Leigh Hilton is an attorney and Accredited Estate Planner and has helped over 6,000 families protect the assets that they leave to loved ones from divorce, creditors, lawsuits and predators. She is the author of the books “Who Gets Your Stuff When You Die”, “You’re Not Alone: Living with Alzheimer’s Disease” and “You’re Not Alone: Living as an Alzheimer’s Caregiver."
Senior Placement Services
No Service Fees
Find Senior Living and Care Options
Making the right care decision for your loved one can be a daunting task filled with stress, tension and pressure. There are so many assisted living, memory care, nursing, and other care options available in Fairfield County, Connecticut and Westchester County, New York - the terminology is often unfamiliar. Senior Care Authority® will streamline the process to make it easier for you to make an informed decision.
Our national team of Senior Care Advisors spends countless hours inspecting locations, from mid-to-larger size communities as well as smaller, residential care homes, meeting the staff and reviewing state reports to advise you of any citations that may have been issued against a particular location.
A Senior Care Advisor will meet personally with you to discuss your options, accompany you on visits to locations and ensure that all your questions are answered. The hallmark of our service commitment is that we are by your side every step of the way. We would be happy to put you in contact with an advisor in your area who will provide you with expert advice on any of the assisted living locations listed in our directory of locations.
Elder Care Consulting
Service Fees May Apply
Get individualized assistance with your loved one
Sometimes our families just need more help with challenging transitions and decision-making. This may include facilitating essential conversations between family members, home care agency or caregiver selection, connections to valuable resources or regular visitations with a loved one providing "peace of mind" to family members when they are unable to visit themselves.
It can be comforting to have someone partner with you who is outside the emotional landscape of the family, doing research, talking to providers, organizing paperwork, or finding those "needle in a haystack" resources. A go-to person you can turn to when things get overwhelming. Whatever the need, we can customize our services for your family or provide you with vetted referral sources.
Harold & Kyle Spitzfaden
Harold Spitzfaden and his son Kyle are co-owners of Senior Care Authority in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and Westchester County, New York. Both of them come from diverse backgrounds and make an incredible team.
Harold is an attorney and CPA with extensive business experience and education. He has held executive leadership positions at both large public and private companies. As a result, Harold has worked extensively with people in these organizations and developed excellent listening skills to properly understand the underlying issues of a problem in order to determine the most effective solution. It is this background that has provided Harold the expertise to assist seniors and their families address the many challenges they face involving their future life choices.
Harold’s personal family experience was the genesis of wanting to assist seniors to deal with the many issues they face in later life. His father was afflicted with Parkinson's disease. His family was constantly faced with determining the best way to address the issues he was experiencing. This created significant stress for his family for many years. In addition, caring for his mother in the later part of her life was also very challenging. There was a constant concern as to what was the most appropriate ongoing care and was she safe. The fact no one in his family lived nearby increased the challenges of caring for his parents. Having a caring experienced advisor would have been invaluable in addressing the health needs of his parents and providing elder care consulting, as needed. As a result of these experiences, he knew he would eventually want to provide service to the elderly and that it would be extremely rewarding to know he could make a difference in the life of an individual and his or her family.
It is critical to have strong relationships with assisted living communities, residential care homes, hospitals, Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia communities and skilled nursing homes.
He chose Senior Care Authority, which is a nationwide organization, due to the truly caring attitude of all the people connected with the organization. This was the most important factor in his decision. In addition, the training, systems, teamwork, and sharing of ideas among owners provide the basis for a “best in class” organization now and for the future.
With a strong background that transcends several industries and a passion for providing aid to the community, Kyle is a valuable asset. Kyle holds a B.A. from Colgate University where he graduated with a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. He has held multiple leadership roles in emergency medicine, a field in which he has been active for over fifteen years. In addition, Kyle is an educator in the community teaching classes to the public in CPR, First Aid and the new initiative called Stop the Bleed.
Kyle's knowledge of the healthcare field and desire for helping others makes him a strong resource for understanding the needs of our seniors and their families. Helping you discover the right senior living community for you or your loved one, can be instrumental in that endeavor.
With visits to communities of all sizes, meeting with staff, and monitoring state reports for citations against any given location, Kyle and Harold will be by your side so you can make the informed decision that you need to, where the family is always first.
See what our families are saying
Bill Diles is an audiologist and 4th generation hearing care professional. Bill and his wife Christine, who is also an audiologist, own 5 clinics in Sonoma County California. Besides running the local clinics, Bill consults with private practices around the country representing the family business known as Pivot Hearing. Bill is often a guest speaker at regional and national meetings. His passion is bringing optimal hearing solutions to those who suffer from hearing loss.
Attorney Daniel J. Umlauf is a noted speaker on estate planning. Born in Texas, he attended Texas A&M University before meeting his wife in Switzerland and following her back to North Carolina. He was introduced to estate planning and elder law in law school at Wake Forest University when he wrote a grant to help small farmers in North Carolina who were losing family farms in part due to poor estate planning. He began his own firm, Salem Law, in 2010, and practices exclusively in the areas of estate planning, probate, guardianship, and elder law. Daniel serves as a Deacon at Salem Presbyterian Church, and is the Vice President and President-Elect of the Stratford Rotary Club.
Cate Steane leads an organization by the name of Make It Happen Preparedness Services. She enables businesses to outsource emergency preparedness planning & training. Cate spent 12 years practicing law, representing the City of Oakland Hills Fire litigation, training in Community Emergency Response Teams, Wilderness First Aid, & project management. She spent over 20 years leadership in risk management, facilities and human resources responding to the Loma Prieta Earthquake, Oakland Hills and Wine Country Fires.
Keep some of these tips in your mind to assist those limbs and keeping the blood flowing!
Being a family caregiver is no small feat. Balancing your own needs with those of the person for whom you are providing care is tricky. Here are some ideas for coping and giving yourself a much-needed boost:
Top 10 signs your loved ones may need senior care
-
Increased falls or risk of falls
-
Wandering from home
-
Wearing the same clothes multiple days
-
Frequently forgetting to take medications
-
An unsafe/unclean home
environment -
Difficulty with one or more activites of daily living such as bathing, preparing meals, toileting.
-
Need for nighttime supervision that cannot be met by in-home caregiver.
-
Repeating questions and multiple phone calls with the same questions.
-
Not eating or drinking fluids regularly
-
Unsafe behavior (leaving the stove on, exterior doors opened)
We Do The Homework For You
Our process is aimed at relieving you of the stress and confusion in finding the right care needs.
-
Assessment
In our initial conversation, we will seek to get a comprehensive understanding of your elder care needs, answer your questions and set up a time to meet with you.
-
Consultation
We meet with you personally and present the senior living alternatives that provide the safety, care, and comfort you expect and that meet your location and affordability requirements.
-
Selection
After identifying the providers that will meet your needs, we schedule tours and accompany you to each community. Once your selection is made, we can assist with the paperwork and arrangements for moving.
-
Ongoing Support
We will follow up with you to ensure that the location chosen is meeting the care, comfort, and safety needs of your loved one. We are always available to answer any questions you might have free of charge.