Tiffany Phelan has been in the senior care industry for 19 years.
After seeing how challenging it was for her grandparents to deal with her grandfather’s battle with Huntington’s Disease – her grandmother was his primary caregiver – she realized she could help and was ready to make a difference in people’s lives.
Tiffany’s husband, Shaun, entered the senior care industry 15 years ago after watching his mother care for his grandfather for the last couple of years of his life.
Shaun lived in Arizona while his family lived in Buffalo, N.Y., where he grew up before moving to Phoenix 27 years ago.
“When I saw the opportunity to engage with seniors here in Arizona and increase their quality of life, I left my career in commercial printing to do something meaningful for the community,” Shaun said.
Enter Senior Helpers Scottsdale caregiving facility, which the Phelans have owned and operated for 15 years.
Senior Helpers is a national organization that offers in-home senior services to “help the senior population age gracefully and with dignity in the comfort of their own homes.”
Shaun and Tiffany met through Senior Helpers – they both owned separate franchises (Tiffany’s in California); after they met and dated, Tiffany moved to Arizona and they were married.
Their connection to the senior living facility also helped them to open their latest venture, the Senior Helpers Center of Excellence in Caregiving training center.
This facility is open to professional caregivers, family caregivers, and members of the community who assist the elderly.
Classes and training sessions will focus on hospice care, autonomy in caregiving, engaging in meaningful activities, safety in the home and quality of life.
The goal of this facility is to elevate the level of care provided to the elderly in Scottsdale and around the Valley. This is the third location to open, with the others in Baltimore and Chicago.
The center is located at 9832 N. Hayden Road, at the corner of Hayden and Mountain View, behind Mountain View Presbyterian Church.
“With almost two decades of experience providing care to seniors, we know that each family has a learning curve when their loved ones begin to need assistance,” Tiffany said.
“We envision the Center for Excellence in Caregiving as the link to ensure everyone who wants to become better at caring for seniors, personally or professionally, is supported along their journey.”
With a unique curriculum, each class is 90 minutes long, with at least 60 minutes of hands-on learning. Caregivers receive a certificate of completion for all classes.
The Phelans have a personal connection to their business, as Tiffany’s mother is disabled and currently living with her daughter and husband.
“My mother receives care four hours per day, five days per week, and we provide care during the other hours of the day,” Shaun said. Tiffany’s father also lives down the street from the pair, and he receives care three days per week.
This is another reason why the Phelans felt that a new training facility could be beneficial – not only for them but for all caregivers in the Valley.
“My entire Senior Helpers team loves helping people and making a difference in people’s lives. We see this as a great opportunity to do just that, as well as to provide top quality training experiences that allow us all to continue to learn and grow,” Tiffany said.
In the future, the pair plan on adding more classes to the new facility. For more information, visit seniorhelpers.com.
