This week's guest of The CAREpreneur Show is very special, a recent graduate from the University of North Florida and most importantly my sister, Kaitlyn Chana!   

Kaitlyn's CAREpreneurial spirit came at a young age. When she was a child she started a non-profit called, Love Letters, which she used to write cards to children who had life-threatening illnesses. She loved inspiring these children and bringing encouragement to them during this difficult time.  

Growing up, she had always been fascinated with journalism from watching Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. She loved having the latest information and the opportunity to share it with others in a story like fashion.  

During Kaitlyn's journalism career she was given the opportunity to work with Mayo Clinic. This opportunity gave her the ability to share the latest health care news with the public that could potentially help save lives.   

During her residency with the Mayo Clinic she was able to see and learn about all of the different aspects of the hospital that function together to ensure it operates successfully.   

This experience helped open her eyes and she realized that that there may be more to her purpose than journalism so she decided to drop everything and pursue a career in healthcare administration.  

Flash forward to today, Kaitlyn recently graduated with a masters degree in business and healthcare administration, with a focus on pediatrics and women's health.   

Kaitlyn is through and through a CAREpreneur. Kaitlyn's passion for making a difference in the healthcare industry comes from the heart and she makes a conscious effort to lead from the heart as well.   

Kaitlyn is dedicated to taking care of every member of her team and is committed to making a positive atmosphere for them to work in.

Interested in learning more from Kaitlyn? Follow her on social media!  

▶︎ INSTAGRAM  |  https://www.instagram.com/kaitlynchana

▶︎ FACEBOOK  |  https://www.facebook.com/KaitlynChana

▶︎ LINKEDIN  |  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlyn-chana-mba-mha-6418ab22/

▶︎ WEBSITE  |  https://kaitlynchana.com/ 

#seniorcare #adultdaycare #entrepreneur

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TIMESTAMPS  

0:00 Intro 

2:05 Kaitlyn's journalism journey 

3:42 Kaitlyn's passion for storytelling 

4:55 Where journalism has taken Kaitlyn 

5:01 So what brought you to Jacksonville? 

5:09 Jacksonville is a top 50 market, right? 

5:54 How do you go from journalism to health care? 

What inspired that leap? 

6:09 The root of Kaitlyn's passion 

6:45 What was the purpose of the cards? 

7:52 So, you didn't want to talk about murders and stuff on TV? 

8:29 What was the craziest story you covered? 

8:38 What was the story that made you realize you were done with journalism? 

10:28 Mayo Clinic journalism residency program 

11:09 When did you decide that you wanted to go into health care administration? 

14:01 Kaitlyn's "why" 

10:11 What is your purpose? 

17:11 Kaitlyn's mental health journey 

19:25 Going back to college 

20:39 Selecting a fellowship 

25:53 What is a key factor in this whole journey? What has helped you get through tough times? 

28:13 Do you practice affirmations? 

28:29 Kaitlyn's 2% rule 

30:40 How do you inspire the next future generation in the healthcare field? 

35:04 Kaitlyn's social media accounts 

35:48 Outro

Meet Roy Afflerbach, a huge advocate for Adult Day Services. Roy is the Public Policy Advisor for NADSA and formerly in the legislature in the state of Pennsylvania.    

Roy has always had an interest in politics. He started his career early when he was in high school, helping campaign for John F. Kennedy. He later continued his campaigning efforts for JFK's younger brother Bobby Kennedy.   

This is when Roy says he realized he could make a positive difference in people's lives through government. Roy learned about the key attributes of being a CAREpreneur through his work in politics - willpower, dedication, and willfulness. 

After serving over a decade in the Senate and House of Representatives (plus a short stent as mayor!) Roy opened his own consulting firm.  Roy's consulting firm is a public policy advocacy organization that focuses on serving non-profit organizations. 

After some years and through the power of networking Roy found NADSA. After his own personal experiences with dementia care Roy knew this organization could benefit from his help.  

Flash forward a few years and Roy has been able to help NADSA make tremendous strides in gaining government legislation and assistance for adult daycare services across the nation.   

Roy continues to show the United States what it means to be a CAREpreneur and continues to advocate for the senior care industry for many years to come. Thank you Roy for all that you do!  

