Friday September 11, 2009

Raritan TWP- Anita’s Angels to support the Alzheimer’s Association fundraising efforts to help put an end to Alzheimer’s disease.

Anita’s Angels, Inc., a business that provides professional caregivers for senior citizens at home, announced that they will team up with the Alzheimer’s Association for the Memory Walk ‘09. This walk supports the mission to enhance care and support for individuals, their families and caregivers, and to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research.

The Alzheimer’s Association's mission is to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. More information is available online at www.alznj.org

Patricia R. Bay, Anita’s Angels Co-Owner commented, “ Today there are as many as 5.3 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease and millions more are affected by the disease as they care for loved ones who battle the devastating symptoms. This event provides us an excellent opportunity to help a great charity that touches the hearts of not only our company but our clients as well. We are thrilled to be a part of this event and give back to those members of our community”.

Anita’s Angels is in the process of developing workshops and support for those with Alzheimer’s and their families and loved ones who care for them.  Future workshops will be held at the Insight Financial Services Building, 151 Main Street, Flemington NJ 08822, which is where Anita’s Angels have their corporate offices.  For more information, please visit Anita’s Angels online at www.anitasangels.com

Thursday January 24, 2004
The Hunterdon County Democrat
By Timothy Bond
RARITAN TWP. — Patricia and Tom Bay have launched Anita's Angels, a business that provides professional caregivers for senior citizens at home.

According to Mrs. Bay, the business was a few years in the making. "Tom and I took care of his father, Thomas, and then his mother, Anita, who passed away last April. In doing so, we realized it was very important for us that they had a quality to their life. We wanted to keep them as active and as busy as possible until they could no longer be as involved. When we lost Tom's mom, the peace that we had was that she was still as involved as she could have been. She died with dignity and with peace."

Armed with this personal experience, they sought to start a business that would enable seniors to stay at home for as long as possible. Mr. Bay had worked in sales and marketing for athletic apparel and shoes. Mrs. Bay will remain a senior director for The Pampered Chef.

She oversees 160 consultants and does sales.

"It is important that we offer that to other seniors, whether they are healthy and their legs are just a little weak and they can't dress themselves so easily in the morning, or need help preparing meals or just can't drive to their weekly meetings."

The Bays, together with 13 trained and bonded staff, provide in-home meal planning and preparation, light housework, incidental transportation, running errands, medication reminders, safety monitoring while bathing, assistance with bill paying, information and referral services, and companionship for people who require non-medical assistance.

Mr. and Mrs. Bay also know the toll caring for a loved one can have on a family.  Mrs. Bay said, "There were times when we were in need of additional help, and on waiting lists for home health aides. We were working 24 hours a day between our family and taking care of his mom.  A little bit of a rest would have been healthier for us and our family. We want to offer that to anyone in the same situation.

All services and schedules are tailored to the needs of the client. Caregivers are available for daily, weekly, overnight, 24-hour or live-in assignments. The cost varies, said Mr. Bay. The business takes Medicaid and charges $16- $22 an hour.

Though they are not part of a franchise, Mr. Bay said, "We are part of a national health care organization called The Senior's Choice, and they have put us through intensive training in order to make sure we are well qualified to take care of seniors no matter what their particular situation may be. We passed on that knowledge and training to those we have hired."

 February 17, 2004
The Courier News

Angels to the rescue
Business helps families with care
By Paul Grzella
Staff-writer

Tom and Patty Bay believe senior citizens should be able to stay in his or her home, with their independence and dignity intact, for as long as possible.

From personal experience, the Bays know that can be difficult, particularly in finding affordable and reliable in-home care for ailing older people. They found out first-hand as they helped Tom's mother, Anita, through a two-year battle with cancer.

This experience led them to become members of a national senior-care organization - The Senior's Choice.  Based in California, the organization seeks to provide its members with a combination of ongoing training and consultation that will allow them to be caregivers for the nation's aging population.

With that combination of training, support and personal experience in hand, the Bays began their own business, Anita's Angels, last fall.  "We cared for my husband's mother for two years, and saw the need for exactly the type of services we offer," Patty Bay said.

Anita Bay died nine months ago. The care given to her by her son and daughter-in-law allowed her to divide her time between her own home and the Bay's Hunterdon County home. The experience also allowed the Bays to show their children — ages 10,15 and 16—how family members can support and care for one another during difficult times.

"Research shows that older people who remain at home live longer and happier lives than people of similar circumstances who are forced to leave their homes," Patty Bay said. "We want to help the elderly stay in their homes as well as give respite care to their adult children who look after them while they work and provide for their immediate families."

Mr. Bay said his mother was very involved with numerous social and religious organizations and was known for giving of her time to others. "She was very well known for her service work, and that has inspired us, as well," he said. This also inspired them to name their business after his mother.

The Bays bring decades of sales and marketing experience to this new venture. Mr. Bay worked in sporting goods sales (athletic apparel and footwear) for more than 23 years. During that time, he worked for other companies and also ran his own agency.  Mrs. Bay was a senior director for Pampered Chef, a direct sales business, and oversaw more than 160 consultants.

With their business background, the Bays had planned on doing sales and marketing support for Anita's Angels, but found that word-of-mouth and some newspaper coverage led to a continual stream of people in need of their services.

The Bays work with 13 trained and bonded staff members. Anita's Angels provides in-home meal planning and preparation, light housework, incidental transportation, running errands, medication reminders, safety monitoring while bathing, assistance with bill paying, information and referral services, and companionship for people or couples who require non-medical assistance.

The Hunterdon County-base business, serves all of Central Jersey.

Statistics show there will be an increasing need for such services. The 65-plus population will grow from one in eight Americans to one in six by 2020, and one in five by 2050, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures.

"Elder Care has become the top problem in our society today," Tom Bay said. "It replaces child care as the number one issue for the people in today's work force."

The Bays said that Anita's Angels caregivers are carefully selected individuals who are thoroughly screened, bonded and insured.

"We only hire A+ caregivers, and special attention is given to matching caregivers with clients to achieve the utmost compatibility," Tom Bay said.  "Our mission is to accelerate the pace of in-home care to the elderly allowing them to stay independent longer."