Senior Helpers Opens Second Company-owned Franchise in Greater Chicago Area

In-home senior care provider Senior Helpers has purchased Elmhurst, Illinois-based Handle with Care, a company founded by Julie Kastholm and Debbie Russell that has been providing dignified, trusted home care since 2009 to seniors in the greater Chicago area.

Handle with Care’s caregivers assist their clients with everyday activities at home such as bathing, medication reminders, meal preparation, exercise, transportation to and from medical appointments and social engagements, and with Parkinson’s and dementia care.

According to Senior Helpers, Handle with Care will keep its name and continue to be managed by Kastholm and Russell, “but will leverage Senior Helpers’ expertise, national resources and legacy of excellent client service.”

“Our strategic acquisition of Handle with Care builds upon our already strong market presence in Greater Chicago,” Peter Ross, CEO and co-founder of Senior Helpers, said in a news release. “We’re proud to have the opportunity to serve even more people throughout the region and to help ensure that local families have access to trusted senior care for their loved ones.”

Kastholm and Russell explain on their website that what distinguishes Handle with Care from the competition is the company’s creative and thoughtful approach designed to add joy to everyday life.

“We believe a holistic approach that meets our clients’ emotional and physical needs improves overall well-being and happiness. Involving clients in activities, exercise, and encouraging participation in everyday chores keeps days meaningful and as active as possible,” the website states.

The Handle with Care acquisition, as part of Senior Helpers’ ongoing expansion, marks its second corporate-owned and operated location and 12th location overall in the greater Chicago area, joining the company’s 311 Senior Helpers franchise operations worldwide.

“After eight years of providing Elmhurst-area residents with dignified, trusted care, we are so excited to begin a new chapter under the Senior Helpers umbrella,” Kastholm said. “We’re looking forward to staying on as managers and will remain close to our clients who have brought us so much joy through the years.”

Senior Helpers, based in Towson, Maryland, was founded by Tony Bonacuse with the help of Peter Ross after their firsthand experience in caring for family members. They identified a huge gap in senior care that was not being filled properly by other companies providing care for the elderly. It became clear to them that these deficiencies needed to be addressed, and they set out to create an organization that would provide the type of professionalism they couldn’t find elsewhere.

The first Senior Helpers office opened in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2002 and began building a reputation as a professional organization with a staff of caregivers dedicated to providing dependable service, caregiver continuity, peace of mind for clients’ families, enhancing clients’ quality of life, and assisting with independent living in the home.

Today, Senior Helpers serves elderly clients and their families around the world with specialized programs developed in collaboration with leading medical experts, and has now cared for tens of thousands of seniors with a pledge to provide “care and comfort at a moment’s notice.”

The company offers a wide range of personal care services to seniors who wish to remain in their homes despite age-related illnesses and mobility challenges, including companionship, meal planning and preparation, light housekeeping, laundry, medication reminders, general assistance, and trained caregivers for Alzheimer’s, other forms of dementia, and Parkinson’s disease.

Caregivers can also provide assistance with daily living activities such as bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, and ambulation, and are available to provide 24-hour live-in coverage.

The company added a new Parkinson’s Care training and certification program in 2016, developed in conjunction with experts from the National Parkinson Foundation’s Center of Excellence, a clinical think-tank of Parkinson’s specialists from 42 leading medical centers worldwide delivering care to more than 105,000 Parkinson’s patients, and focused on changing the course of Parkinson’s disease through advancing a comprehensive approach to care that addresses the whole person and the full range of symptoms.