 Jane Downing – Owner & Operations Manager Jane grew up in a family where caregiving for family and friends in the local community was part of everyday life. It is this model of caregiving that Jane is dedicated to creating and sustaining with her staff as they work with families in Northeastern Connecticut. Jane is a hands-on member of the Home Instead Senior Care team, meeting with families to discuss their needs, visiting with clients to assure their satisfaction with services, assisting with staff coordination, processing payroll and invoicing, and, more generally, managing all aspects of our day-to-day efforts. Jane has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Maryland-College Park. She worked in the field of education for over 10 years before opening the Northeastern Connecticut office of Home Instead Senior Care. When not working, Jane enjoys time with her family, running (including marathons), and playing the piano. Jane is a member of the National Private Duty Association and is in the process of becoming a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)®.   Julie Nichols - Staffing Coordinator Julie joined Home Instead Senior Care in January 2012 as a CAREGiver. Julie offered her compassion, sense of humor and assistance to several of our clients before accepting the position of Staff Coordinator for our office. Though Julie greatly enjoyed working one-on-one with clients, she knew that serving as the Staff Coordinator would allow her to combine her extensive professional experience and success in an office environment with her love of helping others. Since late April 2012, Julie has wholeheartedly embraced the challenge of learning the specific requests, needs and interests of each client in order to make great matches with our skilled and dedicated CAREGivers. Julie brings over 25 years of customer service knowledge along with her ability to meet deadlines and resolve client needs in a timely fashion. Prior to Home Instead Senior Care, Julie worked as a Customer Service Manager for a multi-location distributor. When not working, Julie enjoys meeting new people, writing poetry, listening to music, exploring new places, visiting museums and spending time with friends and family.  Lisa Sanders - Recruitment and Retention Coordinator Lisa joined the Home Instead Senior Care team in October 2011. She brings with her over 15 years of management and administrative experience. For five of those years she managed the office and staff of a small, family owned home care agency. As the Recruitment and Retention Coordinator, Lisa contributes to providing the highest level of service to our clients through careful recruitment, selection, and retention of qualified CAREGivers. Lisa has a personal connection to the commitment and dedication that our CAREGivers provide to our clients. Lisa watched her mother devote her entire life to championing and caring for the elderly and Lisa is equally devoted to finding the best of the best in care for our clients. She has a B.S. in Organizational Psychology from Eastern Connecticut State University and is currently pursuing her M.S. in Organizational Psychology at the University of Hartford. She is married with three beautiful children and their home is filled with both furry and feathered friends!  Emily Shay - Client Care Coordinator Emily joined Home Instead Senior Care in October 2011 as a Recruitment and Retention Coordinator. Prior to this position, Emily worked in the community mental health field as a counselor and case manager in Philadelphia. Through this work, and personal experience caring for family, Emily realized the tremendous need for support for those who find themselves in caregiving roles. With this perspective, she approached her work as a Recruitment and Retention Coordinator. However, it didn’t take long for us to realize that Emily’s knowledge, skills and experiences readily positioned her for the Client Care Coordinator position in our office. Emily is dedicated to supporting our families and clients through ongoing quality care visits and follow-up conversations with our CAREGiver staff. Emily helps to ensure that our clients’ expectations are surpassed, in terms of not only the sense of fit with the CAREGivers we match with our clients but also the quality of care and assistance provided by our staff. Emily is equally dedicated to maintaining open and supportive communication with our CAREGivers. Emily finds joy in helping others and sees every day as an opportunity to lend a hand. Emily has a B.A. degree in psychology. She enjoys hiking in nature, photography, dancing, making jewelry, getting together with friends, meeting new people, adventures (even in her own backyard) and traveling. Emily also is a certified Reiki II practitioner and Pilates mat instructor.  Kirsten Biggs – Service Coordinator Kirsten is dedicated to getting to know the specific requests, needs and interests of each client in order to make great matches with the skilled and dedicated CAREGivers who are part of our team. She joined the Home Instead Senior Care team in June 2010, serving in the role as our Staff Coordinator. Recently Kirsten was promoted to be the Service Coordinator and is anxiously awaiting the addition of a Staff Coordinator to our team. As the Service Coordinator, Kirsten manages the care schedules for our clients and will work hand-in-hand with the new Staff Coordinator when hired. When clients or family members call with last minute requests for help, Kirsten is able to respond immediately by putting a care team in place. In addition, Kirsten maintains ongoing communication with our CAREGivers about how things are going with the clients they assist. Prior to joining Home Instead Senior Care, Kirsten was a District Manager of a Specialty Service Merchandising company. She was responsible for providing services to clients in three states. Kirsten has a keen sense for details and continues to brings her expertise in team management, meeting deadlines and getting the job done to strict specifications to her day-to-day work as our Service Coordinator. Kirsten attended Manchester Community College for her Associates Degree in Social Services, and Three Rivers Community College for a Micro Computers Certificate. When she’s not working Kirsten enjoys music, reading, shopping, and spending time with her family, friends and animals.  Richard Carter - Recruitment and Retention Assistant Richard joined the Home Instead Senior Care team in August 2011. Initially, Rich fulfilled the role of our Weekend On-Call Staff Coordinator. However, within weeks he transitioned into a part-time Assistant Staff Coordinator who handled not only the after-hours, on-call responsibilities but also assists in the day-to-day responsibilities of making sure our families have the quality care they need when they need it. More recently, Rich has transitioned once again, now serving as our Recruitment and Retention Assistant. In this role, Rich provides day-to-day support for a variety of activities integral to the process of recruiting and retaining the highest quality CAREGivers possible. In addition, he continues to handle the after-hours, on-call staff coordination activities, as well as other needed administrative tasks for the day-to-day operation of our office. Prior to working for Home Instead Senior Care, Richard worked with children and adults with developmental and mental disorders. In addition to his work with Home Instead Senior Care, Richard is attending Manchester Community College, pursuing an Associate’s Degree in Communications. When not working, Richard enjoys being outdoors, photography, and spending time with his family. |
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