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.