Category: Uncategorized

Hello. Kindness at anytime of the year is a special thing but yesterday, on Christmas, it touched my heart. The power had been out at our house most of Christmas Eve and then in the evening the water main broke. Crews were out working on it through the night. It was extremely cold. Christmas morning our neighbor, Jen, stopped their festivities to make a homemade breakfast for the crews who were sitting in their trucks waiting for a pipe to be delivered so they could finish the repair. Jen has small children, and I am sure they were anxious to open presents. Jen gave them the best gift of all in taking time to do something for others that was so appreciated on a cold winter morning. I have a mother like that. When we talk about our favorite Holiday memories, mine are always the times my parents found people in need to help. Thank you Caregivers…and Stacy… for braving the bad weather to get to your Client’s homes and give a ride to a Caregiver. The Admin Team prepared all week with plans for the expected snow and ice. So grateful for everyone’s efforts! The New Year will be here soon. My tradition is to look back on the accomplishments and blessings and let that positive energy carry me into the New Year with hopes and dreams. As I look back on last year, COVID was actually harder for the business this year than the previous year. We also had many Caregivers stop working due to new babies or family members to care for. We appreciate the dedication of our Caregivers and Admin Team. We also appreciate our Clients for paying rates that allow us to pay our Caregivers a respectful wage. We love what we do and appreciate the opportunity to make a difference for our Clients and our Caregivers. Take Care. Melinda

Hello. I have learned so much watching the series Limitless with Chris Hemsworth. My personal   takeaways are: use breathing techniques to reduce stress, the stories you tell yourself become your reality, being out in nature for 20 minutes a day and regular exercise and eating more fish and vegetables and being with people will significantly increase your brain health. I have 2 episodes left and I can hardly wait! Take Care. Melinda

Hello. The Newsletter is back! We moved and it was a challenge…even with the best moving company on the planet. I would like to thank ITS Global Relocation Services, 503-287-2700, for the incredible job they did. They brought over carts, boxes, and tubs on wheels weeks before the move. We packed our personal items and computers but they packed everything else. Then, they left some carts and tubs so that we could take a couple of weeks to totally unpack. That made all the   difference. We downsized and that was great because we had extra space in our old office and I somehow managed to fill it up with 25 years of stuff! I found out about ITS from Jerry Tolle who works at Take Care of Us Moving for Seniors, 503-522-6941, www.takecareofus.com. Over the years, Jerry has moved friends and family 4 times. Packing, unpacking and doing so many little things to make a move easier. Thank you to everyone at ITS! Thank you Veterans I had a special experience at Willamette National Cemetery. My Mother-in-law passed away in October and was buried next to her husband, an amazing Veteran who had been a POW for 4 years and served this Nation valiantly. We were waiting in the car behind the hearse at the cemetery, and a motorcycle with a flag stopped next to the hearse. The rider got off and then went over to the hearse and touched it and saluted. This meant so much. Veterans are part of families, and those families are part of that service to our Nation. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at No Worries. Take Care. Melinda

Hello. As a nurse, I created No Worries around a strong nursing model. As you can imagine with the nursing shortage, it is incredibly  difficult to hire nurses. We have been so fortunate that Registered Nurse, Kahlei joined our Team! About No Worries: We are moving this Friday, 1.7 miles to the Greenburg Commons building on the   other side of Washington Square. Our new  address is: 9900 SW Greenburg Rd, Suite 150, Tigard, OR 97223. I am busy going through 25 years of stuff. The benefit of this move, is that the new office does not have a huge storage room! Interesting how space attracts stuff! We will have photos of our new office in the next newsletter. Take Care. Melinda

Hello. I am so proud of our Caregivers! What do you do when you take care of a couple in their home and one of them gets COVID? At No Worries, we set up great procedures and for the second time in the last two years our Caregivers have done such a great job that the spouse did not get COVID. This is not easy. Lots of putting on full PPE and being so careful not to spread germs. We take care of very fragile clients and the efforts of our Caregivers to keep our Clients and each other safe is impressive! On a personal note…I am finally getting over COVID and grateful to be improving. I have watched all the movies I could ever want to watch, I have read many books, and as you can see from the back of this newsletter-I have on occasion gone bonkers on Pinterest. I have also had a log of time to think and have discovered that I am grateful to be my age. I have learned a lot and lately have learned to be kinder to myself and accept that I am still learning and trying my best and that is sufficient. I am also looking at priorities differently. All of a sudden I found myself at a stage in life where I am not trying to collect more but give more.  Welcome to full-time Registered Nurse, Kahlei. We are so fortunate that Kahlei has years of experience in community health working as a Hospice Nurse. Kahlei begins full-time work with us next week. A full introduction will be in our next newsletter. Take Care. Melinda

