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The winners were selected on a range of criteria. In addition to providing their resume, the applicants were asked why becoming a PenroseCertified Senior Care Auditor was important to them. “We were looking for individuals who genuinely wanted to improve the lives of seniors. Individuals that reflect our values and that we would be proud to call PenroseCertified.”

Barbara Aubry’s diversity of experience, purpose-driven life, interest in senior care, and entrepreneurial drive secured her spot as a winner. Aubry has a Registered Medical Assistant degree from Webster College and a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services from Springfield College, both in Tampa, FL. With fifteen years of healthcare experience, she has various roles including medical assistant, clinical telemetry technician, patient services representative, and human resources administrator with companies such as Visiting Angels Home Healthcare, and Utopia Home Care. Regarding winning Aubry says, “I’m so grateful for this opportunity. I’m bursting out with tears of joy! You have no idea what this means to me. You have made my dreams come true.”

Lakeesha Neighbors passion-driven career and work with seniors sent her application to the winner’s circle. Neighbors holds an MBA from University of Phoenix, a Master of Administration Degree in Public Management from Northern Arizona University, a Bachelors in Public Agency Service from Northern Arizona University. She has over ten years experience as a long-term case manager, direct care manager serving the elderly and physically disabled individuals. Neighbors shared, “I can not tell you how honored and excited I am to receive this scholarship. Thanks in advance for giving me a chance to acquire new skills that I can in return use to serve the senior population.”

Evelyn Kabler won based on her personal insights, experience in senior care, and determination for making a true difference for seniors and their families. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science from Drexel University and a Certificate in Physical Therapy from Rutgers University. She holds a Physical Therapist License and has nearly fifteen years of geriatric work experience. Says Kabler, “I am grateful for this opportunity to serve the geriatric community in such a meaningful way.”

Gloria Warner was the mother of Penrose Senior Care Auditors Founder, President and CEO, Rhonda Harper. “As a teenager, my paternal grandfather lived with us in his last months, and my mother took care of him. Then, after he passed, my mother moved her mother in to our home and took care of her. And then moved her to a nursing home and continued to visit every day. After her passing, my mother volunteered nearly full-time, doing whatever they needed her to do – even teaching art classes. This scholarship means a lot to me and is awarded to an individual who wants to make a difference in the lives of seniors, just as my mother did,” states Harper.

Scholarship applications were received between December 15, 2014 and January 31, 2015.

On a weekly or biweekly basis, Penrose Senior Care Auditors check on seniors, audit their living conditions, and report back to clients, generally the senior’s adult child. Using a mobile device, its auditors connect to the proprietary online Senior Audit and Client Report Center and conduct a 7- Factor Audit™ covering cleanliness/clutter, odor/temperature, maintenance/operations, pantry/supplies, caregiver observations, senior observations, and more. A Client Report is then automatically generated and emailed to clients.

About SeniorCareQuest.com

AssistedLivingFacilities.org, SkilledNursingFacilities.org, HomeHealthCareAgencies.com, and AdultDayCare.org together have 4 million visitors per year and 800,000-page views per month, 4,000 followers on Twitter @SeniorCareQuest and 7,800 on @Carebuzz, and 10,000 individuals receiving its rapidly growing email list.

Aimed at the senior care market, both companies join forces under a shared commitment and clear need to provide services that improve and enhance the lives of aging seniors and reduce the worry and stress of their loved-ones.

“We’re thrilled to establish this partnership with iSeniorSolutions,” says Rhonda Harper, CEO of Penrose Senior Care Auditors®. “We share a commitment of improving the lives of seniors and their families. Our team conducts observational audits on seniors and their living conditions while iSeniorSolutions.com provides services and information that helps ensure a positive audit.”

“We look at the partnership as a very natural fit,” says Charles Snider, CEO of iSeniorSolutions. “The decision to make a move to a senior living community often comes after a catalyst has taken place. Whether working with a family making a move to independent living, assisted living, or a skilled nursing facility, the desire to find a safe, secure and protected environment is first on their search.  iSeniorSolutions.com is excited to be able to offer families additional piece of mind through this partnership.”

Both companies will work closely together in the coming months to introduce Penrose Senior Care Auditors service to customers, family caregivers and their loved ones nationally.

About iSeniorSolutions

iSeniorSolutions.com assist seniors and their families throughout the United States and Canada, in their search for Senior Living, Health Care, or Funeral needs. iSeniorSolutions.com provides you with free and easy access to an extensive database that includes the leading providers, resources, and up to-date information most beneficial to today’s senior and their families.

Penrose Senior Care Auditors® leverages technology to check on seniors, audit their living conditions, and report back to clients, generally the senior’s adult child. Using a mobile device, its auditors connect to the proprietary online Senior Audit and Client Report Center and conduct a 7-Factor Audit covering cleanliness/clutter, odor, maintenance/operations, pantry/supplies, caregiver observations, senior observations, and a custom area. A Client Report is then automatically generated. Clients may login to their password protected account review it at any time.

