The Gift of Independence: New Arizona Acti-Kare Branch Helps Seniors Maintain Their Freedom and Families Maintain Their Balance

CHANDLER, Ariz., Dec. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Finding the right balance between family and work is always tough, and adding the need to care for aging loved ones can tip the scales toward disaster, despite the best of intentions. This dilemma is all too familiar a situation to Mridula Wittke, who has seen it play out within her own family.

"In this competitive world it is really difficult to create balance between your kids' schedules, your deal-breaking meetings, and the needs of your elderly loved ones," Mridula states. She was close to both her grandparents, to whom her family struggled to provide full attention during their battle with Alzheimer's. More recently, after the loss of her father, she has watched her mother's difficulties adjusting to life on her own, while still not wanting to give up her freedom and independence.

"I have always known that I wanted to do something that made a difference to people, and I just related well to the caregiver concept," says Mridula. "Yet my personal experience with my parents and grandparents has also made me realize that freedom and independence are very dear to mankind, no matter what a person's age, race, or gender may be," she notes. "I want to help people maintain their independence, so they can go about living their lives in the way they want." To accomplish both of these goals, says Mridula, she and her husband Karan Wittke decided to own and operate their own Acti-Kare Responsive In-Home Care branch in their hometown of Chandler, Arizona.

Although a respected nationwide franchise, Acti-Kare is designed with client individuality in mind, including the goal of supporting seniors' own activity levels, independence, and dignity to the fullest extent possible. Highly trained and compassionate Acti-Kare caregivers can provide companionship, transportation and mobility assistance, help with errands, bill-paying, shopping, and nutritional aid, perform light housekeeping duties and personal care assistance, and more.

Like Mridula, many Acti-Kare caregivers have prior experience or training in caring for those with Alzheimer's or other special needs, and clients can easily obtain as many hours of support as desired or needed. This makes the service ideal for matching the evolving needs of seniors and their families.

With personal experience in balancing her two children, work life, the need to assist elderly relatives, and even the need to understand when not to assist them, Mridula has gained insight uniquely valuable in her new profession, and is looking forward to the challenges and rewards her new adventure will bring. "After working with computers for almost ten years, I was getting tired of the IT world," she states. "I wanted to live my passion, and I feel that this is the right time for me to get involved in making a difference in the lives of people." The Wittkes are enthusiastic about supporting their local community, having lived in Chandler for nearly a decade.

"The Acti-Kare business model really fits in with how I want to contribute to society," Mridula notes. "The ability to provide certified caregivers and interact with families, and the feeling and satisfaction that one gets from helping another human in need, is what drew me to be part of Acti-Kare."

"By managing an Acti-Kare branch, even though I can't take care of everyone personally, I can make sure to provide the best caregivers and help people live happily," Mridula concludes. "I feel this is a journey worth taking." 

Photo of Karan and Mridula Wittke:
http://www.ereleases.com/pic/Wittke.jpg

For more information about Acti-Kare locations and caregiver services in Chandler or the Phoenix metropolitan area, please visit http://www.actikare.com or call 1-480-361-5866.

SOURCE Acti-Kare Responsive In-Home Care