#seniorcare #adultdaycare #NADSAconference2021

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TIMESTAMPS 

 00:00 Intro 

01:57 Roy's backstory 

04:04 Roy's consulting business 

06:57 Roy meets NADSA 

09:06 Roy's passion for Adult Day Care 

10:27 What is one thing that has held Adult Day Cares from reaching its full potential? 

14:10 What do you foresee the future of senior care being like? 

14:21 Current legislation that is trying to be passed 

15:48 The key to getting adult day services legislation passed 

17:54 Kris praises Roy 

18:15 Closing Remarks

Meet the one and only ALF Boss! Pascal Bergeron aka "The ALF Boss" is a one of a kind CAREpreneur.  

Pascal earned the title ALF Boss through his computer software system/webpage alfboss.com  alfboss.com is a mobile learning management app built specifically for assisted living facility staff! Not only can your staff get the AHCA required training they need, but it also gives assisted living employees a virtual community to be a part of.  

Pascal created this app to streamline the recurring training that AHCA requires of assisted living facility employees. His services provide an easier user experience for staff and help keep records for management organized. Basically, he totally changed the assisted living game!  This is why the ALF Boss earns the title of a CAREpreneur.   

Tune in to hear about the ALF Boss's journey as well as industry trends, expert opinions, failures and wins, and everything in-between!  Make sure to follow the ALF Boss on social media!  

▶︎ FACEBOOK  | https://www.facebook.com/ALF-Boss-106898566376147/

▶︎ LINKEDIN  |  https://www.linkedin.com/company/alf-boss/

▶︎ WEBSITE  | https://alfboss.com/ 

#seniorcare #adultdaycare #assistedliving

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TIMESTAMPS: Pascal Bergeron 

 00:00 - 4:18  Pascal (ALF Boss) Software Journey. 

4:23 - 10:57   AHCA Experiences with ALF. 

11:00 -  14:03  Changes in the ALF industry. 

14:05 - 19:56  The effects of the ALF industry during the pandemic. 

19:58 - 23:16  The Reasons for selling the ALF facility. 

23:17 -  32:20 The difference between ALF and Adult Day Care 

32:20  - 39:54 private pay Or Medicaid or Medicare audience 

39:54  - 46:12 Making Real Connections 

46:13 -50:14 Thoughts on Placement agencies. 

50:19 - 53:36 Future of ALF Boss 

53:37-58:05 The Franchising Business / Outro

Meet Bill Zagorski, who started his career in the microbiology field but then became CEO of American Senior Care Centers. Bill is also a board member for the National Adult Day Services Association (NADSA).   

Bill's family founded American Senior Care Centers in Tennessee in 1991. At first, Bill pursued a degree in microbiology from Connecticut. However, after growing tired of working in the microbiology field he decided to step up as the CEO and takeover the family business.   

After stepping in as the CEO in 2010 he continued to grow and expand the business. In 2014, he revived the Tennessee Adult Day Care Association which he continues to lead as the President.  

Once becoming more involved at a state level, he was invited to attend the National Adult Day Services Association (NADSA) Conference in 2017. The following year, he joined the research community of NADSA and by 2019, he had joined the NADSA board as the research committee chair.   Bill sees the future of Adult Day Care being just as if not even more successful than some of the alternative care options such as home care or assisted living. Unfortunately, adult day care just hasn't been recognized enough for the incredible benefits it has to offer.    

Therefore, Bill plans to use his research and data analysis experience from the microbiology field to prove the value of adult day care to the rest of the world.   

#seniorcare #adultdaycare #adultdayservices

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TIMESTAMPS  

0:00 - Intro / Guest: Bill Zagorski  

0:43 -  Starting in the Adult Day Care Industry   

2:25 - Expanding Adult Day Care 

3:30 - Joining NADSA & Collecting Data 

6:56 - NADSA Board Experiences 

8:30 - Future of Adult Day Care 

10:18 - Public Education 

11:00 - Outro

Growing from a small 2,000 sq ft center to opening the largest adult day care center in South Florida! Meet my good friend, Yoni Gonzalez, the owner of Florida's largest family owned Adult Day Care Center.   

Yoni and I met at the 2018 NADSA Annual Conference and immediately we shared a similar passion for the future of adult day care.   Yoni worked for a wound care company that provided services for residents living in nursing homes. After visiting many different nursing homes, he felt like there had to be a better way and that search led him to start his own adult day care center in South Florida.   

One of my favorite stories, Yoni shares, is the way he surprised his members when they moved from their small 2,000 sq ft space to their new 10,000 sq ft center!! You definitely don't want to miss this part of the story!   

