Founder and CEO Interview

Spencer McGowen Interviews Rhonda Harper, Founder and CEO

Crisis Inspires Midlife Career Reinvention and Launch of Penrose Senior Care Auditors®
How’s your mom doing? Don’t worry, we’ll let you know!

DALLAS, April 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Rhonda Harper, Founder and CEO of Penrose Senior Care Auditors®, thought she was done working. After 25 years in corporate marketing and strategy working in the executive ranks for the likes of Walmart, USP, VF Corporation, Ketchum, and Nabisco, she had every right to decide to kick back, travel, amp up her photography hobby, and garden.

But that was not to be. Harper took over responsibility of her aging father in mid-2013 after the death of her brother who had been overseeing his care. Navigating blindly through the world of senior care, she quickly learned that facilities often don’t provide the level of care expected or deserved. Over the course of several months Harper’s father was overdosed, lost, and neglected in three different senior care centers.

There are reasons to worry about aging loved-ones and their safety. Among the 5 million seniors in long-term care facilities, 95% say they have been, or have seen another resident, abused. Indeed, 50% of nursing home staff admits to abusing patients.

“Unfortunately, I found that my personal situation is common,” says Harper. “I wondered what people do who don’t have the ability to check on their aging parents. I worried about other seniors in the system, or even living alone at home.”

Harper looked for a solution to her problem and didn’t find one. “After thinking that someone should start a company to audit seniors and report back to their families, I decided it should be me.”

In 2014, Harper launched Penrose Senior Care Auditors nationwide, the first-of-its-kind senior care auditing service. “I’m excited about really making a difference in the lives of aging seniors and their families. Who knew I’d reinvent myself and start a new company at this age? I’m ready for my next 25 years!”