Always Best Senior Services: Jennifer Mancuso's Commitment to Exceptional In-Home Care

What sets apart a good senior care service from a truly exceptional one? On this episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast, I sit down with Jennifer Mancuso, the inspiring owner of Always Best Senior Services in Birmingham, who shares her journey and the driving forces behind her company's outstanding reputation. Celebrating a decade of providing in-home care, Jennifer highlights the unique approach of Always Best Care, including their exclusive hiring of certified nurse aides and rigorous supervisory visits by registered nurses. You'll learn how these standards not only ensure the highest quality of care but also offer peace of mind to families entrusting their loved ones to Jennifer's team.

Jennifer also opens up about her personal motivations for starting Always Best Care, from wanting to balance her professional life with her family needs to recognizing the booming growth in the senior care industry. She addresses common misconceptions, stressing the critical difference professional, experienced caregivers make in the quality of care. From coordinating hospice services and recommending trusted professionals to even planning funerals, Jennifer's team goes the extra mile to keep their clients safe and comfortable. Tune in for an insightful conversation that will change how you think about senior care services and what it means to truly care. #GNPNorthport #AlwaysBestHomeCare #BirminghamHomeCare #HooverHomeCare #HomeCare #homehealthcare #birminghamseniorcare #homecare #healthcare #caregiver #eldercare #elderlycare #caregiving #health #homehealth #caregivers #seniorliving #assistedliving #elderly #dementia #care #alzheimers #aging #love #seniors #caregiversupport #family #nurse #homehealthagency #homehealthaide #homehealthcareproviders #dementiacare #inhomecare #homecareservices 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Patricia Blondheim.

Speaker 2: 0:14

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm your host, patricia Blondheim, and today we have Good Neighbor Jennifer Mancuso, and Jennifer is the owner of Always Best Senior Services in Birmingham. Jennifer, how are you today?

Speaker 3: 0:29

I'm doing great, Patricia. How about you? I'm doing great.

Speaker 2: 0:33

Tell us about Always Best Care.

Speaker 3: 0:37

All right. Always Best Care is an in-home care services company. We've been in business for 10 years just had our 10th year anniversary and in these 10 years that we have been providing services, we have provided more than 1 million hours of care to Birmingham seniors and to disabled individuals. We provide services such as transportation, incontinence care, bathing, dressing, mobility assistance, medication reminders, meal preparation, that type of thing. There are many, many companies that do this, but we feel like we're really the best in Birmingham and some of the differentiating qualities of our company are that we provide really what we consider to be truly excellent care services. We have a staff of seven people, including two registered nurses, who conduct regular in-home supervisory visits to ensure that the client's care plan is being followed and that the client is safe and happy in their home. Clients are personally introduced to every single new caregiver that comes into the home and they're introduced by a supervisor. And then we also have a staff of about 10 people who work in the office and do things like accounting of about 10 people who work in the office and do things like accounting.

Speaker 3: 2:14

Always Best Care is the only home care company in the state of Alabama that exclusively assigns certified nurse aides to hands-on care cases. All of our employees who work with our clients have to have at least one year's experience in a professional healthcare setting. So we don't hire people from, say, target or TJ Maxx that might have just worked with their grandmother. We hire people who have professional work experience and work places like UAB or Brookdale or Grandview Medical Center. All of our folks must pass extensive background and motor vehicle checks. They must have a clear TB test and every year they must complete 12 hours of health care training.

Speaker 3: 3:01

Because we have so many people on staff we have about 250 people right now we can staff a case very quickly and that sometimes comes up. If a, if a patient is discharging from a hospital and they need to go home immediately, we can normally staff that case within just a few hours and send a caregiver either to the hospital to pick up the client, bring them home or meet them in the home and be prepared to immediately provide services. And then we do all. Even though we are a caregiving service we provide.

Speaker 3: 3:43

If we don't provide a service, we try to find another resource in the community that can like. For example, we recommend hospice companies, we recommend elder elder attorneys, trust officers, movers, yard people. We've found podiatrists that will go into the home and help with an elderly person, barbers, housekeepers, hairdressers, you name it. If someone has a need in the home and they can't, um you know, find a resource to supply that need, then then we will help them with it. We have even helped to plan a few funerals. So we really try to do whatever we can to help that individual be safe and happy in their home jennifer, tell our listeners about your journey.

Speaker 2: 4:36

How did you, how did you get into your business?

Speaker 3: 4:40

um, I have been in healthcare for many, many years and I started this company over 10 years ago because I was traveling a lot with my job. I had school-age children and I was really interested in getting off the road. But I wanted to stay in health care and I also wanted to be more involved with my own community. From a business perspective, I knew that, with more than 10,000 people turning 65 every day in the United States, I knew that there was a very large amount of growth in this area and that the industry was booming. So all those things were drivers to me and I've also always loved working with seniors. So all those things came together and I'm really glad that I made this decision.

