Home Care Today’s Inaugural Show
Guests
Ben Silverman, Owner
Starfish Care Homes
6411 E. Santa Elena (bus. office – 6 Tucson Locations)
Tucson, AZ 85715
520-609-4693
ben@starfishcarehomes.com
Raised in Pittsburgh, PA. Bachelor’s and Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from M.I.T. MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Worked in manufacturing at General Electric, at a startup automotive supplier, as an EVP for diamond tooling manufacturer, and ran Consumer Products Division at Rain Bird in Tucson. Moved to Tucson for Rain Bird in 2005. Left Rain Bird and started Starfish Care Homes with wife, Kris, a Nurse Practitioner in 2012. Live in Tucson Country Club since we moved here in 2005. Three kids, Bernie 23, a Biomedical Engineer at Brainlab in San Diego, Max 21, in Environmental Engineering and Political Science at ASU, and Sophie, 17, at CFHS.
About your business:
Kris and Ben started Starfish Care Homes in 2012. After looking at possible acquisitions, we decided we could do better by starting from scratch ourselves. We bought a beautiful home, renovated it for Assisted Living, and opened it for business in September of 2012. Over the years, we’ve bought, renovated, and opened more homes. Recently, we added a community of 8 homes in Northwest Tucson. We’ve grown Starfish from one home with no employees to 14 homes across 6 locations, employing over 70 people and caring for over 100 residents.
At Starfish, we work to do a few things very well. Most importantly, we hire and keep nice, professional Managers and Caregivers. Good people want to work in an organization that upholds high standards, particularly when caring for people. We provide our staff with tools, resources, and a positive environment to do their jobs well. Their jobs are difficult, so all the support we provide really matters. Additionally, we provide a clean, attractive home for residents to live and staff to work. We make home-cooked food with copious fresh fruit, vegetables and deserts. The last important input is communication. We need to be on the same page with families and resident representatives about subtle changes in condition, so together we make decisions and take actions to keep our residents in the best possible condition.
Tom Pothoff and Danny Klein, Founders/Partners/Owners
Serenity Senior Services LLC
1960 N. Bonanza Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85749
(520)907-1991 (MAIN) (520)991-0151 (Danny’s Cell)
info@serenityss.com
www.serenityss.com OR www.serenityseniorservices.com
Danny Klein founded Serenity Senior Services partnered with Tom Pothoff just over 5 years ago. Prior to starting the company, Danny worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative for 15 years, specializing in the areas of neurology and psychiatry. During this time, he also volunteered his time in various nursing homes throughout Southern Arizona, assisting patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Danny leveraged this experience in helping to place his late grandfather, diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer’s disease, into an assisted living facility. Helping families transition parents/grandparents into assisted living is something he is very passionate about. From a young age, Danny has taken a keen interest in ensuring that seniors are comfortable and well cared for.
Born in Chicago, Danny has lived in Tucson for 30 years and is a graduate of Catalina Foothills High School and Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in Bloomington, Indiana.
About the Business
Serenity Senior Services is a locally owned company that assists families and their aging loved ones find placement throughout Southern Arizona. Danny Klein and Tom Pothoff started Serenity Senior Services 5 years ago and have assisted over 800 families with their long-term care needs. We have a selective vetting criterion for the senior living communities and adult care homes in which we place. Since we started our business, we have vetted over 300 senior living options in Southern Arizona and we work with only 45-50 places. Our motto is that we are “Doctor Recommended, Family-Approved” as we partner with over 180 local primary care/geriatric physicians to help their patients find the right senior living option. Serenity Senior Services offers placement options for Independent Living, Assisted Living, or Memory Care.
Our placement services are completely free to you, our clients, as we get paid by the selected senior living community. If our clients choose a place that we recommend, we get a referral fee from the selected community. However, we do need to be the first to introduce a client to the community in order for us to get compensated. In addition to being local placement experts, we can also recommend agencies that provide in-home caregiving. We realize that some families are not ready to place their loved ones into Assisted Living or Memory Care and we have vetted private duty caregiving agencies throughout Southern Arizona. Our goal is to provide families with as much information as possible so that they can make an informed decision.
Our placement model is unique in that we do a full initial intake and, if necessary, get permission (HIPPA clearance) from families to validate care needs with PCPs and physician specialists. Furthermore, we have a documented 7-page vetting checklist where we consistently inspect the communities in which we place. This “Community Review Checklist” was created and approved with the help of over 30 local physicians who refer to us. Lastly, we constantly check the most recent Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) surveys (inspections) on all the communities where we do placements. We are extremely transparent with our clients and even post a link to the ADHS survey website on our own Serenity Senior Services website: www.serenityss.com 
Cindy L. Sheller
Cindy L. Sheller is a recognized expert in navigating the healthcare system and has more than 27 years’ experience. In 2015 she left the Healthcare Corporate world to become an entrepreneur and bring Caring Senior Service to the Tucson and Southern Arizona communities. She is married to Lee Sheller & has two children Nick Pazarentzos 34, Zachary who is 13 years old. One Grandbaby Audrey 15 months. We live on 4 acres of land in Tucson and have two dogs, 3 desert tortoises, 9 chickens and an array of fish, and one Axolotl.
Cindy’s Tucson office is ranked among the top Caring Senior Service Agencies in the nation. Cindy is the recipient of the coveted Hedgehog Award for 2021. She was featured as the first Women Icon of 2021 in REfashioned Magazine. She is a Platinum member of EWomen Network as well as a BNI Copper Connections member.
Caring Senior Service is a non-medical home health care agency serving the Tucson and surrounding area communities. Caring Senior Service uses the GreatCare® method which ensures seniors receive the very best senior home care. As the owner of Caring Senior Service, it is Cindy’s goal to give seniors the control needed to live safely at home and to provide their families peace of mind. Cindy believes every senior should be able to remain Healthy. Happy. Home.
Caring Senior Service works with community partners to ensure the health and safety of their clients. There are times when home care is no longer an option, and her team facilitates the changes needed to keep her clients safe. She and her team, work hard to provide GreatCare® to every senior they serve. Senior care is Cindy’s passion, more than a career it’s a heart-centered calling. She is an active leader in the business and healthcare community as well as an advocate and volunteer supporting adults who wish to age in place.
Cindy’s latest heart project is her new Podcast HOME CARE TODAY. The mission of the show is to share information and knowledge on how to navigate the home health care industry. The desire to help Seniors and their families obtain the tools they need to plan before a crisis. To learn more about Caring Senior Service visit: www.caringseniorservice.com/tucson
