Meet the Centennial, CO Team

Meet the Centennial office

More than 90% of seniors want to be able to age in their own home with dignity but getting the right type of care can seem daunting. At Senior Helpers of Centennial we believe that getting the best care for your loved ones should not be complicated. We recognize the growing need for in-home care services, and with our passion for helping others, we are committed to delivering the best possible care to seniors in the Centennial, CO community.

We take the opportunity to provide care in your home seriously and make it a priority to provide the highest level of client service possible. We have built an exceptional team of care professionals, each committed to remaining at the forefront of the in-home care industry through our proprietary ongoing training and education programs. You can feel confident that your loved one is in good hands with Senior Helpers.

Our History

Senior Helpers was founded in 2002 by Tony Bonacuse with the help of Peter Ross after their firsthand experience in caring for their respective family members. Tony and Peter identified a need that was not being filled properly by the other companies. They realized that most seniors would prefer to age in their own home rather than move into an unfamiliar institution. Unfortunately, the options available to most seniors were very limited. Most seniors did not have access to well-trained, dependable and accessible in-home care. This was the mission-driven spark that started Senior Helpers.

The first office opened in Baltimore, Maryland, and quickly developed a reputation for delivering excellent in-home senior care with their well-trained staff of professional caregivers. Based on the success of the Baltimore location, the company began to expand. Over the past 13 years, the Senior Helpers family has grown to include a network of more than 300 locally owned and operated franchises across the United States.

Senior Helpers of Centennial was proud to join the system in 2020. Like every other owner, we too are fully-committed to the original goal of providing dependable and accessible in-home care with well-trained caregivers. Nothing is more important to us than being the best available resource for seniors and families in our community. We are lucky to serve hundreds of seniors in our community, and we are committed to continuing to provide uncompromising levels of care to all our families

Our process

The first step in the process is a complimentary, initial in-home care assessment with a Senior Helpers consultant. This assessment can help you understand the true needs of your loved one, and your options. Together we can discuss their needs, our senior care services and determine what’s best for your entire family.

We will cover:

Your family's specific goals

Your loved one's daily plan design and schedule

Pricing and payment methods

Implementation process

Ongoing communication and follow-up plan

Meet the Centennial Team

Vanessa Tucker

Director of Operations

Vanessa comes to Senior Helpers with significant experience leading assisted living communities along the Front Range as their Executive Director. Vanessa was attracted to home care when she witnessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowing she could help residents thrive in an intimate setting during such a trying time led her back to serving seniors, and what better place to do it than in their own home. Her driving mission is to maintain a culture of resilience for those requiring varying levels of care and cultivate programs that enrich seniors' lives in the comfort of their own home.

Vanessa was born and raised in Napa Valley, California. She has been a Colorado transplant since 2013. She and her husband are thrilled to be raising their three boys in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. Their weekends are spent hiking, four-wheeling, and soaking in high-country hot springs!

Before entering the senior living field, Vanessa owned a health-related business on Main Street in Alamogordo, New Mexico. This business helped support Vanessa through most of her college and helped pay for her grandmother’s care. Vanessa also worked as Director of Operations for a large property management company and was a key employee with a software service provider for Senior Living, Home Care, Home Health, and Skilled Nursing centers.

When Vanessa’s grandmother started showing signs of dementia, she moved to New Mexico to care for her. She experienced first-hand the progression of this disease, along with its impact on families. Her grandfather is her role model and best friend. He is a Veteran and was stationed in Colorado at Lowry Air Force Base when he served. Vanessa convinced her grandfather that Colorado is AMAZING. He is currently living in Colorado Springs.

Vanessa's experience includes an award-winning Assisted Living boutique and the largest assisted living in Colorado. She has built dementia engagement programs focused on serving seniors with early-onset dementia from the ground up, making their number one referral source resident referrals. Vanessa understands the importance of being an integrated partner in the community.

All of Vanessa’s experience has culminated in becoming the leader she is today. She served on the Denver City and County Planning and Zoning Advisory Committee and Sub-Committee for Adult and Elder Housing (55+, Assisted Living, etc.).

We strive to be dementia and Parkinson’s care experts in our community and bring the latest in-home care technology to seniors.

Erin Kortgardner

Administrator

Erin was born and raised in Colorado. In her twenties, she worked as a QMAP in a group home for mentally and physically disabled adults. This experience exposed her to the world of caregiving, which she found to be a natural part of her personality. After working as a QMAP, Erin attended Front Range Community College and obtained her CNA. Erin's certification allowed her to transition to the world of nursing, specifically the Long-Term Care arena. For three years, she worked as a CNA and enjoyed working with seniors with dementia and Alzheimer’s. She found that her calming energy and intuition helped her provide the best care to residents and foster a collaborative, team-focused environment with coworkers.

In 2011 Erin began working in marketing and sales for senior living communities. Over the last nine years, she has taken pride in being the first voice, the first face for future residents, and families of the communities she represented. Erin found her communication skills, ability to empathize with, and paint a picture of how community life would benefit potential residents to be extremely rewarding. This role taught Erin to have a unique ability to effectively collaborate with multiple departments to ensure a smooth move-in process for seniors transitioning to the residential living community. Erin also enjoyed creating partnerships and networking with others serving seniors in the industry.

2020 has been a profound year for Erin. The pandemic really shined a light on the importance of interpersonal relationships and regular interaction for aging adults. Having seen first-hand the effects of isolation on seniors, Erin decided that she wanted to transition to a role that supports those who are the closest to Seniors - the caregivers.

Erin decided to make a shift toward staff development because she wants to teach what she has learned in the field. Throughout her career, she found a profound love and respect for caregivers and all that they do. Having been a caregiver herself, she understands many of the challenges and rewards of the profession. Erin looks forward to passing on her knowledge and experience to our staff.

Her immediate family all live in the Denver metro area, and she sees them often. Erin enjoys spending time with her niece who is five years old, and her grandmother who is 93. She cherishes them both, and they add something very special to her life.

Erin enjoys painting, mixed media art, photography, and travel. She also enjoys studying natural remedies and how the elements of nature help enhance our lives, such as aromatherapy, essential oils, tinctures, and loose-leaf teas. Erin loves caring for plants and gardening. Whenever she can get to the mountains, she enjoys picking and pressing flowers for the art that she creates. Her pride and joy is her feline companion “Winnie,” a short-haired grey tabby cat.

Meet the Centennial office

Our History

Our process

Meet the Centennial Team

Areas We Serve