Other sponsors and supporters of Aging2.0 include Direct Supply, Epson, Healthcare-Reit, Institute on Aging, Philips, Medline, Google, and Amazon. Aging 2.0 has been featured on PBS Newshour, Forbes, Bloomberg, Fast Company, Business Week, AARP, and The Huffington Post.

About Aging2.0

Aging2.0 is a global innovation platform for the aging and long-term care markets. It is creating a global, interdisciplinary, collaborative community drawn from business, research, policy, design and technology, together with older adults themselves, in order to advance innovation, lower costs and improve the quality of life.  Aging2.0 is part of the Generator Ventures portfolio that was launched in May 2014 in conjunction with Formation Capital, a $4bn private equity company focused on seniors housing and care, post acute and health care real estate investments.

“We are very pleased with our new partnership with Penrose Senior Care Auditors®,” says Jeff Kane, Vice President of Marketing for Briggs Healthcare.  “Our mutual commitment to helping providers ensure quality resident care makes them a perfect fit for our new offering of Healthcare Services.”

“Penrose is thrilled to be partnering with Briggs Healthcare to introduce this valuable service to senior care communities nationwide,” Say Rhonda Harper, Founder and CEO of Penrose Senior Care Auditors®.  “Briggs brings a history and reputation of providing the products and services these communities need – and now they are making them aware of Penrose Senior Care Auditors®.”

About Briggs Healthcare
Briggs Healthcare has been a trusted healthcare partner and a leading provider of a variety of products and services to the long-term care, assisted living, home care, hospice, hospital and physician and clinics, and other health care markets, for over 65 years.   With approximately 320 employees and distribution centers in three U.S. locations, Briggs serves more than 50,000 customers with products and services in areas such as professional documentation systems and forms, medical supplies and rehabilitation aids, charting equipment and supplies, training materials, education and operational resources.

Penrose Senior Care Auditors® launched with a policy that its auditors must pass extensive background checks, drug screening, and its proprietary online education, training and certification program before being provided a client. In July, it formally announced PenroseCertified® (www.penrosecertified.com) that makes its proprietary online program available to individuals who want to become independent senior care auditors and/or start their own competing companies to Penrose Senior Care Auditors.

Why would Penrose Senior Care Auditors® launch a business with a goal of creating competition? According to Rhonda Harper, Founder, Owner, and CEO, “This is a big industry with millions of seniors in need of this type of service. Our company mission is to ‘help improve the lives of seniors.’ While we continue Penrose Senior Care Auditors® under the employee model, there is enough room for improvement in the care of seniors for all of our businesses to succeed.”

Penrose Senior Care Auditors® has partnered with GoDaddy.com and VistaPrint to power-start its PenroseCertified initiative. Once certified, auditors will have access to the PenroseCertified Senior Care Auditor Online Support Center. There, they can create world-class websites at discounted rates and receive customer support from GoDaddy.com. Also, pre-developed senior care auditor materials will be ready for individual and business customization and ordering on the VistaPrint Store Front. PenroseCertified will continue to provide ongoing marketing and business support by way of monthly newsletters and webinars, video and podcast tips, and so on.

Harper brings serious credentials to the table. First, she has a Bachelor’s of Science in Education and has years of teaching experience at the grade school, high school, college, and graduate levels. Second, Harper is a former officer of Walmart where she was the top marketing executive for Sam’s Club and received her M.B.A. from Emory University Goizueta Business School Finally, she is the former Founder, Owner, and CEO of RTM&J, a very successful management and marketing consultancy that focused on growth strategy for many Fortune 500 corporations.

PenroseCertified™ senior care auditors visit seniors weekly or biweekly in private residences and senior care communities and conduct online exhaustive observational environmental audits, looking at things like clutter, cleanliness, hygiene, supplies, and so on. It is not medical or financial.

“Our certification program sets the standards for a new career field: Senior Care Auditing. It opens the door for individuals seeking to work for themselves that makes a difference in a lucrative long-term career in a growth industry,” says Rhonda Harper, Founder & CEO, Penrose Senior Care Auditors. “Adding this independent auditor opportunity to our company’s employee model allows us to grow this emerging, important field of service more quickly to help more seniors live better lives, which is our mission.”

PenroseCertified™ senior care auditors will be armed with the best education, information, operations and marketing support available for conducting audits. In addition to learning the senior care auditor roles and responsibilities, they will be taught how to create a marketing plan, manage and grow a business. Monthly newsletters and webinars along with online videos will support their new business activities. And, they will have the ability to get personalized brochures, business cards, and other marketing collateral to start their business. They are also provided account access on the online Penrose Senior Care Auditors Senior Audit & Client Report Center and the Online Support Center. Finally, they will be able to use the PenroseCertified™ mark, distinguishing them in the marketplace.

