About Laura

My Story

I have worked in health care as a Registered Nurse for over 20 years with experience in critical care, cardiac, hospice, emergency room, wound care, and psychiatric. During that time I have seen our health care system change dramatically. Practitioners are tasked to do more with less, and patient care, especially among the elderly, has suffered as a result. Providers often don’t have the time to provide the needed guidance and education that is required to successfully manage chronic health conditions and new diagnoses. Aging individuals and their families are often overwhelmed by the complexity of their care and diagnoses. Also, aging individuals often have cognitive impairment that adversely affects their ability to effectively self-manage care.

I personally experienced this when my father needed care starting in 2017. He was having memory issues and not consistently following up with his health care needs. I became closely involved in managing his care and met with several specialists before getting an appropriate explanation for his progressing memory loss.

In 2018, my father’s health sharply declined. He was experiencing frequent falls, maintained poor nutrition, and had difficulty remembering to take his medications. He still insisted on living alone in his own home, so I hired house cleaners and two care companions to look after his home and hygiene, which allowed me to focus on his chronic and advancing health conditions. Also, interacting with these women provided my father with immense joy and social interaction. By far the biggest benefit in hiring these care companions was that it allowed me precious moments to be my father’s daughter instead of simply his caregiver.

Before my father’s passing in December 2021, his memory had lapsed to the point that I had to obtain the legal recourse necessary to make all of his decisions. I had discussed my father’s long-term wishes prior to his memory declining and was able to ultimately honor them. Per his wishes, I asked the hospital to place my father in hospice, and I was able to bring him home with me. I had the honor of being my dad’s hospice nurse for 3 days until he succumbed to his illnesses and passed away peacefully and with dignity on New Year’s Eve, 2021.

My personal story has been the driving force for pursuing eldercare consulting and management. I hope that every individual, such as my father, can have an advocate to assist with and manage their health care needs.

In terms of my personal life, I am passionate about being of service and living a life with purpose. I have volunteered for multiple medical missions throughout the years in Haiti and Guatemala. I used to host an Alzheimer’s / dementia support group, and I am on the Board of Directors for “Rescue Heart Foundation”, a non-profit organization that provides Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) to communities in need. I am a big animal lover, love to read, play sand volleyball, dance, travel, and ride my bike.