About Freedom Home Healthcare
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The Freedom Team
We are pleased to introduce you to our key team members who are dedicated to doing whatever it takes to ensure that each client experiences the Freeedom Difference: the highest quality, compassionate care consistently delivered with outstanding service. Our teams’ multidisciplinary experience and expertise has made us the leading provider of private duty home healthcare in New Jersey and paved the waved for expanded service offerings for the convenience of our clients. We look to working with you.
Barbra S. London, MSW, LCSW, LNHA – Senior Vice President
I had the unique experience of having hundreds of wonderful grandparents: I was raised on the laps of 300 kindly senior citizens who resided in the nursing home my mother helmed for over 30 years. It was those early experiences that motivated me to pursue a career in geriatrics and achieve my Master’s Degree in Social Work. I have been fortunate to have a career which enables me to make a difference in the lives of others. I proudly opened the first Adult Medical Day Center in the state of New Jersey. Beyond that, I have more than 30 years of geriatric experience, including roles as the Executive Director of a 300 bed long term care facility, the General Manager of a large assisted living community, and 6 years leading Freedom Home Healthcare: New Jersey’s largest private duty home health agency and geriatric care management firm. Having spoken to national audiences on a variety of geriatric topics, I can offer guidance, advocacy and expertise to our clients in all areas of geriatric care, including supportive home care services. Freedom Home Healthcare has provided the greatest challenges and the associated rewards of my career.
Janet Pincu, MSW, LCSW, CALA – Senior Director, Client Services
The last 30 years of my career have been devoted to serving geriatric clients and their families. I have always been passionate about working with seniors and initially gained experience in the assisted living industry. Prior to joining Freedom Home Healthcare, I became a Medicare certified Psychotherapist and Geriatric Care Manager. Regardless of my job or title, my goal has always been to improve the quality of life for seniors. As the Senior Director for Freedom’s client services team, I think of myself as a trainer and geriatric educator. I have supervised student interns who are pursuing a graduate degree in the field of social work and I hope they find geriatric care management to be as rewarding care as I do. I am dedicated to being an advocate for our clients and their family members. It is extremely rewarding to know that I am working with a talented team of clinical and customer service professionals who are committed to helping seniors age in place and maintain their safety, dignity and independence.
Diane McCollum, RN, BSN – Vice President, Clinical Operations
My decision to become a nurse was motivated by my desire to make a difference in lives of others. As a nurse, I was consistently focused on being clinically solid, compassionate and caring. In my 25 years of nursing and management experience, I have worked in a variety of environments – the intensive care unit, the emergency room, multiple site operations and ultimately home healthcare. Regardless of my specific role or where I work, my focus remains the same – providing the highest quality of compassionate nursing care to each and every patient. While I enjoyed my hands-on nursing experience, I felt that I could make a broader impact by entering the field of healthcare management to ensure that high-quality services were delivered to all patients. At Freedom Home Healthcare, I am focused on developing sound business policies, new programs and business strategies to support our commitment to providing the highest quality of home health care delivered with outstanding service. I am committed to successfully pairing the financial aspects of home care business with my unwavering commitment to Freedom’s strong clinical foundation and the provision of high-quality client care.
Liz Moss, RN, BSN – Clinical Director, Geriatric and Adult Services
For over twenty-five years, I have been committed to treating clients and their families with compassion and humor. Sometimes clients and their family members are under a great deal of stress and humor can help to lighten the mood. Prior to joining the Freedom Home Healthcare team, I was the Regional Director of Wellness Services for an assisted living community where I supervised dozens of nurses and was responsible for the health and well-being of more than 1,000 residents. I was also the Director of Nursing at a large Continuing Care Retirement Home managed by Presbyterian Homes and Services in Skillman, NJ. I have also been an active member of the Visiting Nurse Association of Northern New Jersey and a field nurse and Manager of their Affiliated Health Services. I am particularly proud of a health outreach program I developed, through Episcopal Social Services, for homeless persons in Wichita, Kansas. My career has been devoted to making a difference in the lives of others and I am proud to be a member of the Freedom team, where each and every team member shares that commitment and passion.
Melissa Sirola BSN, RN, MBA – Director, Clinical Operations, Private Duty Nursing
I have been a nurse for 15 years and have loved every minute of it. The focus of my career has been pediatric nursing. I have worked in multiple environments including acute care hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, hospice and, of course, home care. Over the years I have consistently seen that patients, especially children, receive higher quality, more personalized care in a home setting. In a home environment, surrounded by the love and support of family members and nurses, children can truly thrive. As a Clinical Director for Freedom, I am devoted to supporting our amazing field nurses so they can consistently provide excellent, compassionate and clinically sound care. I strongly believe in continuing education and strive to provide as many learning opportunities as possible for my team, so that our clinical services are second to none. I am proud to work for Freedom Home Healthcare – a company that is committed to giving its best to each and every client.
Candy Blau, M.A. - Senior Client Relations Director
I received my Master’s Degree in Gerontology in 1976. At the time, there were only a handful of graduate programs in the field and very few people in the field had specialized training in gerontology. My first job was working for New Jersey’s Division on Aging: we provided funding and technical assistance for the development of curricula in colleges and universities to enhance the skills of those working in the field and to attract and train new professionals. Now, more than 35 years later, a concentration in gerontology is available at most institutions of higher learning.