The Penrose name is synonymous with Senior Care Auditing, as it created the service category. Independent PenroseCertified™ senior care auditors will benefit from national and local marketing implemented by Penrose Senior Care Auditors™. For example, it has extensive social media presence, sophisticated internet advertising, radio interviews, broadcast advertising, trade show exhibits, outdoor ads, direct mail campaigns, and significant sponsorships and partnerships. In its first year it has associated with AARP, CareGiver Partnership, Caring.com, Assisted Living Federation of America, and the Agency on Aging to name only a few.

“Only the Penrose Senior Care Auditor Certification Program requires individuals pass the Gold Standard Background Check and PenroseCertified Exam” continues Harper. “You can’t simply buy a certification, you must earn it. So, we accept only the most qualified candidates. When clients hire a PenroseCertified™ senior care auditor, they are hiring the best from the creator of the category.”

PenroseCertified™ senior care auditors conduct the audit using mobile devices connected to a proprietary online Senior Audit & Client Report Center. The programmed system allows auditors to customize sections as well as attach images and photos to support findings and recommendations. For clients, it offers real-time access to reports through a password protected site.

“We’re thrilled to establish this partnership with The Caregiver Partnership,” says Rhonda Harper, CEO of Penrose Senior Care Auditors. “Our organizations share a commitment in truly improving the lives of seniors and a goal of keeping them in independent as long as possible. Our team conducts observational audits on seniors and their living conditions while The Caregiver Partnership provides home health care products, services and information that helps ensure a positive audit.”

As part of the agreement, customers of The Caregiver Partnership are invited to receive a discount on Penrose Senior Care Auditors service that ensures, whether in a private home or long-term senior care community, your senior’s:
● place is clean and clutter-free
● caretakers are doing the jobs you’ve hired them to do
● appliances and technologies are in working order
● home and contents are well maintained
● pantry and closets have the supplies and items they need
● body and mood appear free from signs of physical abuse and neglect

“Entering into a partnership with a trusted and innovative company like Penrose Senior Care Auditors is consistent with our mission,” adds Lyn Wilson, Founder of The CareGiver Partnership. “This partnership is about providing our customers with the added value of their services to further ensure their health and safety.”

Both companies will work closely together in the coming months to introduce Penrose Senior Care Auditors service to family caregivers and their loved ones nationally.

About The Caregiver Partnership
The CareGiver Partnership helps caregivers and their loved ones with answers to their caregiving questions, including information about home health care products and supplies, from our Wisconsin-based team of Product Specialists who are all current or former caregivers. The company’s Web site provides the largest online library of resources on subjects most important to caregivers — from arthritis to assisted living, and Parkinson’s to prostate cancer — as well as access to more than 3,000 home care products for incontinence, skin care, mobility, home safety and daily living aids. The CareGiver Partnership was founded in 2004 by Lynn Wilson of Neenah, WI.

Hundreds of thousands of fans are expected at Indianapolis Motor Speedway over the weekend. The 15-second ad will generate exposure by being shown 144 times on the Jumbotron – four times every hour May 23-25, 2014.

“Baby boomers worry about their aging parents and whether they are doing okay. And, if they’ve hired caretakers or support, they wonder if their loved-one is receiving the services they’re paying for,” says Rhonda Harper, CEO, Penrose Senior Care Auditors. “Our auditors serve clients nationwide. They visit the senior and conduct a 150-point audit on their handheld, which is uploaded to our online report center. Clients can then log-in and see how their loved one is doing. Affordable, this is a service open to all.”

Penrose Senior Care Auditors’ campaign features statistics that Baby Boomers are most concerned about regarding their aging loved-ones. First, half of all caregivers admit to abusing patients in their care. And, second, one-third of all senior care facilities have been cited for abuse violations.

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!”

Of the 40 million seniors over the age of 65, the most vulnerable is the fastest growing segment age 85 or older. “Over the coming years taking care of our seniors is only going to become more challenging,” claims Rhonda Harper, CEO. “The number of seniors over age 85 is expected to increase four-fold over the next few decades.”

The number of Americans 65 years and older is projected to reach 73 million in 2030, up 33 million verses 2010. Serving this growing population is estimated to require five million direct-care workers by 2020, up 48% from 2010. Direct-care shortage levels are predicted to increase due to low compensation and high turnover.

Working Americans are particularly impacted. Seventeen percent of the workforce is responsible for aging seniors. Among these workers, 70% claim work-related stress and 40% will quit or reduce their work hours. “Among those who continue to work, studies show workplace productivity will be reduced by nearly 20%,” continues Harper.

“I founded Penrose Senior Care Auditors due to my personal experience,” says Harper who took over responsibility for her aging father in 2013. “I learned that senior care facilities often didn’t provide the level of care I expected, or that my dad deserved. I wanted to help others in the same situation.”

Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140304/DA76553