Atlantic Care: Where caring comes home

Mullingar firm sponsoring Westmeath Examiner Community and Sports Awards

They are just getting started at Atlantic Care, but with the team they have already, and the one they’re building, their future looks bright.

Led by founders Jonathan Acton, Oonagh Cox, Seamus Reedy and with Regional Manager Mick Garvin based in Mullingar, they are a group of people who understand their task at a deeply genuine level.

When they say they want to provide the best care for their clients and the best jobs for their caregivers, they mean it, and they have the evidence to back that up.

Mick Garvin has years of experience in healthcare, though he began his working life as an electrician. His mother encouraged the young Mick to consider healthcare as a career, and he took her advice, completed various higher lever courses in health and social care, and realised he loved the work.

Mick met Jonathan when their paths crossed at Galro, subsequently they worked at the same company, Home Instead, and finally started working together again when Jonathan, Oonagh and Seamus set up Atlantic Care.

“He (Jonathan) had the same kind of caring and educational background as me,” said Mick, “and I worked really well with him. He’s such a genuine fellow, and he actually really does care. If he says something, he means it. So, he presented this opportunity to me, and I just jumped at it. I couldn’t wait to work with him again.

“We are actually fully functional at this stage providing much needed care to seniors for the past few months all over the midlands and in parts of the west, also. Atlantic Care is 100 per cent Irish owned and our teams have a deep understanding and appreciation of the people and the way of life here; we aim to provide the highest standard of care to clients and it is also a goal to ensure we provide the best support and appreciation for our caregivers.”

All caregivers are fully trained and garda vetted, and they provide the kind of care they would want for their own loved ones. Atlantic Care caregivers show your loved ones genuine compassion and empathy, enabling them to stay at home for as long as possible.

“We recognise that everybody is unique, everybody is different, and we’re there to assist them in their homes, we will help them in whatever way we can,” said Mick. “We recognise everyone as an individual. We provide person-centred care, and ensure where possible it’s the individual that directs the care, it’s their choice; they have the right to choose.”

Drawing from extensive experience in the care industry, Atlantic Care emphasises the importance of paying caregivers adequately not only for their exceptional work but also for the time they spend travelling between clients. Caregivers are compensated for travel time, ensuring that if a caregiver spends an hour driving from one client to another, they are paid for that time. Additionally, they receive proper mileage payments to cover travel expenses.

Founders Jonathan, Oonagh, and Seamus, with their deep-rooted experience in the industry, are committed to the wellbeing and welfare of their caregiving team. They are dedicated to ensuring that caregivers are compensated fairly for their work, travel time, and mileage and have all supports needed such as training and support to complete their caring duties.

Atlantic Care is an Irish-owned company and unlike other larger care companies is not part of a corporate model that has higher costs. This financial independence allows the company to offer higher hourly rates and appropriate travel compensation to their caregivers. Atlantic Care is agile and able to respond quickly; it has the flexibility and freedom to offer what other companies might not be able to offer.

“Another unique offering we have at Atlantic Care is our ability to provide free QQI and paid induction training for all of our caregivers. We have an affiliation with the Mayo training institute and can provide specialised training from QQI Level 5 in Healthcare, Dementia Training and our bespoke Atlantic Care Induction Training. Most of this training takes place at our office in Mullingar and some takes place online also,” Mick says.

“We’re recruiting, we’re training, and again, because we’re not part of a larger corporate structure, we offer our caregivers far more competitive terms. We are one of the higher paying companies out there, we pay higher weekend and BH rates in addition to travel time and mileage. We aim to give someone a clear vision of what the job entails along with the relevant training and on the job support to provide the highest standard of care to your loved ones

“Atlantic Care is built on a solid foundation, and that is local people with local knowledge all with a similar caring goal, vision and mission: to provide compassionate and exceptional homecare services that enhance the well-being of individuals and their communities. It means the local commitment is there. We are local, and we genuinely care,” Mick continued.

“In addition to our mission we have a great belief in and focus on our core values which are: Compassion, we treat each individual with the utmost empathy, kindness and understanding.

“Dignity: We uphold the dignity and respect of every person we care for, recognising their unique worth and maintaining their sense of self.

“Integrity: We operate with honesty, transparency and ethical standards, fostering trust and accountability in all our interactions.

“Excellence: We continuously strive for excellence in care, embracing innovation and best practice to deliver the highest quality services.

“At Atlantic Care, our mission and values are not mere words, they are the compass that guides every decision and action we undertake. If you or someone you know are considering a career in care, then please get in touch with us today on 0449335262 or email us at info@atlanticcare.ie and we will be delighted to meet you and welcome you to the Atlantic Care team,” Mick concluded.

Atlantic Care, where caring comes home!