Meet the Orlando Team | Senior Helpers
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Serving Orlando and surrounding areas.
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Serving Orlando and surrounding areas.
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Meet the Orlando Office

More than 90 percent of seniors want to age in their own home with dignity but getting the right type of care can seem daunting. At Senior Helpers Orlando we believe that getting the best care for your loved ones should not be complicated. Dale Gardner opened the Senior Helpers Orlando office in 2008 because of his passion for helping others and his interest in the growing need for in-home care services. Dale Gardner is committed to delivering the best possible in-home care to seniors in the metro Orlando community.

We take in-home care seriously and make it a priority to provide the highest level of client service possible. Over the past ten years we have built an exceptional team of care professionals, each committed to remaining at the forefront of the in-home care industry through our proprietary ongoing training and education programs.

Why Senior Helpers

Senior Helpers Owner, Dale Gardner, tells his story and philosophy of service.

Our History

Our History

 

Senior Helpers of Orlando provided care for its first client in 2008, following years of unsatisfactory service from three home-care companies Dale and Marian Gardner had hired to care for Marian’s mother. Experiences with those companies shaped their priorities as they set about creating a company committed to providing a level of service they’d never received. Some key commitments we make include:

We never send a stranger. In our experience, one of the most difficult aspects of being the client of a home care agency was having caregivers show up at our door without being properly introduced or prepared. Or in the case of having a substitute, not getting any advance notification of a change — then dealing with substitutes who were poorly prepared to provide appropriate care for Marian's mother's needs. With Senior Helpers, this will not happen. A proper introduction will be made. Caregivers are supervised employees, not independent contractors. We are not a referral service or “nurse registry,” where workers are assigned to cases, leaving families to sort through the fine points themselves — whether taxes get paid, whether background checks have been performed, whether they’re bonded and insured. We do all these things in advance, along with testing skills, verifying credentials, speaking with families they’ve worked with before. Nurse support is available 24/7. Few things are as traumatic as being rushed to a hospital on a stretcher, but when a caregiver cannot call a nurse for advice about how to deal with medical situations, the only option may be calling 911. Barring a life-threatening emergency, this should not be the first phone call a caregiver makes. Most private-duty home care companies offer little or no nurse support.

 

 

Our process

Our process

The first step in the process is a complimentary, initial in-home care assessment with a Senior Helpers consultant. This assessment can help you understand the true needs of your loved one, and your options. Together we can discuss their needs, our senior care services and determine what’s best for your entire family.

We will cover:

  • Your family's specific goals
  • Your loved one's daily plan design and schedule
  • Pricing and payment methods
  •  Implementation process
  • Ongoing communication and follow-up plan

Meet the Orlando Team

Aubrie Depkin, MHA

Aubrie Depkin, MHA

Executive Director

Aubrie started with Senior Helpers in the summer of 2012 as a certified nursing assistant before joining our team as our lead scheduler in 2013. She has moved up within the company, most recently serving as Director of Operations, before taking on responsibility for overall management and direction of the company. Aubrie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences and soon went on to earn her Master’s degree in Health Care Administration along with two minors, which focus in marketing and gerontology. She oversees the daily operations of our office, including the wonderful internal staff and our caregivers.

Ashley Tennon

Ashley Tennon

Human Resources Manager

Ashley is Human Resources Manager. Her role is to recruit caregivers to the Senior Helpers team and ensure they all meet all the Senior Helpers standards, including remaining current on all their certifications and training requirements. She has a Bachelor's degree in Education from the University of South Florida. She is a native Floridian. Ashley enjoys spending time with her family and being connected with her church home in Seminole County. She has a passion for working with others and an amazing attention to detail.

Sharyn Psachie

Sharyn Psachie

Care Team Support Specialist

Sharyn joined Senior Helpers after the company began providing care for Sharyn’s mother. She was so impressed with the compassion and support she received, that she eventually joined our team! Sharyn currently works closely with human resources and nursing staff to hire and oversee caregivers. Sharyn interviews job applicants and helps ensure our new employee orientations run smoothly. Sharyn is originally from New York City and graces this office with her fabulous accent!

Elizabeth Velez, RN

Elizabeth Velez, RN

Director of Nursing

Elizabeth, or “Liz”, started in home care at Senior Helpers as a home health aide and worked in the office as a care team nurse after she graduated from nursing school. She then decided to further her clinical experiences in other fields. She worked on a Pediatric Observation Unit and Mother Baby Unit during her time away from Senior Helpers and loved helping the future generations of our world! Currently, Liz is back at Senior Helpers part-time and working at a rehabilitation hospital, as well. Liz feels that being a nurse is more than a job or a safe career option — it is a true blessing!

