For Maxine Wolfendale, 85, advancing in age means daily tasks have become daily challenges. Even cooking a healthy meal is difficult for the retired nurse.


What was Wolfendales solution? She stopped eating.


Enter Havenwood Caregiver Services.


The Boise-based company, which matches care givers with clients in need of assistance, opened a branch office here in August. Rather than operating an assisted-living retirement facility, the Spokane staff trains its employees to care for clients at their place of residence, whether thats in a retirement center or a private home.


Havenwoods care givers do everything from laundry to cooking. They provide dementia care, manage medications, and organize incoming mail. In short, they help seniors maintain their day-to-day activities and look after their health and well-being.


Elders living at home have a huge and growing need for such care, says Patrick Spiger, director of operations for the Spokane office. They might still be relatively healthy, but theyre losing their ability to carry on daily functions.


Wolfendales son, Tom, contacted Havenwood last month because he was worried about his mothers eating habits and overnight safety. Now, Wolfendale has around-the-clock care in the South Hill house shes called home for 26 years. Two aides cook and clean for her. They help her dress, bathe, and stay active. Plus, they spend time talking with Wolfendale, who was widowed almost 20 years ago.


We take time to visit in the afternoon, which I think is just as important as the care, says Wolfendale, who has started eating again.


Havenwood care givers also might be asked to evaluate the safety of a clients home, to drive the client to appointments, or to accompany him or her on walks.


Havenwoods Spokane office is located at 901 E. Second. Spiger says the companys 700 square feet of office space is adequate for now, but he plans to expand when the company needs more room.


Havenwood employs two people, including Spiger. Another 40 people have completed the companys eight-hour training course to work as care givers on a need basis. Spiger hopes to increase that number to 200 within the next 18 months. The company already has assigned 12 care givers to clients.


Havenwood employees are paid hourly, and they work 14 to 30 hours a week.


Spiger says the company recruits some of its employees, and others are referred to him through church organizations, clubs, and by word of mouth.


The training course covers household and personal care tips using a 100-page workbook and role-playing exercises. The most important focus of the training, says Spiger, is compassion.


Thats one of the biggest traits we look for, he says.


Many clients say thats their only need. As they do with Wolfendale, Havenwoods care givers may spend time playing cards, grooming, or talking.


Other clients have more tangible needs. In those cases, a sitter or a live-in companion may be required.


Sitters work with seniors who need constant observation. Their clients might suffer from dementia or Alzheimers disease, and are more likely to wander unaccompanied. Unlike care givers, sitters dont perform housekeeping duties. They sometimes stay with a client overnight and often work with residents of assisted-living centers.


Facilities dont want to restrain someone, so were called in, says Spiger.


For long-term care, Havenwood calls upon live-in companions.


They stay in a clients home for seven days, then are off for seven days while a second care giver takes over. Two employees are usually assigned to one client so that, in a month, each has worked at least 14 full days.


CEO Charlie Howell founded Havenwood in Boise three years ago after struggling to find quality care for his aging mother.


Howell previously had worked for American Medical Response, an ambulance service, in Texas.


He became familiar with the region and opened Havenwood offices in Texas after launching the company in Boise. Havenwood now has five offices in Texas, and a sixth is currently under construction in Houston.


Only the Boise site offers a residential facility, although Havenwood plans to one other in Waco in January. The rest operate like the Spokane branch, sending care givers to a clients home.


The Boise complex is made up of several clusters of 8,000-square-foot buildings. Each building houses up to 15 residents in private apartments, and each cluster has its own dining and recreation areas.


Its like a little village, says Spiger.


Howell pursued a Spokane branch because demographic studies pointed to a need for in-home care here, says Spiger. Howell also wanted to serve residents of Coeur dAlene, which Spiger says he considers Boises northern sister.


Havenwood strives to modify its service to meet each clients needs, says Spiger. The companys care givers will help a client sort through personal belongings to prepare for a move from the family home to an assisted-living facility.


That change often is stressful and can lead to depression, and with the help of a care giver, the road to transition can be less bumpy, Spiger says.


Most of Havenwoods clients here so far are widowed women. Two single men and two couples also are receiving service.


The first question clients ask is, Do you have quality people? says Spiger.


The next, likely, refers to cost. Havenwood charges $12.50 an hour for sitters, $14.75 an hour for care givers, and $199 a day for live-in care. Havenwood only accepts private payments.


Maybe its just a few visits a week or a bit every day, but it dramatically changes the quality of life for that person, Spiger claims.


Wolfendale agrees.


Shell move to Seattle soon to live with her son and his family. She is reluctant to leave and will miss the city where she spent most of her life. Shell also miss her care givers, she says, whom shed bring along if she could.


Im very happy with the ladies I have, says Wolfendale. We get along well. Theyre workers . And theyre both good cooks, which is very important.