Not only is Yoni passionate about the future of adult day care but he has played an extremely pivotal role at both the state and national level.   Today, he serves on both the FADSA (Florida Adult Day Services Association) and NADSA (National Adult Day Services Association) board to help advance the future of adult day care services.    

Also, Yoni was instrumental in securing funding for adult day care centers in Florida who were negatively impacted by the pandemic. 

  #adultdaycare #seniorcare #entrepreneur 

TIMESTAMPS  

0:00 - Intro / Guest: Yoni Gonzalez 

1:36 - Why Adult Day Care? 

4:11 - The Entrepreneur Gene 

4:48 - Yoni's Life Story 

6:06 - Sticking Together 

6:59 - The Start of the Adult Day Care Center 

8:27 - Finding Balance (Work & Home) 

9:39 - Social Media Illusions  

11:21 - Struggle to Success 

12:13 - Adult Day Care Member Story 

14:27 - From 2,000 Sq Ft to 10,000+ Sq Ft Facility 

18:59 - The Impact of the Pandemic on Adult Day Care 

20:21 - No Guidelines for Adult Day Care Services  

24:00 - Supporting Fellow Operators 

24:30 - NADSA / FADSA 

25:40 - Outro

Meet the farm girl who took on Wall Street then found her purpose and passion in senior care! This weeks CAREpreneur is Wendy Rickenbach-Barclay, the Owner of CarePatrol Sarasota and Town Square of Sarasota. Wendy spent 18 years on Wall Street as a senior executive and after the 2008 great financial crisis, she found herself at a crossroad.    

She was introduced to a franchise broker who really challenged her to examine what she wanted her legacy to be by envisioning herself as a little 85 year old lady in a rocking chair reflecting on her past accomplishments. What would she want her story to be?  After months of reflection, Wendy realized she has always been 100% commission based.  

She's always had to hustle to earn a living. However, this time she wanted to do something that had a direct impact in other peoples lives.   

Having been very involved with her church and singing in the choir she always found herself surrounded by what seemed like 50 grandparents. It turns out she had a real passion for helping seniors find joy. Ultimately, she purchased a CarePatrol franchise and moved to Sarasota, Florida to pursue her dreams.

 Wendy has been an industry leader in the referral and placement industry.  She is Nationally recognized as a thought leader.  She is a Nationally certified dementia trainer, she is a certified dementia practitioner, a Certified Care transition fellow, she is also credentialed in Montessori programming and more.    

She has served as the Chair of the Venice Chamber Senior Resource Group, Served on the board of the Sarasota County Aging Network, served on the board of Manatee county aging network and more.  She and her spouse purchased Five Star Painting of Sarasota and have since brought on their son to run day to day operations of this business.    

Seeing all the gaps in the senior care industry Wendy decided she needed to go bigger!  So, she and a colleague made the decision to open Town Square, the newest and most innovative adult day program in the United States, which is already receiving National attention.    

The first location in Florida is slated to open in December 2021 in the Palmer Ranch area. Stay tuned to learn more as Wendy pursues her entrepreneurial dreams!   

#seniorcare #adultdaycare #entrepreneur

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TIMESTAMPS 

 0:00 - Intro 

2:34 - Farm Girl to Wall Street High Life 

6:41 - Exploring New Opportunities 

7:45 - Purchasing a CarePatrol Franchise 

8:45 -  Moving to Sarasota to Open CarePatrol 

12:07 - Hustler Mentality 

13:45 - Taking Next Step into Adult Day Care 

15:01-  Why Adult Day Care? 

17:58 -  Town Square Experience for Seniors 

18:45 -  Adult Day Care Benefits 

20:03 -  Goals 

21:15 -  Advice to Entrepreneurs 

21:35 -  Growing CarePatrol to the Top  

22:49 -  Town Square Tours 

23:43 - Outro

Meet Joan Marie, the ultimate Adult Day CAREpreneur! She started her journey with senior care when she was just 12 years old.   

Her grandmother lived in a nursing facility at the time and she couldn't help but think to herself that there had to be a better solution to nursing homes. Before starting her own Adult Day Care Center, Joan Marie worked for an AIDS Adult Medical Day Care Center which was open to all ages.   She felt like this business model would be perfect for seniors as well.   

