Kim Akers, owner of Mesa-based Amada Senior Care, explains when she made a career switch from public school educator to senior care provider owner, it was less of a business decision and more of a “following-one’s-faith” decision.
“I was called to educate and serve the community in a different way,” says the former eighth grade science teacher.
Eight years later, Kim and the Amada Senior Care team are quickly helping a vast, growing number of East Valley families find the help they need. They are also helping to demystify the long term care insurance plans that many have invested in, but sadly, do not understand. Even though the insurance companies oversold long term care policies back in the late 90s and early 2000s, still only about 15 percent of eligible seniors ever invested in long term care insurance. And those that have policies, often do not understand the rules and steps in activating those policies when everyday life activities become too difficult for them. Unfortunately, Kim explains, this lack of understanding can lead to people failing to respond correctly in meetings with workers tasked with determining eligibility.
In-home care is Amada’s bread and butter, meaning the majority of the business Amada sees is from providing caring, thoughtful in-home, non-medical care to seniors. Yet, it is the service Amada offers of navigating long term care policies and helping seniors and their families move seamlessly through the approval process that has become a major part of the service they provide. It is the strategy of forming relationships in the insurance industry that has bolstered Amada’s ability to offer this service successfully.
“I actually oversee the entire claim for long term care policies and I can do this because of the extraordinary trust that has been forged between Amada and the insurance companies.”
“We do everything by the book here, so our relationships within the industry are iron-clad from the years of trust established,” Kim explains, “If I have questions, all I need to do is give Transamerica or Genworth a call, and they take my call.”
Client excellence is the theme of Amada Senior Care. Kim points out that they are in the business of enriching lives. They listen and pay attention to the little things they hear from their clients.
“It’s our motto!” Kim beams.
Once, a client had an affinity for Porsche, the luxury car manufacturer. A fast call to a local Porsche dealer, and they were able to cross off a bucket list item of a ride in a Porsche. “Anything we can do to make someone’s day, we always try to do.”
“Whether we are working with our caregivers, or with our clients, we realize what we see from day to day, is one simple page of their well-lived lives. But their lives are so much more. They are not a page. They represent an entire, richly chaptered book. And we see it as our job to support that entire book’s story, not just today’s page,” says Kim.w
Neighbors Who Care is grateful for the support of Kim Akers and Amada Senior Care as the Premier Sponsor for our 2023 Aging Made Easier conference held in January. Because of this sponsorship, more than 230 guests and supporters learned tactics and strategies for aging easier and enjoying life longer.