I have held numerous positions across the spectrum of gerontology including directing a nursing home advocacy program, creating a volunteer advocate/visitation program, managing a small assisted living program, and spearheading the planning efforts for an Area Agency on Aging. I have also devoted my time to many volunteer endeavors including serving as President of the Board of Theresa Grotta Nursing Home and, more recently, President of the Board of the Grotta Foundation for Senior Care.
Four years ago I joined the Freedom team. I am proud to work with a group of dedicated, like-minded professionals. None of us looked at the evolving demographics and thought “there will be a lot of old people soon. Let’s get into this business.” True to our profession and ourselves, we looked into our hearts and asked “How can we make a difference?” Through our everyday interactions with older adults and their families, “we make a difference…every day.”
Dawn Perdon, B.S. - Client Relations Director
I feel extremely fortunate to have spent 15 + years of my adult life working with seniors. I was inspired to work with seniors after observing my mother’s caregiving struggles with my great-grandparents. I received a degree in Gerontology and pursued a degree in Sociology. While attending school, I began my career with a national home care company as the Office Administrator. I later became part of the startup team for a newly built assisted living community in Florham Park, NJ. I held the Director of Community Relations and the Marketing Director position for a dementia specific assisted living community where I had the unique opportunity to be the primary caregiver for my father-in-law who resided there. It was my personal experience as a caregiver that had the greatest impact on my life and career. I gained a new found passion and appreciation for my work. As a member of Freedom’s client relations team, I enjoy working with colleagues who are equally as passionate about their work and are committed to helping seniors maintain their independence with dignity and respect.
Mark Bush – Executive Director, Private Duty Nursing
After graduating from Rutgers University, my first job was in home healthcare. As soon as I started working, I was introduced to a client with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) who was receiving in-home private duty nursing services. When I saw, firsthand, how much this client’s nurses meant to him, I knew I had found my career path. I love the fast-pace of home healthcare. Each day brings new challenges and the need to address them quickly and effectively. It is such a good feeling to know that the work we do each day improves a client’s quality of life. Working with Freedom Home Healthcare is extremely rewarding. Our field and customer service teams are comprised of amazing people who have dedicated their lives to helping others. I am proud to be part of such a dedicated team. Each and every Freedom team member is committed to going the extra mile to help our clients. I love what Freedom Home Healthcare stands for and the difference we are making in peoples’ lives each and every day.
Zachariah DeLap – Client Relations Director, Private Duty Nursing
I started working in the field of home healthcare in 2003. Once on the job, I realized that it was amazing to work as part of a team that was dedicated to making a difference in peoples’ lives and the lives of their family members. I have been working in this field for almost a decade and I always feel very fortunate to have such a rewarding and fulfilling career. In many cases, I am the initial contact for our clients or family members when they choose to receive skilled nursing services from Freedom Home Healthcare. When I first meet our clients and their families they are often in the midst of a health crisis, experiencing tremendous stress. It is a good feeling to know that our dedicated nursing team will soon be helping our client improve their health and quality of life while relieving some of the stress that our clients’ families deal with on a daily basis. Freedom’s nurses are very special people who take care of our clients as if they were caring for members of their own family. I love knowing that our Freedom team is dedicated to helping our clients enjoy their life to its full potential and I am happy to contribute to that outcome in any way I can.
Pat Whittaker, RN - Nursing Supervisor
I have been a nurse for as long as I can remember. I am fortunate to work in a rewarding profession with great Freedom team members who are all dedicated to making a difference in our clients’ quality of life. I can’t imagine having a different profession. As a Nursing Supervisor, it is my role to train and evaluate all new Certified Home Health Aides to ensure they meet our high standards of clinical excellence as well as being compassionate and caring individuals. I am dedicated to ensuring that our caregivers understand and deliver the Freedom Difference: high quality compassionate care and unparalleled service.
Tara Smith-Keeler – Director of Operations
I joined Freedom Home Healthcare in 2008 and immediately focused on building a solid rapport with our clients, their family members and our dedicated team of Freedom caregivers. I am in frequent contact with our clients to ensure that they are experiencing the Freedom Difference: high quality, compassionate home healthcare and consistently outstanding service. On any given day, I literally talk with hundreds of clients and caregivers. I consistently remain calm and I am dedicated to doing whatever it takes to meet the needs of our clients as well as our caregivers. I love working with my fellow team members at Freedom who are committed to providing our clients with high quality home care, outstanding customer service and peace of mind.
Monifa Thelwell, RN - Director of Nursing, Infusion Therapy Services
Caring for others, and the healthcare profession, has always been part of my life. I come from a family of medical professionals and growing up I was cared for by an Aunt who was unable to walk. We ultimately took care of each other. My Aunt would wheel herself into the kitchen and prepare our meals. I would help our home health aide prepare my Aunt for her bathing and grooming routine. My nursing career was not a choice but a natural gift. I cannot imagine doing anything else. When I started working in our Philadelphia office more than 5 years ago, I chose to work here because of our dedication to “promoting wellness, healing and comfort by providing skilled services, education and quality care” and our “client focused” approach.” I love what I do. It is very rewarding to go home each night knowing that I was part of the team that helped a client along the road to better health. I am proud of the fact that simply by doing what comes naturally – being a nurse – I can make a positive contribution to peoples’ lives and make the world a better place. I have been a nurse since 1999 and it has been twelve enjoyable years of clients and co-workers who continue to make a pleasurable and memorable impact in my life and in my heart.