Over the years she built a consulting business called Future Focus, where she helped others build and operate Adult Medical Day Care Centers across the country.   

After years of consulting, she decided to open her own center! She put her entire life-savings into opening hers and dedicated it to her father.   With one center under her belt Joan decided to open a second center, which she dedicated to her mother. This second center became known as Town Square. On opening day she had over 200 people ready to join!   

Joan Marie reveals the secret to her grand opening success was through the power of marketing! She says marketing is having a story worth telling and a community that believes in your mission.  

As her businesses grew so did Joan Marie's passion to continue pushing forward. She started a coalition and joined national boards to help grow the Adult Day Care industry.   

Joan Marie is an inspiration to many in the adult day care industry and truly leads with the heart of a CAREpreneur!! 

#seniorcare #adultdaycare #communityoutreach

Meet our special guest, Cameron Graham, who started his journey in senior care at just 20 years old. Cameron is originally from Scotland and is the Founder and CEO of StoriiCare, a software solution for the adult day care industry.  

Crazy enough, Cameron entered this field after being hospitalized for acute kidney failure. During his hospitalization, Cameron roomed with an elderly man who suffered from dementia. While in recovery, he was able to witness the benefits of reminiscence therapy.   

The nurses who provided this therapy were simply using pictures from the patients life to help with his memory loss.   

This experience is what gave Cameron the "lightbulb moment" to modernize this type of therapy. By creating a software that allows users to upload their patients photos to the software, they can create a more mobile and effective user experience.   

By including analytics and metrics to the software, Cameron was able to make an extremely useful and successful software system.  

After gaining traction in the UK, Cameron made the bold leap to bring his new company to the U.S. Today, StoriiCare now serves over 240 businesses here in the U.S.   

Cameron is committed to improving the efficiency and user experience of the software to help adult day care centers increase productivity and better manage their centers.  

#adultdaycare #seniorcare #software

Meet Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, our special guest and fellow CAREpreneur! Emilia started her professional career as an occupational therapist in clinical practice. From long-term memory care to the ICU, she's pretty much done and seen it all. But even with all of this experience under her belt she's only getting started!  

Emilia started with a bachelor's degree in psychology, but had trouble finding what she wanted to do for graduate school. Through the miracle of eavesdropping, Emilia was able to find her calling of occupational therapy. After working as an occupational therapist, Emilia noticed the need for higher quality content for caregivers. This is why she started Higher Standards Caregiver Training.   

Emilia is a perfect example of a CAREpreneur. Emilia had her dream job but noticed that there was still a need for education in her career field.   She realized it was time to stop being REACTIVE about care and to start being PROACTIVE by providing preventative educational material. Thus Emilia took the leap of faith to start her own business and founded a Higher Standard for Caregiver Training.   

Emilia is breaking new ground within the senior care industry. She understands the power of caregivers and the potential they have to help others live a more fulfilling and higher quality life. Emilia believes in the idea of aging in place and is spear-heading a movement of providing better educational tools for caregivers and the home care industry through her work.  

By arming family and non-skilled caregivers with knowledge there is exponential potential to help families and seniors live a higher quality life. Through her work she is helping keep people healthy and preventing common problems she saw at work in occupational therapy.  

So, go follow Emilia and support her journey!!  

 ▶︎ YOUTUBE  |  https://www.youtube.com/highstandardscaregivertraining

▶︎ LINKEDIN  |  https://www.linkedin.com/in/emiliabourland/

▶︎ WEBSITE  |  https://www.higherstandardscaregivertraining.com

▶︎ EMAIL  |   [email protected]  

#occupationaltherapy #seniorcare #entrepreneur

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TIMESTAMPS:   

0:00 - Intro 

0:57 - Introducing Emilia Bourland  

1:05 -  Texas Proud 

2:48 -  How Did You Get into Caregiver Training? 

4:04 - Did You Always Want to Be an Occupational Therapist 

5:56 - Skilled Nursing Experience 

8:48 -  Educating Family Caregivers 

10:00 - When Did you Decide to Take the Entrepreneurial Leap? 

12:48 - Training for Professional and Family Caregivers 

16:05 - What is Your Main Focus? 

21:03 - Essential Services 

23:05 - Family Caregivers are the Backbone 

24:51 - Getting the Word Out 

28:24 - Outro 

Meet the man solving the social isolation problem amongst our elders, Osvaldo Montelongo, Chief Executive Officer & Founder of Connect Care Hero.   

