Sittercity.com Becomes the First Web-Based Service Awarded the Senior Approved Certification
Wednesday, September 3, 2008FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Chicago, Ill.) - The Senior Care Division of Sittercity.com, America’s largest and most trustworthy online resource for caregivers, has been awarded the Senior Approved Certification, validating Sittercity Senior Care as an excellent service connecting families to independent in-home senior caregivers.
With rising costs of care, reports of elder abuse and concerns about ongoing customer support, the consumers are demanding better information prior to making a decision to contract with home care service providers on behalf of self, spouse or loved one. The Senior Approved Certification offers peace of mind to families and seniors by identifying trustworthy services that have been independently evaluated and found to be exceptional in all aspects of operation.
The certification process reaches beyond the traditional measuring methods common to the senior care industry and thoroughly investigates each company by surveying current customers, carefully measuring their responses and following up for candid assessments. If a company is approved through this process, it signifies that users of the service, seniors and their adult family caregivers, have found the service to be superior.
“The survey is voluntary; it is not mandated by the health and elder care industry. The process is designed to substantiate credible business practices as it applies to serving the elder population,” explains founder and president of Senior Approved Services, Barbara Mascio.
Sittercity (http://seniorcare.sittercity.com) is the first self-help web-based service in the United States to obtain Senior Approved certification. “We are extremely honored to be selected as the only online caregiving service to obtain the Senior Approved certification,” said Sittercity founder and CEO, Genevieve Thiers. “The selection process was rigorous, therefore being awarded this honor will greatly ease the minds of those looking for credible and reliable care for their aging loved ones.”
Sittercity connects families to local caregivers nationwide that provide a variety of services for the aging older adult. Any family that has been faced with the daunting task of finding senior care knows the fear of placing an unfamiliar, unsupervised caregiver alone with a loved one. Sittercity offers families guidelines to safely hire independent caregivers with a four-step screening process, which includes checking references, reading caregiver reviews, conducting interviews and utilizing free access to background checks, and also offers a Video Monitoring Program to ensure peace of mind after the hiring process.
Thiers, launched the company in Boston in 2001 as a service to help parents find local babysitters for their children and soon expanded into a nationwide company that has helped hundreds of thousands of families across the United States. The Senior Care division was added in direct response to numerous consumer requests to connect with trustworthy independent caregivers for the aging older adult.
"Our goal is to help seniors connect with safe, reliable companies that we can verify a history of quality care and/or service. We cannot hope to accomplish this lofty goal without services such as Sittercity,” states Mascio.
To learn more about the variety of services offered by Sittercity, visit http://seniorcare.sittercity.com. Details of the survey are available by phoning Senior Approved Services, LLC toll free at 877-620-6448.
Sittercity.com®, the inventor of online caregiving, is America’s largest and most trusted online source for child care, pet care, senior care, housekeeping, housesitting and tutoring. As a network of hundreds of thousands of caregivers nationwide, Sittercity helps families and individuals find the perfect in-home care provider quickly, easily and safely by using the company’s four-step screening process, which includes checking references, reading caregiver reviews, conducting interviews and utilizing free access to background checks. Sitter profiles also come with photos, experience, training, safety skills, availability calendars, reviews and more. Registration for sitters is free, and care seekers pay as little as $8 per month for a membership, which gives them unlimited ability to post jobs, and search, contact and hire sitters in their areas. A true pioneer in its field, Sittercity.com has been featured by hundreds of media outlets, from the Today Show to the Big Idea with Donny Deutsch to the Wall Street Journal. Sittercity has also received twelve national awards, including a U.S. Small Business Administration award in 2006 from President Bush, and three international awards, including first place in the prestigious UPS "Out of the Box" Small Business contest. For more information, visit the company Web site at www.sittercity.com.
