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A year ago, Burlington resident Susie Ginsburg wouldn’t have considered herself an entrepreneur.

A social worker with a background in healthcare advocacy, Ginsburg spent the last 10 years at Shire Takeda, helping patients with a specific rare disease gain access to medications to manage their health. But when it was time for a change, she took a different route—one that was well outside her comfort zone.

“Like a lot of people, I needed to get out of corporate America, and that’s how I wound up finding Seniors Helping Seniors,” Ginsburg said. “I wanted to find a way that I could still touch people’s lives and make a difference.”

Seniors Helping Seniors, founded in Pennsylvania in 1998, pairs older workers with seniors who need assistance at home. The concept began when co-founder Kiran Yocom, recovering from knee surgery, requested an older home health aide instead of the young caregiver who had initially been assigned to her. The two became close friends, inspiring the idea that seniors might feel more comfortable receiving care from people closer to their own age.

Kiran and her husband Philip launched the in-home senior care concept soon after. The company’s mission combined Kiran's lifelong commitment to service—she worked with Mother Teresa for 14 years—with Philip's extensive background in franchising. Today, the organization is led by their daughter, Namrata Yocom-Jan, who has served as president since 2020.

Ginsburg now operates the Mystic Valley chapter, which provides companionship, meal preparation, transportation, light housekeeping, specialized dementia care, and other services. The service area stretches from Medford and Somerville north through Burlington to Andover.

“I really just fell in love with the concept,” said Ginsburg, whose career began with an internship that involved helping seniors with hospital discharge planning and finding placements in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities.

“That made such an impact on me,” she said. “We just had to send them wherever there was an empty bed. There was no consideration for what they wanted.”

Ginsburg is excited to contribute to a field that recognizes both the value and autonomy of a growing senior population.

“There are so many older people now who still want to help and also need to have more income,” she said. “So we’re able to employ them and send them to work helping other older people who might need companionship or help with errands.”

She currently has about 18 caregivers on staff, all of whom receive paid training to prepare them for the work, along with two staff members: office manager Nancy Kiley and administrative assistant Allyza Indiola.

The service operates on a private-pay basis.

“I’ve tried to price it as reasonably as I can,” Ginsburg said, noting that affordability is top of mind for many seniors today. She is also working to build connections within the local social services network and explore ways to expand the services her business can offer.

Alzheimer’s and dementia care is a growing area of need, she said. Ginsburg recently earned certification as a Certified Dementia Practitioner through Clear Guidance in Wellesley, where she trained with Tammy Pozerycki, and she hopes to offer the training to her staff as well.

“There is such a need for and such a lack of education around dementia care,” Ginsburg said.

The business also offers a caregiver support group, modeled after one run by Josh Obeiter, owner of the Boston and MetroWest Seniors Helping Seniors franchise, who has served as a mentor to Ginsburg.

“The caregiver journey is not an easy one,” she said. “Caregivers get attached to their clients, people lose clients ... I'm always trying to help people understand how important it is to take care of themselves, too.”

The story of a business built around the value of older workers feels especially fitting this week. March 8–14 marks Older Workers Employment Week, which recognizes the contributions of older adults in the workforce and the importance of creating opportunities for them to remain active and engaged.

For Ginsburg, that mission is central to the work she is building in the Mystic Valley. Her goal is to create meaningful connections—matching older adults who want to remain active and engaged with others who could use a helping hand or friendly company.

As the Mystic Valley chapter continues to grow, Ginsburg hopes it will become not just a service, but a community resource—helping seniors remain independent at home while creating meaningful work and companionship for others.

The service area for Mystic Valley Seniors Helping Seniors includes Andover, Assembly Row, Burlington, Everett, Lynnfield, Malden, Medford, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Somerville, Stoneham, Wakefield, West Medford, Wilmington, Winchester, Winter Hill and Woburn.

If you're interested in learning more, you can reach out to the Mystic Valley Seniors Helping Seniors office at 781-791-5800.

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