After graduating from Trinity Christian College in Illinois, Osvaldo was able to gain more than 10 years of experience in global brand marketing & strategy for Disney, Rust- Oleum and GUM. He also has 7+ years experience in senior living and aging at home.   

Osvaldo loves learning news things and experiencing new cultures through food and activities. This can be seen through his app Connect Care Hero and the plethora of diverse activities he has incorporated into it.   

Osvaldo is a first generation Mexican, and a huge Mariachi and Huapango Hausteco music fan.   

Through Connect Care Hero, Osvaldo and his partners have been able to create an engaging and interactive platform that allows him to explore and share his interests with thousands of others. Connect Care Hero is a platform for seniors to join remotely to different activities.  

 From the comfort of their bed, seniors can sign on to Connect Care Hero and join in cooking lessons, jeopardy, or dance classes! Join us as we discover how Osvaldo is changing the world of senior care! 

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TIMESTAMPS:  

00:00 - Show Intro 

00:42 - Guest: Osvaldo Montelongo

1:41 -  How did your journey begin?  

3:20-  Making decisions for your father at a young age 

4:15 - What was the foundation for the company? 

5:55 - When did you start your company ? 

8:05 - Being a family caregiver while pursuing a career 

9:13 - The specific event that made you think Connect Care Hero?  

11:28 -  The pursuit to create Connect Care Hero 

12:35 - Going through tough times while building a company 

13:30 - Personal connections in the industry 

14:17 - How did the company look in the beginning?  

15:55 -  When did you start to build a team? 

17:10 - The entrepreneur journey  

17:48 -  Connect Care Hero’s target Audience 

18:36 - What does the future look like for Connect Care Hero? 

19:36 -  What is a future Milestone for Connect Care Hero?  

20:46 -  What’s your best skill set? 

21:46 - Kris’s Personal Goal 

22:20 -  The Senior Care Space 

23:59 - Favorite Mentor Quote  

25:06 - Examples from the Quote 

26:20 -  Finding solutions to meet seniors needs 

27:08 - Outro

Meet Matt Reiners - co-founder of Eversound, a technology company dedicated to ending social isolation for older adults by giving every resident the gift of hearing.  After seeing his Grandmother struggle with hearing, Matt, along with his other co-founders, saw an opportunity to help improve senior living resident's quality of life through better listening experiences.  

A serial entrepreneur, Matt has helped start two companies in the past eight years and is an up and coming player in the senior living industry.  Matt started his entrepreneurial journey with silent discos. Instead of emitting music through speakers, Matt and his business partner used headphones to create a unique musical experience. Soon after his silent disco venture grew, senior care companies were reaching out to use his silent disco headphones in a new way.  

This is how Matt and his co-founders created Eversound. Since then, the business has exploded. Matt and his partners were able to create a solution for seniors who experienced senior loss. Through Eversound, thousands of seniors are able to connect with their loved ones, and participate in an auditory experience they once were unable to partake in. 

Matt is a recipient of 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30, 2019 Argentum Senior Living Leader Under 40, and 2018 National Association of Activity Professionals Business Affiliate Award of Excellence. 

#entrepreneurship #innovation #seniorcare #headphones

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TIMESTAMPS:  

0:00 Intro 1:43 When you were in highschool, what did you want to be when you grew up? What led you into this field? 

2:20 How Matt started out 

3:40 The inspiration for Eversound 

4:30 The need for Eversound presents itself 

5:33 Now, is this for them to be able to communicate with each other, or are they able to listen & experience something they once weren't able to do? 

8:03 So, are they wearing headphones similar to what you are wearing now? 

9:00 How did you come to meet him (Sound Engineer) 

9:32 What time frame is all of this in? 

9:57 So this was back when you were like working out of a garage, isn't it? 

10:16 So at that point in time did you think, "Hey, let's go start a business in senior care."? 

11:24 So when you think about today, what is your ultimate goal for Eversound? 

12:36 When you think about the #1 reason someone might use Eversound, what would that be? 

14:48 What has always interested you the most within your job role? 

16:15 How old are you? 

16:40 When you think about your favorite book, what comes to mind? 

17:24 Does anyone come to mind when you think of a mentor? 

18:54 When you think about attracting other people into this space (senior care), what do you think it needs to bring people in? What can WE do to bring people in? 

20:45 Closing Remarks 

21:29 Outro