Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – In a continuing effort to provide quality mental health and home health needs for its clients, Care & Comfort has moved to new offices at 165 Academy St.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
Care & Comfort officially opened its new offices at 165 Academy St., Presque Isle, as local officials and staff gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the occasion. Present, from left: Elena Carpenter, in-home support supervisor; Judy Anderson, LCSW, therapist; Holly Coty, mental health staffing coordinator; Laura Rowland, home health staffing coordinator; Gretchen Morse, Presque Isle Area Chamber of Commerce board member; Valerie Lunn, PIACC administrative assistant; Theresa Fowler, PIACC executive director; Billie Brodsky, PIACC board member; Christopher Morse, LCSW clinical team leader for the Presque Isle office; Lee Jellison, chief operating officer from C & C’s main office in Waterville; Susan Giguere, chief executive officer, based in the Waterville office; Carol Davis, office coordinator for the business’s Wilton office; Floyd Rockholt, PIACC board member; and Jay Trainer, PIACC board member. Absent from the photo but present for the event were: Kellie Miller, LMSW, and David Cyr, LCSW – both therapists at the Presque Isle office.
“We’re just across the way from our former offices. We needed more space,” said Susan Guigere, chief executive officer, based at the main office in Waterville.
Christopher Morse, LCSW clinical team leader for the Presque Isle office, knows firsthand how important Care & Comfort’s services are to those served by the business. To provide quality care, staff needed more space.
“Care & Comfort has continued to grow over the last several years as we have been committed to meeting the mental health and home health needs of residents of Presque Isle and the surrounding communities,” said Morse.
Staff has grown to 30 employees in home health services and 10 employees in mental health services, according to Morse.
“We currently serve over 70 clients with our mental health services which include adults, children and families. The move to our new office was driven by our desire to provide additional outpatient counseling services, including group therapy,” said Morse.
“Our interest in providing group therapy is to allow clients to benefit from an alternative therapeutic experience to individual therapy in that it helps the client realize they are not alone in the challenges they face,” continued Morse.
Care & Comfort will be offering groups with several focus areas, including: managing grief/loss, dealing with depression, anger management and a DBT group.
“The growth of our home health services has required more space for increased staff and training needs. We currently serve over 80 clients with our home health services in Presque Isle, the surrounding communities and the St. John Valley. Our home health services include skilled nursing, in-home personal care services and adult and pediatric long-term care,” said Morse.
Care & Comfort has added to its list of services with a new in-home assistance program.
“We also have recently added our Caring Companions program which provides support for clients who require assistance with household services and errands,” explained Morse.
Guigere said the business continues to grow, now employing four staff members and three clinicians at its Presque Isle branch. In an effort to keep qualified workers, the business has implemented a health savings plan.
“As a woman, I’m concerned with good fringe benefits. We offer a Health Savings Account – HSA – for employees. Whatever they contribute, we put in twice that amount – it’s a one-to-three match. If an employee contributes a dollar, we’ll bring that figure up to three dollars,” said Guigere.
The money, according to Guigere, can be used for child services such as health care not covered by other methods. The company also offers a 401K plan and other benefits.
“If a business wants to keep qualified staff, it’s important to offer good benefits. I know what it’s like to work and raise a family. At Care & Comfort, it’s not just about caring about clients; we care about our employees too,” said Guigere.
For more information, call 764-3071, 866-764-3071 or e-mail wecare22@gwi.net.
