Mrs. Mary Afrookteh (center) receives flowers from her caregiver, Kelly Berge (right), and Stephanie Nilson, Community Relations Director for Right-at- Home, In-Home Care & Assistance.

Mary was born in Lossiemouth, Scotland (home of the Loch Ness Monster). While her Mom was visiting her grandmother, Mary was born. Six weeks later, they returned to their home in Brooklyn, NY. Since Mary was born in Scotland, she has dual citizenship. She has enjoyed going back to visit her homeland over the years.

Mary met her husband while interning as a dietician at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, where he worked as an Associate Professor of Surgery. Following her internship, she got a job at the Waldorf Astoria on Park Avenue. “I got to meet all kinds of people,” said Mary. “I remember meeting Dodge MacArthur and Ronald Reagan, who was governor of California at the time.”

After marrying, Mary and Dr. Afrookteh went on to have four children and now have five grandchildren. The couple moved to Catonsville, Md., in 1962 when Dr. Afrookteh was offered a heart surgeon position at the University of MD. Years later, Dr. Afrookteh opened his own practice in Catonsville.

When Mary and her family realized she needed some extra help to remain in her home, they turned to Right at Home. Mary chose the company based largely on the recommendation of her trusted financial advisor, Carol Chaney. Carol has known and worked with the owner of Right at Home, Carole Luber, for many years and knows the importance of referring clients to trustworthy providers.

“Carol said they were top-notch and very involved with all of their clients,” explained Mary. “My daughter, also Carol, an attorney, felt comfortable after interviewing the owner, and my son, Ali, a doctor, was also familiar with the company.”

After over a year of using Right at Home, Mary has only positive feedback. “My caregiver, Kelly, has been like my daughter. We are joined at the hip, and I couldn’t get along without her,” Mary said. “She knows all my likes and dislikes.”

Ultimately, Mary is thrilled that she has been able to remain in her family home. She explained, “I don’t want to live with strangers. I have everything I want right here, including my kitties, Mo and Garfield”.

She was born in Chester, South Carolina on January 4,1917, to Thomas and Dora Buckson. Her mother was a teacher, while her father commuted to Baltimore to work at Sparrows Point.

Following several brief hospitalizations, Mrs. Ardis Watkins has enlisted the services of P-B Health Home Care Agency to remain in her home while recuperating.

As a young woman, Miss Ardis Buckson moved to Baltimore City to start her adult life. Here, she met and married Mr. Norbon Watkins, and from this union three children were born.

“We had a wonderful life together until his death in October of 2005,” stated Mrs. Watkins.

Throughout her adult life, Mrs. Watkins worked at Johns Hopkins Hospital and then the old City Hospital. After retiring from City, she volunteered at Bon Secours Hospital for seven years, earning many awards for her service.

Additionally, Mrs. Watkins has been a long time member of The Village Baptist Church and retains her membership today.

After so many years of caring for others, the time came when Mrs. Watkins needed care for herself. Through the Department of Aging, the family was put in touch with P-B Health Home Care Agency.

Following a thorough evaluation of her needs, P-B Health began providing personal care and chore services to Mrs. Watkins. Olivia Cross, a CNA and home health aide, was assigned to her care.

“Olivia has been very courteous, caring and helpful in assisting with my personal needs,” said Mrs. Watkins. “Ms. Cross is a fine representative for P-B Health, and my family and I have become very fond of her.”

In her later years, Mrs. Watkins has had several brief hospitalizations, after which skilled home health services were prescribed. These services have provided Mrs. Watkins with the benefits of nursing care, physical and occupational therapy, and nutritional counseling in the comfort of her own home.

“Each [staff member I have worked with] was skilled and provided exceptionally good service,” reported Mrs. Watkins.

Mrs. Ardis Watkins continues to do well and to live in her home. If she ever needs services again following a hospitalization or illness, she will not hesitate to call P-B Health to help her recuperate.

Robert Maroncelli has been able to remain in his home with the help of live-in care from Visiting Angels.

Bob and his wife, “Mickey,” moved to their home in Buckingham Springs retirement community several decades ago after they retired. An accountant, who worked most of his career for the Internal Revenue Service, Bob continued to be active in his community and his church. However, as the years passed, several health problems started to cause mobility issues. As Bob became less mobile, his wife began acting as his primary caregiver.

When Mickey was admitted to the hospital because of worsening heart disease, Ann and her sister quickly realized that their father was going to need some additional help. “I knew of Visiting Angels already, and knew the woman across the street was using them,” Ann recalled. “I called around to a couple of home care agencies and Visiting Angels was the most accommodating and the easiest to work with.”

Visiting Angels began helping Bob periodically, whenever Mickey had to be hospitalized. The family was always satisfied with the care and companionship he received. When Mickey passed away, Ann turned to Visiting Angels once again. The agency found permanent, live-in assistance for Bob within several days.

