With today’s technology and advancements in health care, people are living considerably longer than previous generations. While that’s welcome news to most, it does bring attention to the increasing challenges seniors and their families face in making educated choices to find what best fits their needs later in life. One local company is committed to helping provide this much-needed guidance.
Amada Senior Care, located in Charleston and Hilton Head, is a non-medical, in-home care provider that offers resources and solutions to guide and support families every step of the way.
Owners Cheryl Etheridge and David Lewis are cousins who have both experienced a need for guidance in providing senior care for their loved ones and want to help others facing that same challenge.
“We consider ourselves aging-inplace specialists,” Cheryl said. “Most people want to be at home, living as independently as they can and with dignity. We help them do just that.”
With a 25-year career in health care, Cheryl said it wasn’t until her own mother became ill that she realized the need to have help in arranging care for her: “I made a pledge to my mother that I would become the advocate, the expert and the resource for all families who had to face this issue.”
Acting as consultants and providers of in-home care services, Amada helps “take the edge off aging,” Cheryl explained. “The first thing we do is meet with you to help determine what you and your loved ones need. We try to answer the question of where are you now and how can we help,” she added. “People often wait until there’s a crisis to prepare, and we can help families make those tough decisions now.”
Amada provides much-needed services to those at a stage in life where they need assistance with basic daily needs.
“Whether it’s getting someone up and going in the morning, preparing meals or taking them to appointments, we can help with all of that,” she said.
With intensely vetted resources, Amada takes the anxiety and frustration out of finding what will be most beneficial to those in need, whether it’s in-home care, assisted living or senior care financial counseling.
“Often, people are faced with helping parents who live several states away, and, in that case, what do you do?” Cheryl asked.
Because of their experiences finding senior care for their own loved ones, Cheryl and David have become uniquely well-qualified to help families through the same process. They had to learn about resources, methods to pay for care, senior housing and in-home care the hard way, but they want people to know it doesn’t need to be that way.
“We want to start the dialog sooner to educate and help people plan. There are amazing resources here in South Carolina.” Cheryl added. “We want to take away the fear of aging and empower people.”
At Amada Charleston and Hilton Head, they know how important it is for families to feel confident that a beloved senior is in the very best hands.
“We understand that people want to know that their loved one is not only safe and comfortable but that his or her life is being enriched daily,” Cheryl said. “This is what we want to provide.”
By Diane Pauldine
