired Roxie’s firm to determine if building sites had cultural or historical significance before they could build.

“She’s a hoot,” says Roxie’s daughter, Becky. “She’s very social and likes to joke around and tease everyone. She takes piano lessons once a week, and also takes an exercise class with a personal trainer.” Roxie also happens to be visually and hearing impaired. And 15 years ago Roxie had a stroke … “but she doesn’t let that slow her down.”

“I just started piano lessons about a year ago,” she says, and explains how playing piano improves the range of movement in her hands after complications from her strokes.

As Roxie’s health changed, she and her husband John moved to the Seattle area from San Diego to be closer to their family. When the couple first moved to Washington, John was caring for Roxie’s needs.

“It was really important to Dad to live at home as independently as possible,” reports Roxie’s daughter, Becky. “But then Dad got cancer and he needed help caring for Mom. He wanted someone there to keep her company while he received medical care.”

That was how Roxie’s relationship with CareForce started. “All of us children work fulltime jobs and just could not be there all the time. So we reached out to CareForce to provide companionship for Mom while Dad was away getting his treatments,” says Becky. “Dad wanted someone to be there for Mom—to help her get to exercise class, make lunch or just provide companionship.

“CareForce has a good reputation, with nurses supervising their caregivers. They have the ability to increase care as you need it,” says Becky. “The range of the services they offer ended up being very important to us. What started out as light chores and companionship for Mom grew to care for both of our parents when Dad needed assistance after his surgery.” The fact that CareForce offers not only home care services but also home health care was a factor in their selection, even though at first they didn’t know the extent of services their father would require.

“Dad didn’t want to move to a facility and he wanted to spend as little time in the hospital as possible,” says Becky. “As Dad’s illness progressed, his need for care really increased. He eventually needed 24-hour care and CareForce was there to provide it. Dad was able to stay at home receiving care until almost the very end of his life. We would not have been able to accomplish that without CareForce,” she adds.

“CareForce began assisting Roxana about one-and-a-half years ago when her husband John began to experience health issues,” says Susan “Sam” Miller, RN, co-owner of CareForce. “Later, when John became quite ill, we were able to provide care for the both of them in their home. We believe that providing continuity of care to families is very important.”

“If you are considering home care services, you should think about more than just your current needs,” says Becky. “Look for an agency that can adapt as conditions change over time. Everyone at CareForce, the office staff, the in-home caregivers and the supervising nurse was responsive to our changing schedules and increasing care requirements. “It’s been great having CareForce,” reflects Becky. “Mom gets to have people help her as needed. They come in the morning for breakfast and lunch, and then she can be independent for the rest of the day until we come home from work. She’s developed a good rapport with the CareForce workers. Having conversations or working on crossword puzzles together—it’s all very important to Mom.”

Roxie couldn’t agree more. She has grown especially close to one of her caregivers, Jenelle. “I like her a lot,” says Roxie. “I enjoy our conversations. She knows me and how I like things done. Plus, she makes sure I look neat before we go out!”

“CareForce is part of our support network. They have become an extension of our family,” adds Becky.

Roxie is still quite active and her family is grateful that their mother is able to enjoy life in her own home, just as their father wanted