Meet The Team | Senior Helpers of Gastonia

Meet the Gastonia office

More than 90% of seniors want to be able to age in their own home with dignity but getting the right type of care can seem daunting. At Senior Helpers of Gastonia we believe that getting the best care for your loved ones should not be complicated. We recognize the growing need for in-home care services, and with our passion for helping others, we are committed to delivering the best possible care to seniors in the Gastonia community.

We take the opportunity to provide care in your home seriously and make it a priority to provide the highest level of client service possible. 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. You can feel confident that your loved one is in good hands with Senior Helpers.

Our History

Senior Helpers was founded in 2002 by Tony Bonacuse with the help of Peter Ross after their firsthand experience in caring for their respective family members. Tony and Peter identified a need that was not being filled properly by the other companies. They realized that most seniors would prefer to age in their own home rather than move into an unfamiliar institution. Unfortunately, the options available to most seniors were very limited. Most seniors did not have access to well-trained, dependable and accessible in-home care. This was the mission-driven spark that started Senior Helpers.

The first office opened in Baltimore, Maryland, and quickly developed a reputation for delivering excellent in-home senior care with their well-trained staff of professional caregivers. Based on the success of the Baltimore location, the company began to expand. Over the past 13 years, the Senior Helpers family has grown to include a network of more than 300 locally owned and operated franchises across the United States.

Senior Helpers of Gastonia was proud to join the system in 2023. Like every other owner, we too are fully-committed to the original goal of providing dependable and accessible in-home care with well-trained caregivers. Nothing is more important to us than being the best available resource for seniors and families in our community. We are lucky to serve hundreds of seniors in our community, and we are committed to continuing to provide uncompromising levels of care to all our families.

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 Gastonia Team

Erik Drotleff

President/ Owner

Erik is well versed with the issues facing seniors and the critical need for seniors to successfully age in the home. He has helped bring Life Profile, a best in class, data driven approach to home care to the Gastonia area. Erik has a vision to protect our seniors and their way of life, especially those families dealing with dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Erik has over 20 years of experience in operations, financial and management roles working with both large and small multinational companies. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Charleston Southern University and later completed his MBA at Cleveland State University. Erik was drawn to the care of seniors when he lived with his grandfather who needed assistance and companionship. Erik was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 20. During his treatment and recovery, he relied on his mother for care and is passionate about taking care of the aging population and those in need of companionship during their times of need. When Erik was looking for the next step in his career, he followed his passion and heart fully and decided that Senior Helpers was a great fit for the future of him and his family. He is looking to serving the communities of Gaston, Cleveland, and Lincoln counties. He is happy to be doing all of this to provide for his two children Easton and Evelyn and alongside his fiancé Crystal.

Crystal Boone

Director of Sales and Marketing

Crystal has 20 years of marketing experience working for large multinational companies with 16 of those years in sales with the medical device and pharmaceutical industry. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Stephen F. Austin State University in East Texas. She is passionate and an advocate about providing excellent care to seniors because of her experience in caring for her own family members. She has a genuine mission to protect our seniors and their way of life, especially those families dealing with dementia and Parkinson’s disease as she is currently a caregiver for her grandmother who is mid-stage dementia/Alzheimer’s. This passion led her to become a trainer on the Senior Gems Alzheimer’s and dementia program. Crystal is engaged to Erik who has two beautiful children. In their spare time they love spending time with family and fur babies, helping to serve their community, and traveling.

Annah Barnard, RN

Annah has been a nurse for over 15 years with experience in Medical/Surgical nursing, Hospice, and Home care nursing. At a young age, Annah was involved in her community and church and subsequently pursued her nursing education at Gaston College. While working in the local hospital and the nursing home settings, families would share their difficulties finding care for their loved ones in the home setting, and quickly found that her passion was to give back to the community that supported her throughout her younger years. In 2005, she began her journey into Hospice and Home Care nursing, finding the value of being able to help seniors remain independent at home and giving the sense of peace to families knowing their loved one is being taken care of. Annah is excited to continue providing quality, compassionate care to the senior population with Senior Helpers of Gastonia. In her spare time, she enjoys community service, spending time with family, and traveling.

Meet the Gastonia office

Our History

Our process

Meet the Gastonia Team

Areas We Serve