For Tait and Silviya Chirenje, owners of Trifecta Home Care LLC, opening a homecare agency was the result of two lifetimes of divergent experiences which converged in Hammonton.
Tait Chirenje, who grew up in Zimbabwe, attended school in Canada and the U.S. before becoming a professor at Stockton University, teaching environmental chemistry, environmental pollution and remediation, where a colleague first introduced him to Hammonton.
“When I first arrived at Stockton in 2003 as a young, clueless professor, Michael Hozik took me under his wing. We traveled together on his geological trips out west. We worked on a number of different activities together. In one of those conversations, he said, ‘Hey, you should live in Hammonton,’ because I told him I was going to be looking for a house soon. He took a full weekend to drive me around Hammonton, just to show me the different places and all those things ... I’ve been living in Hammonton since late 2004,” he said.
Silviya Chirenje, an economist by education, came to Hammonton by way of Bulgaria.
“Right after graduating, I moved to the states. I lived by the shore in Margate; I worked at a local coffee shop, because I was working on improving my English since it was right after I moved here. I spent a lot of time there, and I really loved it because it introduced me to the local culture, and I got to communicate with a lot of people, especially older people; I got to listen to their stories and learn a lot about their lives. Then, I got married to Tait, and that’s how I moved to Hammonton,” she said.
Silviya Chirenje said that, at the start of the pandemic, she was looking in different career directions.
“This was the time—and the pandemic was the reason—that opened our eyes to the need of a homecare agency in Hammonton, just from looking at even our relatives overseas and how they were struggling in isolation, especially our grandparents. We saw an opportunity that we can help people here, and that’s how Trifecta was born,” she said.
Tait Chirenje said that Trifecta Home Care LLC, which opened its Hammonton office on January 1, 2021, has many “different areas that we proffer help to the elderly and the infirmed.”
“Most of them revolve around activities of daily living. Since we’re non-medical homecare, we don’t administer medication or do anything that involves medical procedures. Activities of daily living include getting out of bed, bathing, chores around the house, transportation/ambulation, feeding and just companionship in general,” he said.
Tait Chirenje noted that, although they offer non-medical homecare, the state requires them to have a registered nurse do all client assessments.
“We actually have two, covering two different shifts. We employ homecare aides based on the needs of the client. We don’t have a roster of people who are waiting, but when we get a client we recruit someone who fits their needs, and who is able to help them with their specific needs,” he said.
Tait Chirenje noted that, as members of the community since 2004, they understand the people of Hammonton and work to meet the needs of their clients.
“We’ve both had experiences in our family with elderly who needed care, and we saw how we relied on strangers to take care of our elderly relatives. It’s a tough job that requires care and a lot of trust,” he said.
Tait Chirenje said that Trifecta accepts both long-term insurance and United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) coverage.
“Many people do not realize that they have insurance that covers their long-term health needs. We noticed this with a lot of veterans, who qualify for care for up to $2,200 a month—which means that they can get a lot of hours of care. We work with a third party agency, and they help with the application—so they don’t even have to worry ... this is true, also, for other insurances. If they’re not sure how it works, we’ll work with them to make sure they understand how to fill out that paperwork,” he said.
Now that more people are returning to work, Tait Chirenje said, those who have been “staying at home with their loved ones who may need help with their activities of daily living.”
“They may be struggling now to figure out how they’re going to be doing this. We are there to be a part of their extended family, to help them meet those needs,” he said.
Trifecta Home Care LLC is located at 240 S. White Horse Pike, Suite B3. For more information, call (609) 549-8343, find them on Facebook or visit their website at trifectacares.com.