Aiming to provide service and compassion: Senior Helpers opens Round Rock facility

From the Round Rock Leader:



The owner of the Round Rock Senior Helpers location said the services he and his wife provide will become even more invaluable as the over 65 population doubles by 2030.

Frank and Moire Hayes opened the current location of Senior Helpers, off Hesters Crossing, in August.

Senior Helpers offers companion and personal care. Companion care includes having people to help seniors run errands, cook, shop and complete household chores such as laundry. Personal care includes helping lift a senior out of bed and into a wheelchair, bathing and dispensing medication. Senior Helpers offers hourly, 24/7 and live-in care.

"Our No. 1 goal is to provide the best care for the senior and to figure out how all the partners can work together," Moire Hayes said. "We want to improve the quality of life of our seniors and their families."


Senior Helpers also offers a Peace of Mind visit specifically for primary caregivers who might be traveling overnight for work or who might be coming home late from work. Senior Helpers representatives provide such services as ensuring correct medication is being taken, serving dinner and just checking in at night or in the morning, Moira Hayes said.

For primary caregivers and seniors who are interested in learning more about the services Senior Helpers provides, the company offers a complimentary consultation. Clients meet with decision makers involved and are matched with health care professionals, based on the personalities of both the client and the health care worker.

"You feel like a counselor when you are a part of this process because you want to lead the family to make the right decision for them," Frank Hayes said.

The price range for services at Senior Helpers is between $17 and $20 an hour. If longer care hours are needed, the hourly service rate decreases, Frank Hayes said.

Senior Helpers also partners with assisted living facilities, independent living facilities and advocacy groups such as Austin Groups for the Elderly in the Central Texas area. The Round Rock office of Senior Helpers covers Williamson, Travis, Bell and Burnet counties. Senior Helpers is sponsoring the Masquerade Ball Dec. 4 at Baca Senior Center in downtown Round Rock.

During the holiday season, Senior Helpers offers Holiday Helpers for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. While family members spend time preparing a Thanksgiving meal, Senior Helpers representatives spend time with the client. For Christmas, Senior Helpers employees can help seniors send Christmas cards and wrap presents.

"Holiday Helpers makes a good gift for a primary care giver," Frank Hayes said.

Senior Helpers hires certified nursing assistants and other health care workers who have experience aiding seniors and their families in handling the different stages of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. They also have a registered nurse on staff to look at client's vital signs.

The owners chose to be a part of the Senior Helpers franchise because they both have served as primary caregivers for their grandparents and for Moire's aunt and uncle in the past.

"At that point, we decided this was and is an invaluable business," Frank Hayes said.

They and other Senior Helpers franchise owners complete background checks on staff members they hire through Intelius, a company that looks at records from seven years back, and completes ongoing background checks.

"This gives family members peace of mind when they are seeking this information," Frank Hayes said.

Nursing assistants are also required to take classes quarterly to keep updated on in-home senior care trends. Senior Helpers also helps CNAs stay in the know about in-home senior care trends through an in-house newsletter in which primary caregivers and CNAs share stories how to best handle situations, Moire Hayes said.

Although Senior Helpers is a franchise, each franchise is locally owned and operated.

For more information on Senior Helpers in Round Rock, visit seniorhelpers.com or contact Frank at fhayes@seniorhelpers.com or mhayes@seniorhelpers.com.