32 S G M A G A Z I N E | FA L L 2 0 1 7 32 S G M A G A Z I N E | FA L L 2 0 1 7 Follow-up for the family after the patient’s death is another important aspect of hospice care. “Our social workers provide information—before and after death— that helps the family understand financial concerns, the practical things you have to think about,” Bowden said. “We are attuned to begin those conversations at the appropriate time. We have a strong grief program.” Bowden explained that Hospice of South Georgia has always focused on keeping patients at home and the majority of patients are under care in a home setting. “On any given day we are caring for about 60 patients that are in private home settings,” Bowden said. “This can mean nursing homes, assisted care facilities, or in their homes.” In 2007, Hospice of South Georgia realized their goal of building a hospice house. With assistance from the South Georgia Medical Center Foundation, more than $1.3 million was raised, including a $750,000 gift from Harley Langdale Jr. to build the Langdale Hospice House. “Some patients come to the hospice house to manage difficult physical symptoms then go back home,” Bowden said. “We can also provide up to five nights of respite stay as part of Medicare benefits. This gives the caregiver an opportunity to get some rest or if they need to go out of town.” The Langdale House provides inpatient care for those needing 24- hour healthcare and monitoring and residential care for those living alone or who do not have the necessary assistance of a full-time caregiver. Bowden said even after three decades of serving families in South Georgia, there is still a lack of understanding about the benefits of hospice and the necessity of having an advance plan and seeking care early. “The national statistics indicate that every year hospice utilization has continued to increase, but what we are seeing are shorter lengths of stay or care,” she said. “Instead of patients being under hospice the last six months there is a greater percentage that are under hospice less than seven days.” She encourages families not to wait until the moment of a crisis to make end-of-life decisions. “Hospice is a relational type of care,” Bowden said. “We are allowed into the privacy of someone’s home. It’s not like an acute care setting; it is much more intimate than a hospital. Those few days are not enough time to accomplish all the things that help the families provide a good end-of-life experience. We want the patient and family members to feel good about honoring those choices. Most people find it very rewarding when they can provide that level of care to their loved ones.” Hospice of South Georgia is an affiliate of South Georgia Medical Center and serves eight counties: Atkinson, Berrien, Brooks, Clinch, Cook, Echols, Lanier, and Lowndes. B U S I N E S S + C U LT U R E 33 TEAMTEMPS is the best connection to find the RIGHT job. Put our experience to work for you. (229) 247-8367 1601 Baytree Road, Suite A • Valdosta, GA Across from Courtyard by Marriott in Barclay Square 32 S G M A G A Z I N E | FA L L 2 0 1 7 B U S I N E S S + C U LT U R E 33 When TeamTemps Personnel Staffing started 30 years ago, owner Giovanni Panizzi never imagined that the company would expand into 12 states with more than 500 employees. Giovanni, along with his wife Carolyn who passed away in 2006, opened TeamTemps in Valdosta during a time when the concept of using temporary workers was not as popular as it was in metro areas. “When we started, our biggest obstacle was companies didn’t know what we did and how we could serve them,” Giovanni said. “In those days there were job placement companies, where the employees paid 10 percent of their annual salary to get a job; these were corporate headhunters.” In the first few years of TeamTemps operation, the primary request for staff was clerical, light industrial, and service-related work. “A company would call and need someone to fill in for one or two weeks,” Giovanni said. “About 90 percent of our business was office staff.” The shift toward placing more manufacturing skilled workers came several years later. “One day we received an order for 30 industrial workers and that was the tipping point,” Giovanni said. “Some of the companies where we placed clerical staff, now wanted industrial workers.” Today, TeamTemps places the majority of workers in production, logistics, and administrative jobs. “The numbers had flipped from when we started,” Giovanni said. “Now clerical is about 15 percent and industrial jobs are 85 percent of placement.” In 1995, Giovanni’s son, Sean Panizzi, joined TeamTemps as the branch manager. Sean explained that TeamTemps has moved to more of a “temp-to-hire” model, where an employee is placed with a client for three months, and after the trial period has ended the employer can hire the employee full time. “In the past five years we have averaged over 400 employees a year becoming full-time, and last year we went over 500,” Sean said. “We do all the recruiting and screening and then place them with a client that is the right fit. If the company sees that they are a good worker, then they can hire them after three months of placement.” From the employer’s perspective, using temp workers allows them to hire a flexible workforce based on the size and scope of a project. “If a company knows they have a new project starting on Monday, then they call us the week before and let us know how many temp workers they need,” Giovanni said. “They know we will have the workers there when they need them. We have already done the recruiting, interviewing, background check, and other screenings.” The challenge and responsibility of TeamTemps is to ensure that the temporary workers are correctly matched to the job, based on skills and level of experience. “We are always recruiting and interviewing potential employees,” Sean said. “We are looking at their skills, but we are also looking to see if they have a positive attitude. They can learn the technical skills, but you can’t teach a person to have a good attitude.” Giovanni agrees that in today’s competitive workforce, having a good attitude and work ethic, arriving to work on time, and possessing a willingness to learn can be as important as the work experience. “Attitude means they are willing to learn,” Giovanni said. “If you go to work and you are on time, you do your job and want to learn then you will move up. As simple as it sounds, it is getting harder to find people that will do this.” According to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economics and Statistics Administration, the number of jobs in the temporary staffing industry reached an all-time high of 2.9 million in May 2015, accounting for 2.4 percent of all private sector employment. In Georgia, temporary help accounted for 3.3 percent of private employment. TeamTemps continues to expand in South Georgia. In addition to the Valdosta office, there are offices located in Homerville and Waycross. Three Decades of Putting People to Work Photo: TeamTemps Branch Manager Sean Panizzi, left, and President Giovanni Panizzi. Three Decades of TeamTemps