Their new care business is a by-product of their personal lives and struggles over the past few years.
Linda Chamberlain and Camille Garcia, became the co-owners of Ensemble of Care, Inc., in 2012. The business was incorporated in June and the Illinois Department of Public Health granted its Illinois state license last November.
"I have two brothers who passed away in the past [few] years," Chamberlain said. "One, Lynn, needed hospice care in his final days. The other, Dennis, was being treated for bone cancer and had an infection that went septic. He passed away within a week of the onset of the infection. This was all happening at a time in my life when I was feeling a drive to change career paths and do something with meaning and significance. Their experiences sent me on a re-evaluation of what I wanted to do to help others."
Plus, she added, "In the last few years of my mother's life, she was in and out of the hospital, and I was using skilled nursing on and off to check on her after her hospital stays. I was always impressed with the professional and compassionate care she received when the nurses visited. Her experiences with home nursing care were fleeting and temporary, but much needed and appreciated."
And in the 1980s, Chamberlain's grandmother started having trouble bathing and preparing meals, so a woman was hired to come into her home to cook, clean and assist her with everyday activities so she could remain in her home. "Back then, it wasn't called home-care; the family just 'hired' someone to help out.
"My family experiences gave me the push in the direction of care in the home setting."
It's the same for Garcia.
"As my grandparents aged, I was one of their caretakers," Garcia said. "Taking care of my grandparents became overwhelming for me and the family—we ended up putting her in an assisted-living facility, my grandmother became depressed and I always felt that if we knew of an option that could have kept her in the home, we might have pursued it. Helping others explore these options was a big motivational factor in starting this business."
Chamberlain, 47, serves as Ensemble's director of client services. Garcia, 43, is the company's director of operations. They live together in north suburban Grayslake with Chamberlain's daughter, Marli, plus three dogs and three cats.
"As a diabetic, I am constantly working toward managing my health and want to help others to feel empowered to live an independent and healthy life for as long as possible," Garcia said. "Managing a condition like diabetes can be overwhelming for someone newly diagnosed. Home care isn't just for the elderly."
Chamberlain said Ensemble of Care was conceived and developed out of a need to help the elderly, especially those in the LGBT community.
"There definitely was a lack of services that were knowledgeable about the community or even understanding that LGBT elders have specific needs in terms of caregivers who are accepting and non-judgmental," Chamberlain said. "We were noticing an increase in the media discussing or reporting on seniors who were going back into the closet after years of being out because they feared that they would be discriminated against in a care facility. We really wanted to provide some options for care for people so that they could remain who they were and be able to talk about their lives without worrying that they would be treated differently, or worse, discriminated against by the very person who may be providing care [for them]."
Ensemble of Care offers a wide variety of services with highly trained caregivers, including personal care for such tasks as bathing and grooming, companionship, meal preparation, pet care, medication supervision, transportation, housekeeping, and more.
Ensemble of Care centers its services to the North Side of Chicago and Lake County.
"Our first round of caregivers have successfully completed orientation [and also] completed the full LGBT Nurses H.E.A.L.E. program, sponsored by Howard Brown Health Center," Garcia said. "This program helps nurses and caregivers provide more sensitive and compassionate care for clients or client's families who may identify as LGBT. We feel our caregivers are second to none when it comes to sensitive care and the needs of diverse communities."
Chamberlain added, "Our unique perspective on diversity training, which each of our caregivers attends to, is definitely a strong point for our company and brand of care. Also, we place emphasis on education in the care-giving field; our caregivers put in extra hours to understand diseases like dementia, diabetes, COPD, etc., and also go through recurrent training every year to refresh their knowledge on care-giving skills."
Home care is very competitive in the Chicago area, Garcia said. "We place our caregivers through extra training so they have a wealth of knowledge to draw from when providing care."
Chamberlain added, "We stress integrity and honesty in our caregivers. On our first round of hiring, only three of 500 [applying] caregivers were asked to come in for an interview. We are very selective; one way we do this is through personality screening where we really pay attention to the integrity score of the applicant. Only those caregivers who score well on the integrity portion of the exam are asked to come in for an interview.
"Since our caregivers are entrusted to take care of our clients' loved ones, we only want the very best of the best to be Ensemble employees."
Garcia said the most common request has been help with elderly care. One of Ensemble's more popular services is called Rise & Shine, where caregivers help client's prepare themselves for the day. "The caregiver helps them out of bed, get bathed, groomed, dressed, and prepares a healthy breakfast. The caregiver can also provide a ride to Adult Day Care if that is what the family needs. This service is really helpful for someone who does not need 24-hour care, but just a little assistance in the morning in order to get ready for the day."
Ensemble has multiple caregivers with an interest and specialization in aiding HIV-positive clients. "They understand the needs of this population through both personal and professional experience, and really want to use their skills and experience to help out," Chamberlain said.
The LGBT community definitely is bright on Ensemble of Care's radar.
"We provide services to everyone, but the LGBT community is important to us. We also make sure our caregivers have training on the transgender community as well so that discreet care is provided for people after surgery or cosmetic procedures," Chamberlain said. "In our caregiver's initial training, they go through diversity training focusing on the LGBT community. Yearly, we have plans to include other diversity trainings—religious, ethnic, disabilities, etc. We really want our caregivers to be open-minded and accepting of others who may come from various backgrounds."
Ensemble is a member of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association ( GLMA ), a professional, national organization that concentrates on academic and professional presentations for medical professionals. Ensemble of Care also is a member of the Chicago Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
"We thought connecting with [GLMA] would be a good fit as many of the members have like-minded goals—to ensure equal treatment and respect for the LGBT community in medical and medically-related practices," Chamberlain said.
Garcia added, "On a personal level, the Chicago Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce has provided me with a directory of gay- and lesbian-friendly businesses and social organizations in the Chicago area. Being someone who moved here from Miami, it provided a resource for me to join in on the LGBT community. Being a lesbian, I was looking for a community to be a part of and support; this was a resource for me.
"On a professional level, the Chicago Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce provided us with an opportunity to run our business efficiently through their Entrepreneurship Level. Through this, we had the ability to operate a vital aspect of our business operations where we utilized the Chamber facility to train our caregivers in a welcoming environment."
Chamberlain and Garcia have been able to mesh their personal and professional lives seemingly with ease.
"I grew up in a family of medical professionals, leading me to focus on the helping professions when I was career changing," Chamberlain said. "I spent 25 years in a customer service career and knew that I could use that experience to help clients negotiate through a tough web of care-giving, making their experience a little easier. We really concentrate on what's best for the client, and try our best to make it happen for them."
Garcia added, "We both have a passion for caring for people of all backgrounds—and we wanted to create an environment that provided this level of care we believe in. At the same time, we wanted to give back to the community that has supported us in our own coming-out process."
