Client Testimonials & Reviews

When my brother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the age of 64 it was our family’s goal to maintain his engagement with all the things he loved – art, music, nature. Through Duet we found companions that encouraged all these interests – going to the latest museum exhibits, concerts at Lincoln Center, hours spent in the park bird watching. Over the course of four years, we were lucky to work with four exceptional individuals who each brought care, compassion, and empathy to their time with my brother. Most had backgrounds in the arts and that creativity brought joy into his life. When my brother’s condition began to deteriorate the staff at Duet was able to provide the resources to help us assess the next steps in his care. Their guidance felt like an informed family member with the knowledge and experience to move us in the right direction. We will be forever grateful. 

When our mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and moved to memory care, our father was lonely and lacking stimulation. We wanted to make sure he had a companion to help maintain his spirit and help him continue to engage with interesting people and ideas. Through Duet we found two amazing companions. They create stimulation and camaraderie, greatly increasing the quality of our father’s daily life. They read and discuss articles, listen to music, and take long walks in the park. Both Duet companions took great care to really get to know our father and what interests him and what he enjoys.  Over the last two years, our father’s cognition has diminished. His current companion has still been able to find ways to enhance our father’s daily experience through his expertise and creative, empathic, and kind personality. His flexibility and the ability to see what our father needs each visit is amazing. We are grateful for Duet and the two amazing companions who have enhanced his life, and still do.

I’m always impressed with how Duet found smart, caring, personable companions who shared many similar likes with my wife. Duet was also able to keep up with my inconsistent scheduling needs. Their companions were prompt, intelligent, caring, and charming. 

We have been clients of Duet for several years.  They have been tremendously helpful in caring for our parents. The carers they for provide are excellent – very professional and most importantly kind, patient and empathetic.  They love what they do and that shows in their work!  Duet takes the time and energy to match their carers to their clients’ needs and personalities.    They provide added support and advice whenever we need it.  As both my brother and I live far from my parents, the type of service Duet provides is invaluable.   I cannot recommend Duet enough!

My mother is 95 years old and lives alone in a Greenwich Village apartment. She’s grateful every day for the support she receives from her caregivers provided by Duet.  It took three falls to alert her long-term care insurance company of her need for in-home caregiver support who then recommended Duet and she began their service with 8 hours of support per day.  Her aversion to having strangers in her home was replaced by sincere admiration and mutually friendly relations with her caregivers who she now depends on.  Her quality of life greatly improved, and she appreciated this service as new needs became apparent.  After six months, she increased to 24-hour support.  This greatly increased her security and overall quality of life.  My mother and our family are happy and grateful for the care she receives and endorse Duet and their team to anyone who may have a need for their services.

My parents live in an independent living community.  My father is 99 and my mother is 92. They both have a moderate degree of age-related dementia with increasing cognitive dysfunction.

Several years ago, our care manager suggested contacting Duet for aides / companions.  My parents needed someone to help keep their brains engaged as well as assist with things like grocery shopping and meal preparation. Duet has provided the perfect companions for them.  The companions provide every service that a traditional aide would, but they go way beyond the basics.  They prepare meals, keep an eye on medications, go grocery shopping, arrange, and go to medical appointments, accompany them to activities, etc.  Most importantly, they do their best to keep my parents engaged and mentally stimulated.  As an example, one of the companions is always sharing videos, movies, articles with them.  She encourages them to actively participate in discussions about whatever they are doing together.  She also encourages them to share stories with her about their younger days.  Her patience and kindnesses are extraordinary.  Another one of their companions has 20 years of special education teaching experience as well as her own aging parents.  There is nothing that can faze her.  She too, is extraordinarily patient with them, as well as genuinely interested in them as people.  Both women give 110% of themselves each time they are with my parents. I cannot even begin to say how critical Duet has been during the past year and half.  The community that they live in had been locked down to all visitors (including family) since the beginning of the pandemic. These companions/aides have been their only source of companionship and engagement.  They have literally been responsible for keeping them healthy and alert for the past year and a half.

Duet was part of our lives for three years as my elderly mother required more and more care. I cannot say enough about the women that came into my mother’s home and befriended her as well providing necessary services. As a daughter living in Massachusetts with a mother living alone in Manhattan, I needed to trust an agency and its personnel from afar. Duet never let me down! With various problems occurring along the way the staff provided quick and effective solutions.  I think the fact that all of this was occurring in NYC adds to my gratitude. It’s easy to think that in the big city you are going to get lost in the shuffle. This couldn’t be further from the truth with Duet. Calls were returned promptly, and the quality of caregivers was exceptional. It was a difficult journey to see my mother age and develop dementia. Her caregivers treated her with dignity and respect all along the way. I will forever appreciate that I found Duet and had the support I needed.

High praise for Duet! Duet provided caring, smart, creative, and responsible companions for my mom who at the time was living in a facility due to advanced dementia. Though physically well cared for, my mom spent many hours each day sitting by herself staring into the void. (My family and I visited frequently but could not be there during the day due to our work schedules.) The Duet companions lovingly provided her with compassionate 1:1 attention 4 hours/day. This included a combination of gentle sensory stimulation and other things like singing together, talking, and reading with her, and ensuring she received whatever she seemed to need in the moment, like a drink of water, a nap, a walk outside for a change of scenery and fresh air, or a loving touch. The companions wrote and emailed my family informative brief notes after each visit to keep us apprised of what transpired each day. The Duet administrative staff were also very kind and responsive to our family’s needs. Duet changed my mom’s life significantly for the better during the last 1.5 years of her life – and during that time my family and I felt comforted knowing that my mom was getting the loving attention she both needed and deserved. I highly recommend Duet!

Since 2017, Duet has provided my 93-year-old Aunt with male aides who are so helpful, kind and caring that she is thoroughly enjoying these last years of her life. They laugh together, go on walks, watch the news, and discuss it, listen to music, attend lectures, and see movies. In addition, they accompany her to the offices of her various doctors and comfort her when she’s feeling down about her near-blindness, frailty, and age. She prefers creative people, and the two aides who are currently with her are extraordinarily creative as well as devoted. I’m honored to know them and feel lucky—no, blessed! — that I found Duet.

My mom is a true New Yorker, always was and always will be. When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s many things started to blur, aside from her love for the city and deep-rooted memory of her upper east side neighborhood, Central Park, the theater, etc. At the time, Covid had shut down most of the world and nowhere was safe, especially nursing homes. Thankfully, a close friend of my mother’s referred me to Duet and their amazing team of caring professionals. Not only did the companions assigned keep my mother in the apartment and city that she loved, but they kept her engaged, safe and Covid-free. I recommend Duet to anyone seeking a hybrid between an aide and a friend.