Hello. My husband, Jim, and I were discussing how music is so comforting and in other instances it can energize or be romantic. We were trying to remember if we had a special song back when we were dating. It was fun to remember how we used to sing the incredible songs from “Phantom of the Opera.” It was a wonderful memory and got us back singing music from our favorite Opera. I am sorry to say that I continue, after 5 weeks, to recover from COVID. I am keeping my sanity by focusing on what I am grateful for, watching fun movies, reading, and looking at the beauty outside. A friend stopped by and decorated our front door and left flowers and popsicles. Text messages and e-mails have been so appreciated. I hope to be announcing in the next newsletter that I am fully recovered! Great job Caregivers: I am so proud of our Caregivers Lupe, Naomi, and Tabitha who smelled natural gas at change of shift while caring for a couple this weekend. They worked with oncall RN and Administrator, Caitlin, calling 911 and Northwest Natural Gas. They opened all the windows and got fans running in the bedroom where the wife who is on oxygen and is in isolation due to COVID. Family was notified and our Clients and Caregivers were safe. I am so proud of our Caregivers who responded quickly and for Caitlin’s leadership in responding to this emergency. The Clients did not have to be evacuated but Caitlin had backup plans ready. What a Team! Take Care. Melinda

Hello. I have had quite the learning  experience the last 3 ½ weeks. I got sick with COVID. I was fortunate to get on Paxlovid and I am sure that saved me from hospitalization because I was  having trouble breathing and my fever was the highest it has ever been and within 24 hours my temperature was almost normal and I was breathing better. Then a week later I experienced rebound COVID, which has not been as severe but I have been sick. I usually have lots of    energy and to now have hardly any has been an adjustment. I needed to change my attitude. I started to read, and watch some incredible biographies on Amazon and Netflix and then the other night we watched “Mrs. Harris goes to Paris.” I am certain it will be a new classic. So fun. Once I changed my expectations of what I wanted to do and embraced what I was able to do, I have been happier. I look to those with chronic illness with more insight, and admiration. I have learned a lot. Take Care. Melinda

Hello. I was thinking about how I make decisions on what to purchase and I always look at what the reviews say. I Googled No Worries and had a tender moment when I saw we had 70 reviews. What an amazing thing it was for me to read them. I am so grateful to everyone who wrote a review about us. I know it is not easy for people to call and arrange for help in their home. Home is a private place and we like having everything where in its place and things done like they have always been done. We understand that and honor it and thanks to our reviews, there is some relief of the stress in needing help and wondering who to call. Take care. Melinda

Hello. I woke up this morning thinking about the extraordinary people I am so fortunate to work with. I am grateful our Caregivers choose to stay in the healthcare profession when it has been hard with COVID and so much other illness going around. I am also grateful for an Admin Team that continues to do hard things and hangs in there when times are challenging. The hardest job is scheduling. You never know when you are going to get a sick call or an emergency call and vacation scheduling combined with the usual scheduling duties is stressful. Recently, Stacy did all the scheduling for a month. Every day and night while Haley was on maternity leave. Stacy did a fantastic job and we are all extremely grateful for the 20 ½ years she has been working so hard for No Worries! I would also like to congratulate Maria, our Client Services Manager, who learned how to do Invoicing and Payroll and covered for Haley on those duties. Great people at No Worries who use their passion for helping others to make a difference. Thank you! Melinda

Hello. I received a neighborhood text yesterday that said, “Our outdoor light wires just caught on fire. Not sure if the power outage is the cause. I put it out with extinguisher. Fire Department on way.” “Fire Department said when power went out it caused wire to “arc” and caught pine needles on fire. Thank goodness I had a fire extinguisher close by.” I didn’t remember that for an electrical fire you cannot use water. It made me think about where our fire extinguisher is. When we begin services we check to see if our new Client has a fire extinguisher. I am going to recommend to our Safety Committee that we include in the Service Plan where the fire extinguisher is. It is no help if you can’t find it! Take Care. Melinda