May is National Aging Life Care® Month. For Annette Murphy, Springpoint at Home’s Director of Home Care and Care Management, and her Aging Life Care Advisor™/Care Manager team, it is an opportunity to reflect on the impact this organization has on their work, and to grow awareness and support for a concierge service for our elders.

Aging Life Care Advisor’s™ come from a variety of backgrounds, from social work and nursing to recreational therapists. They are an engaged and curious group energized by unique challenges and always looking for new solutions. Because they serve as the connector, the glue if you will, between all the different services for our older population, the best way to describe their work is as a concierge service.

Annette and her team have a commitment to helping clients live their best life by keeping them physically and emotionally well. This requires professionals who can meet a person where they are and work with any resistance to change. And that ability is enhanced by case consultations with peers, peers who go the extra mile for one another and for the client. This is where Aging Life Care® Association (ALCA) National and the New Jersey Aging Life Care® Association chapter come in.

The NJ ALCA state organization is all volunteer run. It has no brick and mortar building but the organization volunteers value mentoring members. Mentoring is something Annette feels strongly about as well. “I was mentored early on in my career by Jan McCurdy and Barbara Bristow, founders, and owners of Senior Care Management. My first National ALCA meeting, Jan could not attend, and she asked me to receive an award for her. I was proud to do it and realized that what I do is on the shoulders of others who came before me, that an organization only moves forward if people mentor others.”

“I believe strongly in a volunteer run organization and the benefit of engaging members. When we draw from the breadth and depth of knowledge from within our membership, we see how the organization helps us to learn from one another. The synergy is amazing, and the most rewarding part is seeing folks with similar businesses help one another grow personally and professionally, allowing us to help our clients live their best life.”

“This recognition of the importance of giving back was important to me when I joined Springpoint at Home. Management made it very clear to me that Executive Directors were encouraged to give back to the community at large and professionally. It made me feel valued and excited that Springpoint at Home leadership encourages and values giving back.”

Six years ago, Annette was personally invited to a role on the NJ ALCA Executive Board. It was a natural progression to give back and she became the Secretary for the board. Annette is now co-president of NJ ALCA along with Jamie Speilberg.

When approached about taking on the role of president, Annette knew that it was a challenge she could not do alone. Taking on the role required a unique solution, one that Annette proposed to the NJ ALCA Board and was approved of by National ALCA. This is how Annette and Jamie came to be co-presidents.

It has turned out to be an unexpected blessing given COVID. Jamie and Annette were able to tag team one another, be more efficient in getting out needed information like where to get PPE, clinical policies, and changes to procedures. Things changed so fast during COVID that having up to date information was critical for solo business owners. With two people doing the work, Annette and Jamie were able to be efficient and timely. It also allowed them to play to one another strengths which opened some new programming doors like advance professional giving and coffee chats for new businesses.

At this year’s Aging Life Care® Association national meeting, they were the recipients of the 2021 President’s Award. This is the first time a President’s Award for Leadership was presented. It was the leadership Annette and Jamie embodied during the pandemic that led to this award.