Acclaim Home Care offers care, services for seniors

Acclaim Home Care says it offers seniors in the Cape Region more than just a caregiver.

Founder David Watt said he wants to help seniors and their families navigate the legal and financial aspects of growing old.

Watt is an attorney from Baltimore who specializes in estate planning; he founded Acclaim to take a multifaceted approach to elder care with a team of professionals to offer health assessments and guidance for government benefits and estate planning.

"We are taking a more comprehensive approach," said Watt, whose new company has an office on Nassau Commons near Five Points in Lewes. "Providing caregivers is important, but it's most important to provide entire life-care needs."

Acclaim offers varying levels of nonmedical in-home care ranging from light housekeeping, meal preparation and rides to more involved medical referrals, legal and financial advice and guidance for benefits.

More than his professional interest in senior care, the attorney said he has been coping with the same situations as many of his clients in the last decade; his father passed away in October after a nine-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Working with his family to find the appropriate care for his father's physical, legal and financial wellbeing, Watt said he put together the team at Acclaim to guide other families through the process.

"That's what drives me. I see this enormous burden, and there's the emotional side," Watt said. "This is your mom or dad, and it's very difficult to see them suffer."

The team includes clinical liaison Michele Andrews, who said she coordinates many aspects of healthcare for clients, assessing the levels of homecare necessary before a move into assisted living.

"When it comes time to transition from home to another living situation, we help them navigate to the next living arrangements," Andrews said.

More than providing a caregiver or hot meal, Acclaim offers a portal for clients to access a range of specialized local services and resources.

"A lot of times, the first caregiver is the elderly spouse, and then it gets to be too much. That's where we step in," Watt said. "As soon as an elderly person needs in-home care, that's when you need to be planning for the future."

Acclaim Home Care Services is at 17527 Nassau Commons Blvd., Suite 103; for more information go to www.acclaimathome.com or call 302-645-7416.