Thank You Cindy Gray!
“Rhinestone Cowboy” singer Glenn Campbell was somewhat of an inspiration to ComForCare Home Care owner Cindy Gray as she launched her business.
She’d heard one of his family members speaking after he passed away from Alzheimer's Disease, and she was inspired to connect with and support the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Resource Center.
“It really touched my heart,” she said.
Gray has always had a big heart for helping people.
Prior to launching her business, Gray had been a pediatric and physical rehabilitation nurse for 10 years, followed by two more decades as a device manufacturer representative who specialized in mitigating chronic pain.
Her retirement plan had been to become a hospice nurse volunteer. That plan was instead replaced with something new.
“I started learning about the ability to start this home care agency,” she said. “We've been here almost 10 years.”
Her time helming ComForCare Home Care has transformed clients into an extended family for both Gray and the caregivers she employs.
“People are far from the end of life when we get involved with them,” she said, adding that they’ve supported some for seven or more years.
“I gave the eulogy for one of my clients. I often help with funeral arrangements. That’s not something we charge for,” she added.
She invests her love and passion into her caregiving team, as well, ensuring they receive grief support when necessary and good pay.
“I want the best caregivers there are in our area on my team,” she says.
Her website details the great care she takes in selecting caregivers for specific clients.
“Before we ever select caregivers, we meet with clients, take note of their personality and speak with them about their life history to help us select the most compatible caregiver,” she writes.
Gray’s caregivers are also required to undergo 12 hours of dementia training. Approximately a quarter of her clients are navigating these brain changes.
“We are getting to be more recognized in our community as a company that specializes in dementia care,” she says.
And ComForCare is also a participant in Medicare’s GUIDE program (more on this specific program in our next newsletter), and has been enrolling people since its July launch.
“This is the first time that Medicare is paying for private duty homecare (for people) with a dementia diagnosis,” she said.
Gray has also supported ADRC’s Alive Inside film fundraisers.
When she isn’t busy (and she almost always is), Gray enjoys a glass of pinot noir, tends an herb garden and spends time with her family.
“The best word I can think of is blessed,” she said of her life. “I feel so blessed and so fortunate.”