ScotiaCare Homecare and Caregivers

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ScotiaCare is a private homecare agency that is totally committed to offering an affordable solution for families caring for loved ones and for Seniors who need a little extra help with daily living activities. We serve the areas of Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, Sackville and the Eastern Shore of HRM as far as Sheet Harbour and Middle Musquodoboit.

Our Business Philosophy
Our Mission is to help Seniors live independently in their own homes for as long as possible. Our Goal is to improve every client’s quality of life through dependable, caring service and thereby protecting their dignity amid the decline of their physical and mental faculties.
We further commit ourselves to assist the families of Seniors and the family caregivers who struggle with their complex responsibilities while caring for elder parents or relatives. It's no accident that our motto is 'homecare beyond compare' - we go above and beyond; exceeding expectations is the norm at ScotiaCare.

Our Vision
We envision a world in which Seniors can age gracefully, socialize frequently and live confidently. We reject the ideas that Seniors have nothing to expect but isolation, ill-health, institutionalization and indignity. We will not allow them to become third-world citizens within the caring communities of a first-world nation.
We choose to make a positive difference in the aging experience. Our ScotiaCare team will perform its collective duties with confidence, concern, commitment, cheerfulness and care.
We strive to be recognized as the premier companion care provider in Nova Scotia. We will accomplish this by employing the most caring and capable caregivers in the industry. The ScotiaCare team collectively provides our clients and their families with the highest quality homecare service every day and in every way - so they may enjoy each day to the fullest.

Our Values
ScotiaCare values Compassion, Integrity, Trust, Responsiveness, Community and Family.
Why? Because that's what our clients value.

Owner Alex Handyside is a Certified Senior Advisor and a proud Rotarian, where the motto is 'Service Above Self.' Rotarians, in their business and professional lives, adhere to 'The Four Way Test:'

» Is it the truth?

» Is it fair to all concerned?

» Will it build goodwill and better friendships?

» Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Alex Handyside is pleased to bring these values to ScotiaCare and make them ScotiaCare's values.
Alex also serves on the boards of Caregivers Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia HomeCare Association and the Preventing Falls Together Coalition (Halifax Regional Municipality). Alex is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD).

ScotiaCare won first place at the 2006 Maritime Business Ethics Awards, presented by the Better Business Bureau of the Maritime Provinces. The award is given to the business that, in the judges' opinion, exhibits the highest social, professional and ethical standards. It is given to the business that does what is right and fair, without question, and without compromise.

Silver Award Alex Handyside ScotiaCare was proud to be a silver award winner at the 2006 Metro Halifax Business Awards for the prestigious New Business of the Year Award.
Right, Alex Handyside CSA receives the Silver Award from Mr Larry Stordy LL.B., Corporate Practice Manager of Atlantic Canada's Number One Law Firm & event sponsor, Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales.

Alex was also pleased to receive the Certified Senior Advisor's Award of Excellence in 2007 for services to Nova Scotia's senior community.

The ScotiaCare team believes in Community: be it volunteering, sponsoring, helping, donating or supporting, the ScotiaCare team gives selflessly to our community.
Each year the Scotia Care team selects a number of charities to support: this year staff has chosen the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia, Caregivers Nova Scotia, and Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia.

ScotiaCare receives referrals from many sources, including government. However, we are not connected with the Nova Scotia Department of Health or Continuing Care Nova Scotia.

ScotiaCare is a founding member of the Serving Seniors Alliance - an alliance of professionals dedicated to serving Seniors, and a trusted resource for seniors and their families. ScotiaCare is also a founding member of the Nova Scotia HomeCare Association: whose mission it is to promote and protect the reputation of the homecare industry in Nova Scotia and be a voice for homecare across the province.

ScotiaCare was proud to be a Silver Award Winner for 'New Business of the Year' at the Metro Halifax Business Awards in February, 2006. In 2007, Alex received the CSA Award of Excellence from the Canadian Academy of Senior Advisors for outstanding service to Canadian seniors. He is a member of the Canadian CSA Advisory Board.

Alex is very active in the local community: as a volunteer board member for Caregivers Nova Scotia, Preventing Falls Together Coalition , the Nova Scotia HomeCare Association and the Serving Seniors Alliance; as a member of the Rotary Club of Dartmouth ; and as a regular columnist for the Eastern Gazette's Senior Care Corner feature and The Seniors' Advocate newspaper. He also hosts the Friday morning radio show on NWBC (Northwood Broadcasting) which airs to seniors throughout the Maritimes.

Alex hosts the popular blog 'The Grey Zone' on the online edition of Halifax's Chronicle Herald newspaper (in the MyConnect section). 'The Grey Zone' is all about seniors and the issues that affect them, from the seniors themselves and from the people who care about them.

At ScotiaCare we treat every contact as a friend, call every client 'family,' and perform every task as an honour.
We are ScotiaCare: homecare beyond compare.