“Tina moved in immediately, and my father has really taken to her,” Ann said. “She provides personal care and helps him with ambulating, and she also does some meal preparation and generally just makes sure he is well taken care of.”

Since Ann is busy with her own demanding career and her sister lives in Connecticut, the family feels incredibly fortunate to have a quality caregiver with Bob at all times. “There is an enormous sense of reassurance knowing that he is very well taken care of; that gives us a real peace of mind,” said Ann. With the assistance of Visiting Angels, Bob continues to live in his comfortable and spacious home, where he receives frequent visits from neighbors and friends from his church.

The medical and companionship services Mildred Bachman receives from Personal Touch Home Care allow her to continue to live with her son Michael.

Mildred’s fall was the first of several health problems that resulted in her moving into Michael’s home. “It’s nearly impossible to envision the amount of stress and upheaval bringing an elderly parent into one’s home can be—especially when it was a sudden, unexpected event with multiple layers of health issues involved,” he said.

After his mother started living with him, Michael realized that other health problems and her diminishing memory were going to prevent her from returning home. Unsure where to turn, he started researching home care agencies. His research led him to Personal Touch Home Care. “They really just seemed to have their act together,” he said. Personal Touch offered a unique blend of medical services and companionship. “So many of the other agencies were just focused on medical needs, and that wasn’t really what I was looking for,” Michael recalled. “I needed some degree of health services, but I really also wanted social and companionship services.”

Personal Touch assessed Mildred’s needs and devised a care plan that focuses on improving her quality of life. “They have helped her maintain her independence and continue doing the things she was already doing.” Michael said. With the help of her aide, Andrietta Allen, Mildred does puzzles, sketches and takes regular walks. She also received physical therapy and has regained full use of her wrist.

“After Personal Touch started helping us, things got so much better,” Michael said. “So many of my biggest fears about my mother living with me turned out to be non-issues.” He added, “Something that seemed insurmountable and impossible became a routine, then actually enjoyable.”

Today, Michael and Mildred are both comfortable and happy with their living situation. It still requires a lot of work from Michael and his partner Jerome, but with the help they receive from Personal Touch, they are able to maintain busy work schedules while Mildred enjoys the hobbies and activities she has always loved.

Marion Pritchard’s remarkable efforts
during WWII helped to hide hundreds of
Jewish children.

Early in the occupation, Marion was asked by her supervisor to take home the young son of a Jewish couple before they were deported. However, her life as an insurgent really began when she saw the residents of a Jewish children’s home deported.

“That event really increased her resolve, and she decided that this [rescue work] was something she ought to do,” recalled her son, Ivor Pritchard.

Marion went on to dedicate much of her time to hiding, sheltering and moving Jewish children who were in danger of being sent to concentration camps. Ivor explained that Marion actually does not know how many of the children she helped ultimately survived  the War. “She knows that she helped to hide hundreds of children, but with the exception of a few, she doesn’t know how many of them survived,” he said.

Marion’s connections with her charges were naturally limited by her sense of duty. “When you’re trying to keep people hidden, you don’t want to know any more than you have to, so you don’t have anything to tell if you get caught,” Ivor noted.

After the War, Marion became a social worker for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) and helped to organize displaced person camps. It was at an UNRRA camp that she met Tony Pritchard, a former U.S. Army officer who became the camp director. “They had actually met while she was training for the job but parted ways and were reunited when he was brought in to run the camp,” recalled Ivor. “They reestablished their relationship there and were married at the camp.”

After several years working in the camps, the Pritchards returned to the United States and went on to have three boys. However, Marion never gave up her work on behalf of Jewish refugees, later taking a position with the Boston Jewish Family and Children’s Service.

After Tony passed away, Marion decided to move to the Washington, D.C., area to be closer to one of her children. Ivor lives in Cleveland Park, and Marion moved to The Georgetown Retirement Residence, an assisted living community that is only three miles away.

Marion had been living at The Georgetown for several years when a series of falls resulted in a trip to the emergency room. From the hospital, Marion went to a rehabilitation center to learn to walk with a walker. When she was released back to The Georgetown, they recommended that she receive additional nursing care and suggested Capital City Nurses, a full service home care agency.

“Capital City has been helping her since last November, and their services have been very good,” Ivor said. He explained that the degree of help provided has varied according to his mother’s needs.

The caregivers from Capital City have formed a strong bond with Marion. “The caregivers have come to understand how my mother sees things,” Ivor said. “They are very good at encouraging her to be active but also respect her independence, which is so important.”

The independent spirit that allowed Marion to risk everything to protect and save children during the War endures to this day. While she may not know all the victims she saved, her legendary efforts will certainly never be forgotten.

A Speciality Care Services caregiver, Amie Kanu, accompanies Mercedes
Palmer during all her
outings.

