By FINN HARTNETT

Staff writer

It’s something recently graduated high-schoolers know better than anyone: Marion County has a lot of old people.

Census data indicate that of 11,795 county residents, 10% are in their 70s, and 6% are in their 80s and up.

That’s 1.3 and 1.5 times the national average, respectively.

Nursing homes, hospitals, and senior centers are vital to the health of the county.

But what about those who need assistance to thrive but are not yet ready or willing to move to a nursing home?

Enter the caretaker, a person (almost always a woman) who visits seniors for a few hours a day to clean, prepare meals, do laundry, help in the bathroom, and, most importantly, provide company.

Multiple businesses provide this service in Marion County, which speaks to the number of seniors stuck in limbo: not self-sufficient but not ready for a nursing home.

Tammy Snelling runs her one-woman caretaking business, Tammy’s TLC.

She describes herself as part-time caretaker. In the mornings, she works as a teachers’ aide. When her schedule is full, she spends five afternoons a week with seniors.

Since starting her business three years ago, the longest she’s gone without a full schedule was a month.

“Every once in a while, one client might pass or they might go to the nursing home,” she said.

Cleaning is the most common and time-consuming task for a caretaker.

“A lot of people, it’s something that they can’t do themselves anymore,” Snelling said.

Ashton Smith and Rebekah Walker work for Marion County Home Care, a department of St. Luke Hospital.

“We get people straight out of surgeries who need help showering,” Walker said. “We’ve got people that have physical limitations. They can’t really clean the house anymore.”

The caretakers agree that keeping house is one of the best ways to stay out of a nursing home. If a house gets too messy, it can become both physically and mentally difficult for someone to stay.

Caretakers encounter a wide variety of messes.

“You can walk into a house and be like, ‘Man, this is a really nice house,’” Walker said. “Or you can walk into a house and think, ‘What were you thinking?’”

She recalled one woman with a “spider problem.” Walker had to walk around the interior and exterior of her home, killing arachnids.

Besides domestic responsibilities, caretakers also work to entertain seniors.

“I try to figure out what they like to do or used to do and then try to adapt it so they can do it now,” Snelling said.

She plays a variety of board games with her clients — Wahoo, Yahtzee, Bingo. She took watercolors and a coloring book to one woman’s house.

Going on walks is nice if the senior is able.

“Those four walls get kind of old sometimes,” Snelling said.

Some seniors simply want to talk; the caretaker becomes a kind of professional friend.

“Sometimes, there is a lull, and you’re like, ‘OK, what can we talk about?’” Smith said. “I try to talk about my daughter and my family and stuff like that.”

Small talk is the M.O. Seniors don’t take too much prompting to speak about their memories, their families, or their pet peeves.

“One gentleman I took care of, he would start talking about chickens.” Walker said. “He hated chickens, but he liked talking about them.”

Walker tends to ask basic questions: Where did you grow up? What did you do for work? What is your family like?

More existential questions, while tempting, are usually left unsaid. Something like “what’s the secret to a long life?” is an “uncomfortable question,” Walker said. She also tries not to bring up politics.

Some seniors are understandably embarrassed to need help in their home.

“They feel bad they can’t do it themselves,” Snelling said. “But I try to make them not feel uncomfortable.”

Snelling likes to tell funny stories to distract them in these moments. Smith has a slightly different technique.

“I’m always like, ‘Just boss me around,” she said. “Tell me what you need me to do.”

Some clients are more difficult than others.

“You’re not supposed to have favorites,” Smith said. “I was told that from the beginning. But you do.”

Some seniors have cognitive issues, which can make it harder to care for them.

For those with dementia, Snelling tries to “talk to them about something else, like pictures they have up on their refrigerator.”

Home Care employees have the benefit of a team of employees. They often try out different caregivers to see who gels best with a senior.

“There was one person I could not get along with, and he almost quit having us come out,” Walker said. “Then Ashton went out, and now he’s doing great.”

All three caretakers spoke about one of the unique difficulties of their jobs — when a client dies.

“It’s hard,” Snelling said. “But I know in the end it’s better for them. They’re going to a better place.”

The senior also may move to a nursing homes and lose contact with his or her former caregivers.

Snelling tries to make time to visit nursing homes and see seniors she’s taken care of. For Smith and Walker, who work full time and see more clients a day, that becomes more difficult.

“I can think of specific clients that I tried, but it’s hard balancing previous client relationships with current relationships,” Walker said. “It’s hard to tell where they go because sometimes they don’t stay local. Especially if you’re close to them, it gets hard.”

A caretaker can be important to a senior simply for accepting them in their present state.

“We see them as they are now,” Walker said. “Family, they’re stuck on their perspective of who they used to be. It’s hard to transition, especially if it’s somebody with dementia or Alzheimer’s, because they’re a different person.”

The job is strenuous, combining physical and mental care with a good amount of housework. But those who have done it enjoy it for the connections they are able to create.

“They’re the same as you and I; their bodies just won’t let them do what they want to,” Snelling said. “They’re very appreciative.”

Snelling frequently bakes cookies and muffins for clients, and she often gets baked goods in return.

Walker, who has worked as a caregiver for nine years, said she learned what it means to be “a decent human being” from her work.

Smith has been at Home Care for even longer — 17 years.

“I went to the pharmacy and came back to this,” she said. “You know, this makes your heart feel good.”