Ana P. DeLane

Ana P. DeLane

Social Media Director

Ana joined Senior Helpers in 2009 and has worked in many roles, from caregiver to scheduler to regulatory compliance. In the summer of 2013, she found her calling as our media director, writing and editing our newsletter, our Website and for our Orlando Sentinel blog. She also posts interesting content on our Facebook page. Ana is a retired teacher.

Mary Jo Murch

Administrative Assistant

Mary Jo was the first employee of Senior Helpers in 2008 and helped in many ways before moving with her family to Virginia. She’s now our virtual assistant who has helped in a variety of ways, most currently with accounting-related functions.

Jamila McFarlane

Jamila McFarlane

Scheduling Coordinator

Jamila is one of our Scheduling Coordinators. She is coming to Senior Helpers with experience in health insurance claims and authorizations. Jamila has earned her certification in Medical Assisting and is eager to continue her education. She is passionate about health care in all forms and stages of life. Her role as Scheduling Coordinator will help connect clients and caregivers to make the perfect fit.

June Sepulveda

June Sepulveda

Client Relations Administrator

June joined Senior Helpers in January of 2020. She started as our Client Care Coordinator, responsible for providing potential clients with information regarding services and scheduling in-home consultations and assessments with them. June now serves as Client Relations Administrator, focused on ensuring clients’ changing needs are being met and that they’re happy with their caregivers and the service they’re receiving.

Wilson Perez

Wilson Perez

Home Care Consultant

Wilson is our Home Care Consultant, and he has been meeting with seniors in their homes and assessing their needs since 2015. Earlier in his career, he helped with insurance policies of various kinds. Now, he is responsible for expertly assessing needs, developing care plans, and managing the process of starting care in the home for clients served by Senior Helpers. This includes one-on-one/in-personal meetings with our clients and their families throughout the early stages of the process. His primary concern is helping families get the right solutions in place for them and their loved ones. Once effective routines are established, management of the care transitions to other members of our care team. Wilson has a bachelor's degree in finance and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Central Florida.

Jana Ricci

Jana Ricci

Innovative Projects

Jana Ricci leads our “innovative projects” initiative to develop creative and effective ways for Senior Helpers to partner with other Orlando-area organizations focused on quality-of-life issues for seniors.  She has been working with and advocating for seniors for close to 20 years. Her background as an educator opened the door to studying the brain and how it relates to teaching and learning. She became one of Central Florida's leaders in current brain research and continues to bring that expertise and passion to the seniors. Jana is our out-of-the-box thinker and community connector. In her free time, she and her husband, Frank, enjoy having their grown children close and playing with little ones who call her "Mimi." Her creative interests (good for the brain) are watercolor art and calligraphy.

Alexandria Orama

Alexandria Orama

Scheduling Coordinator

Alexandria, affectionately known as Alex, joined our team in November of 2021. Alex is a former Home Health Aide with experience in nursing homes. As one of our scheduling coordinators at Senior Helpers, she manages caregivers’ daily schedules to ensure seamless, continuous care for our clients. The consistently high marks given in reviews by clients and caregivers is largely due to the careful work done by Alex in scheduling.

April Velez

April Velez

Operations Coordinator

April has been with Senior Helpers Orlando since 2022. She is our operations coordinator, and her responsibilities include a wide range of caregiver-management related tasks, including ongoing caregiver training and support. She is the point person for many of the veterans served by Senior Helpers. She was born and raised on the Gulf Coast of Florida. She enjoys spending her free time going to SeaWorld with her family, singing along to Broadway musicals, and attending church on Sundays.


I hired Senior Helpers to assist my uncle who has dementia. I live 3,000 miles away and it was impossible to help him from this distance. With Senior Helpers visiting each day he can remain in his own home. They have been extremely helpful and willing to go the extra steps insuring all his needs are met. Friendly and caring staff are wonderful! I highly recommend their services.

Areas We Serve

 

Senior Helpers Orlando provides a full range of senior home care services for you or your loved one—from companionship and housework help, to more complex care services, including disease management, Live-In and 24-hour care services.

Senior Helpers Orlando serves the following cities, towns, and communities:  

 

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