The oldest of four children, Mercedes began caring for the well being of her siblings and father as a result of the premature passing of her mother. At the time, Mercedes was only 21. She went on to pursue a career in early childhood education and to raise five children of her own.

Despite the demands of raising a large family, Mercedes excelled in her career. She became an integral figure in the Head Start movement in the 1960s and was one of the first Head Start teacher trainers in America. Later in her career she served as the director of several childcare centers, including one of the first corporate sponsored childcare facilities in America.

Several years ago, when her husband’s health began to fail, Mercedes naturally became a caregiver for him. However, as his condition worsened, the family realized they needed some additional support. They turned to Specialty Care Services, a licensed nursing provider offering a wide range of home care services. Since that time, the company has provided varying levels of care to meet the family’s needs, from part-time care in their home to full-time care in an assisted living facility.

“Specialty Care has been in our lives through so much,” said Anne, who explained that the family endured the tragic losses of both her oldest brother and her father within one month of each other between December of 2008 and January 2009.

Through it all, one of the constants in Mercedes’ life has been Amie Kanu, her caregiver provided by Specialty Care. “Amie is an extraordinary woman blessed with an extraordinary gift, and she gives so lovingly,” said Anne. “She is with my mother just about every waking moment, and she nurtures my mother.”

As a former vice president of an aging service network in the Hudson Valley region of New York, and having the responsibility when growing up of helping care for her grandfather that lived with them, Anne has both a professional and personal appreciation for the level of service that Specialty Care and Amie provide. “Amie is like having another sister there taking care of my mother. She is so intuitive and knows what she needs almost without asking,” said Anne.

For Anne and her siblings, it is extremely important that their mother, who has always taken care of everyone else, receive top quality care. With the help of Specialty Care and Amie, the Palmer family has been able to ensure that Mercedes – who recently celebrated her 86^th birthday – continues to enjoy the best possible quality of life.

Today, sitting in the home the couple has shared for more than 50 years, Betty Jane laughed as she recalled their uncommon love story. “We’ve really been together since kindergarten,” she said. As they grew older, the pair’s friendship deepened. Soon the two were dating, and when they turned 21, Betty Jane married Creston.

“He has a better social life than I do, actually,” said Elena Pehrkon of her 92-year-old father, Philip Sharpe. Elena then recited a list of her father’s activities, including frequent visits to the nearby senior center, gardening and concerts. In fact, keeping up with Philip’s demanding social schedule has become a team effort.

Two essential members of Philip’s team are his caregivers provided by SenCura Home Care. The company provides full-time, live-in care for Philip, ensuring that he can remain independent and active.

A former member of the U.S. Army, Philip lived in various locations throughout Europe and Asia with his wife, daughter and son. When he retired in 1964, the family settled in the D.C. Metropolitan region. Philip became the Budget Director for the Fairfax County School System and retired once again from that position.

After his wife passed away four years ago, Philip’s family started noticing signs of dementia. “He’d go to Arlington Cemetery to visit my mother’s grave, and he’d go to the commissary. He had a routine, and he’d do that every day,” his daughter, Elena, recalled. “But then he stopped coming home, and he would be lost for five or six hours at a time.”

Elena also started to notice that her father was not eating the meals she was leaving for him. “He just wasn’t putting the food in front of him and eating it, and we started to realize that we needed somebody here to be with him,” she said.

Elena and her brother turned to ElderLink, a care management service. They recommended home care and offered information for several providers. Elena immediately called SenCura. “SenCura has always been very easy to work with, and they’re so accommodating,” she said.

As Philip’s Alzheimer’s disease has progressed, the family has increased his care from part-time to full-time care. “Eventually he needed someone to help make sure that he took a shower and put on clean clothes every day, so we ended up getting someone all day and all night,” Elena said. Two experienced caregivers now spend 24-hours every day with Philip, but they are never just sitting around.

Lois Davis and Carol Lester have become true companions for Philip. “My dad’s health is excellent,” Elena explained. “He’s capable of going out and Lois and Carol see to it that he does. They are both so proactive in recommending things, and they’re two women who do not want to sit at home.”

Lois takes Philip to the senior center three or four times a week. They also spend time gardening and make frequent trips to Arlington National Cemetery, a place that is special for both of them.

“When I found out his wife was buried there, I looked forward to going together,” said Lois. “I have a sister buried there, and it has always been a special place for me.” Their solemn visits are bookended by the scenic drive down George Washington Parkway. “We see the changing of the seasons and the river and all the boats, and he just really loves that drive,” Lois said.

Lois also joins Philip and his son and grandson for lunch once a week. “It’s just wonderful that my dad can still go out to lunch and gets to spend time with my brother and his son,” Elena said.