Speaker 2: 5:40

Jennifer, can you tell us about any misconceptions people have about senior care services?

Speaker 3: 5:46

Well, a lot of people arrange for private individuals to provide care for their loved ones, and there are some really wonderful private caregivers who do an outstanding job an outstanding job. But I always caution families to make sure to check references, to do a complete background check, to get the caregivers to give their annual TB tests. Ask your caregiver if they complete 12 hours of healthcare training. Another thing that people should do is talk to an accountant about taking the correct deductions from the caregiver's pay. It's also important to check your homeowner's insurance, because if a caregiver is injured on the job and this actually happened here where we had three employees recently who hurt themselves moving someone or one person fell down the steps and our workman's comp insurance covers all those medical expenses in a situation where you have a private caregiver, your homeowner's insurance is going to have to cover those kind of costs. So there are a lot of considerations that people should think about before they hire a private caregiver.

Speaker 2: 7:07

So those are the benefits of hiring an agency. Is that you don't, in a time when probably you as the caregiver or you as the responsible adult, you're already overextended, to have to extend yourself into all of those little details and they're not little details, those are big details is, um is almost more than you should expect out of yourself, isn't that true?

Speaker 3: 7:37

um, some people think that they can do it. It becomes difficult in a 24-7 case where you have a caregiver in the home you know all day long and sometimes in those situations someone has to call out. That means you've got to try to find a backup person. Scheduling can be really complicated. If you can't find a backup. You know you're really scrambling and maybe you've got to lose work to take care of your loved ones. So there's just a lot of consideration. Those are some reasons why people do opt to work with an agency and in this case of an agency if you have long-term care insurance. Many long-term care insurance companies require agencies, particularly agencies that are accredited, like ours, and that will provide the care with certified nurse aides.

Speaker 2: 8:39

Jennifer, this is all pretty overwhelming. Just to think about that you accomplish all of this and that you do this for all these people here in the city. You provided this. What a million hours of care. I know you're busy. What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3: 9:00

Well, first of all, I don't do all this. I have a very excellent team and, um, I have just a wonderful group of people that work with me who are very compassionate and caring, uh, and they know all our clients by night name. They know their family members, um, so it really does take a team, um, to do this type of thing. What do I do for fun? Just like everybody else, I'm playing pickleball now. It is a fun and social sport and I enjoy it, but while I'm enthusiastic, I am unfortunately a mediocre player, but it's a great fun sport.

Speaker 2: 9:44

What's the? What would you like our listeners to take away about? Always Best Senior Care Services.

Speaker 3: 9:51

Well, I think that the one thing that I'd like people to think about when they're considering considering Getting a caregiver for their loved one. I'd like them to think about the fact that we've been in business for 10 years. We have supplied over a million hours In this state. Believe it or not, there are no licensing requirements for home care companies. The bar to entry is very low. Bar to entry is very low, and so anyone who has a business license can open a home care company in Alabama.

Speaker 3: 10:30

Client satisfaction has always been really, really important to us, and we take concierge approach to working with our clients. So seven years ago we took the step of being accredited by the Accreditation Commission of Healthcare and then, a few years later, we became accredited by the National Association of Home Care, and we are proud to be the only company in the state of Alabama that's accredited by two different organizations. For a number of years we have been named as one of the top home care providers in the nation by Home Care Pulse. That's an industry-leading consulting company. I believe we're the only company in Birmingham to be recognized in this way. So I would just hope that people would consider Always Best Care. Like I said, there's a lot of options out there, but I think we have some really wonderful differentiators and we have a fantastic staff who are very devoted to all of our clients.

Speaker 2: 11:39

Jennifer, how can listeners learn more and contact you?

Speaker 3: 11:48

They can call our office in Birmingham. The number here is 205-874-9730. We're open 24 hours a day. This is a 24 hour a day business, and so you'll, if you call that number, you'll always get a live person. You can ask for me, you can ask for Debbie Perkins, who is our Director of Client Services. Our email address is jmancuso that's M-A-N-C-U-S-O at ABC-seniors with an S on the end dot com.

Speaker 2: 12:27

Great. I will link to that in the description below. Jennifer, thank you so much for coming by and sharing the excellent services you provide to our seniors and those in need with always best senior care services.

Speaker 3: 12:43

Oh, thank you, Patricia.

Speaker 1: 12:46

Thanks for having me. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpbirminghamcom. That's gnpbirminghamcom, or call 205-952-0148.