1. Give us a brief history of your organization.
Senior Helpers’ Lafayette started in 2007 and underwent a change in ownership in 2017. Local senior care experts, J’annine Sullivan and Susan Amos, applied their 25+ years of experience into making Senior Helpers Lafayette the go-to resource for in-home senior support services. In January 2023, Senior Helpers was purchased by Elder Outreach, a Louisiana-based nursing and rehabilitation organization serving a large part of Acadiana. Elder Outreach made the decision to purchase the Senior Helpers Lafayette office because of their passion for helping others and their interest in the growing need for in-home care services in Acadiana. They are committed to delivering the best possible in-home care to seniors in Lafayette and throughout Acadiana. Michele Veillon, Elder Outreach’s longtime Vice President of Marketing, serves as Senior Helpers CEO and co-owner. Susan Amos remains as Chief Marketing Officer for Senior Helpers’ Lafayette. The organization now services hundreds of seniors across Acadiana. At Senior Helpers Lafayette our primary goal is to help to provide a high quality of life for our clients and their families by delivering customized, dependable and affordable care. Our team of highly-qualified caregivers and staff all live in the Acadiana area and are invested in this community.
2. What would you tell the rest of Acadiana makes you special?
There are so many things that set Senior Helpers apart, starting with our amazing staff who work tirelessly to provide the best care possible for our clients. Even though we are non-medical, we have an RN that oversees our care. She educates our clients on their condition, assesses clients, and reassesses them after a decline or hospitalization to assure that the client’s care plan is accurate and is an advocate for our veterans. Senior Helpers is unique in that we have a quality assurance program that includes a runner that can immediately head to a shift if we have a call out while our schedulers work to find an appropriate replacement. We do Meet and Greets anytime a caregiver is new to a client to introduce them to the client and go over the care plan with them. Once our caregiver begins providing care, we make a quality call to make sure all is going well, and that the client is happy with their caregiver and with our services and then quarterly home visits to ensure quality care continues. An agency is only as good as their employees are trained so we prioritize training. We have a Center of Excellence where we provide caregiver training, both classroom and hands on training. We provide more training hours than any other agency. An exciting new addition to our services is our proprietary Life Profile Assessment which targets the risks of a client and then addresses those risks to prevent falls, medication mismanagement, dehydration, and readmission to the hospital.
3. What are you most proud of?
The difference we have made and continue to make in our client’s quality of life. We also take pride in our reputation as an agency that can be trusted to provide quality care and compassion to the seniors that we care for.
4. Where do you see your organization in 10 years? What are your plans for the future?
To expand services to assure that all seniors are able to remain in their home as long as they choose. Examples include partnerships with Hospitals, Home Health and Hospice agencies to enhance continuity of care. Invest in new technologies to allow clients to safely maintain independence in their homes. Enhanced training for our staff and caregivers to include professional development, skills training, and growth with opportunities for their advancement. We have a few other secrets for the future that we aren’t quite able to share.
5. 1A is making an impact as we take an active role in improving the community we live in. Our members are making an impact, too! – What does impact mean to you? How is your company making an impact?
We strive to be leaders and innovators in our field continuously improving the care and options that we provide to allow seniors to remain home for as long as they choose. Impact means to make a difference. Senior Helpers makes an impact on our client’s quality of life on a daily basis by providing client socials, outings, activities, exercise, and companionship.