Meanwhile, Carol, who provides care for Philip on the weekends, loves taking him to concerts. The two enjoy a wide variety of shows throughout the area. They also visit local museums and historical parks, where Carol shares her love of genealogy and history with Philip.

Over the last few years both caregivers have formed a strong bond with Philip and his entire family. “It’s not just me and him out here alone. I really feel like a part of their family,” said Lois.

Company owners Cliff Glier and Jaime Centrone explained that SenCura focuses on finding caregivers who will make real connections with families. “It’s all about helping the entire family. We want to be there for anything that may occur, whether it’s at two in the afternoon or two in the morning,” said Cliff.

Jaime added, “We really focus on hiring caregivers like Lois who have a personal history of caring for elderly loved ones and a real passion for caring for our seniors.”

Beyond providing an array of stimulating activities, Philip’s caregivers are also always looking out for his wellbeing. When a new medication caused him to become dizzy and drowsy, the caregivers alerted the family. “That could have totally changed his quality of life, so it was great that they were so quick to act,” Elena said.

With such a strong support network, Philip plans to remain in his house and active in his community for some time to come. After all, he has a loving family and several dedicated caregivers on his team. And they are always ready to play.

Thanks to the help of a home health agency, Polly and Don Petersen have been able to remain together in an assisted living community.

“He stood out in the crowd,” said Polly. “I was instantly attracted to his charm and good looks when we sat at the same table of mutual friends while having coffee.”

Married after their graduation in 1951, the Petersens had three children. While the couple was highly involved in the greater community, Don worked for Lockheed Martin and Polly eventually became an antiques dealer.

Over the years, they never ceased to show their love for one another.  To throw Don a surprise 50th birthday party, Polly sold her longtime collectibles.  He in turn used some of her precious items to make her an exquisite and unique dollhouse.

In 1998, Polly was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.  As the illness progressed, she moved to the assisted living community Country Meadows.  Although Don visited every day, he knew in his heart they belonged together and fortunately a large apartment became available for them.

When Polly’s health issues became more prevalent, it was suggested she receive additional private duty care to also provide respite for Don. Right at Home, an in-home care company often used by other residents, came highly recommended. After spending time getting to know the company and seeing what they had to offer, Polly was introduced to her caregiver, Edwina. Their bond was instantaneous. As a Certified Nursing Assistant (C.N.A.), Edwina has assisted Polly with bathing, personal care and hygiene.

With Polly's diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease, the couple's devotion in their 60 years of marriage has never wavered through sickness and in health.

When asked how the assistance of Right at Home has impacted her life, Polly said, “A lot of things that I could not accomplish on my own, I was now able to accomplish with ease.  Normally, it would take me three hours to get dressed, but Edwina is so efficient and she knows me and my routine so well.”
Polly continued with a laugh, “I’d say she knows me by heart.  She is not only good at her job, but she is so kind, and compassionate. She really is such a comfort. To me, she is just like family.”

These days, the Petersens feel blessed to have recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. In sickness and in health, their love and devotion to each other has been remarkable and a true testament of time.

After the passing of his wife, Doris, Joel Richmond moved to an assisted living community where he has been receiving home care services, which give his son Allan, peace of mind.

For the ‘sandwich generation’, finding the appropriate care for a parent can be a stressful time, but it is particularly difficult if an adult child is without the support of siblings or other family. This was the case for Allan Richmond when his mother passed away in November of 2006.“She was the independent one and really the caretaker of my dad giving him his medications and things like that,” he said.  “Although my dad could walk around fairly well, at that time it was a two-story house and I knew he could not stay there alone.”

Allan’s father, Joel, worked for Glenn L. Martin making planes during WWII and eventually went into his wife’s family business full-time, helping her run their store, Ray’s Children Shop.  Living with his wife, Doris, and Allan above the popular spot near downtown Baltimore, Joel and Doris ran the business until they sold it in 1989.

By the time Allan helped move Joel into Springhouse, an assisted living community in Pikesville, he fortunately already had connections with the home care company, Nurses Available.

“They had provided intermittent services for my parents, such as transportation, and they would help in emergency situations,” said Allan.

The company was still assisting Joel in 2008 when he had a mild heart attack that caused him to lose his ability to walk.   Since Allan and his wife were out of the country at the time, Pat Kloiber, manager of Nurses Available, immediately stepped in to ensure Joel was provided with 24-hour care.

He has maintained this full-time care ever since, receiving assistance with dressing, bathing and meal preparation, among other services.

“He has 14 shifts a week and six caregivers who alternate working with him,” said Allan.  “They really know him personally since each individual has been with my dad for at least a year and they’ve been very good working with him.”

Most importantly, Allan’s longstanding relationship with the home care company has allowed him peace of mind, despite the fact that he sees his father up to six days a week.

“I do the best I can, but we occasionally go away, so I’m thankful we’ve been able to work with an agency that offers us this stability,” he said.