PETER MANGIOLA Rn

My name is Peter Mangiola and I am here today to speak about our senior citize n community and how I work to help our seniors in need. I am committed to providing senior citizens with dignity, health, and independen ce. Because of this, I joined the Senior Helpers franchise in 2001 as its Marke ting Director and spent my time working to achieve these goals. I was better ab le to do this last year when I purchased three franchises, thus affording senior s unparalleled care and attention in a growing variety of locations. I have a long business history and am a compassionate Registered Nurse, which al lows me to easily switch gears, giving each of my clients unsurpassed care. Bu t there is more to what I do than that. There is why I do this work. When I was seven years old, I was hit by a car. The driver of the car accidenta lly drove over my knee, landing me in a long-leg cast for about six months. Bec ause my leg was so fragile and because I was an active little boy who was more c oncerned about playing than about my future and long-term health care, I kept br eaking my knee. As a matter-of-fact, I broke my knee four more times and needed at least six more surgerieshonestly, Ive lost countsince the accident. One day, w hen I have a free moment to spare, I may actually get the knee replacement Im tol d I need. But, really, what was life-changing for me about this accident had less to do wi th my health care and the long-term rehab I went for and more to do with what I learned while away from my family. A few years later, I was recuperating in a f ull body cast at the Childrens Sea Shore House. I was 11 or 12 years old at the time. I had to live at the House full-time, 60 miles away from home and I was r eally frightened to be so far away from my family. But, living in the facility was pretty cool and that experience made me who I am today and I wouldnt change t hat for the world. I was able to see and understand other circumstances. I got to know all sorts o f different people who were each going through their own unique and difficult si tuations. The experience also expanded my socialization and introduced me to di verse ethnicities. Honestly, when you share a six-bed ward for months on endwith both boys and girls of difference races and nationalities and from different ba ckgroundsyou cannot help but learn about life from new perspectives. And, while this was a rough time in my life, the experiencedespite some unexpected challenge swas a good one. That year changed me in ways that would not have occurred had I not been hit by a car. When I arrived at the Sea Shore House, some of the other kids saw me in a body c ast and knew I would not be able to defend myself. I was immediately initiated into their world in a sort of trial by fire. My new friends doused me and my bo dy cast with water. For those of you who dont know, wet casts are not a good thi ng. Wet casts need to be replaced and a wet cast can also lead to osteomelitis. I was no different, I had to be fitted for another, new body cast and had to e ndure long, nasty, and painful treatments for my osteomelitis. And, as awful as this sounds, this experience really enabled me to understand the importance of the collaborative union of good healthcare, compassion, and understanding to suc cessful patient treatment. Because patients at the Childrens Sea Shore house were there long-term, we needed to continue our education and that involved full school and not tutoring. Livi ng in this way, I got to know many, many new and interesting people and had the opportunity to learn about the issues from which these people suffered. More th an this, I saw the sensitivities of caretakers to their patients and saw how car eful some people could be with others. I knew then that I wanted to become like those compassionate, caring people. I wanted to be able to help others uncondi tionally. I wanted to pass along the help I received when I was a boy suffering through recuperation and give that help back to others in need. When I finally completed my time in rehab, I began to focus on volunteering and ended up doing a lot of work with my church. Whenever I could, I worked on clot

hing drives and was always looking to help where I could, organizing and learnin g how to help other people. Of course, I could only do this work in those short periods when I was not on crutches or receiving physical therapy. But, even wh en I was on crutches, I was still learning. Being a patient, I learned how to w atch my caretakers and how to become a good caretaker to others. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in 1980. From there I sought out a wide range of nursing experiences that helped me to draw o n and build on my experience, providing increasingly effective solutions to my p atients and clients. I have worked as an Emergency Room nurse, a Recovery Room nurse, an Electro-Physiology nurse, a Cystic Fibrosis director, a Cardiac Care S taff nurse, and a Charge Nurse in the Cardiovascular Nursing Unit. I also worke d for six months as a nurse on a Navajo reservation and I have experience in inhome care and in-home and hospital oncology care. I have been an assignment and traveling Registered Nurse working at a variety of renowned teaching hospitals including the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University Hosp ital, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, Cooper University Hospital of NJ, and J ohns Hopkins. I also worked for the Pediatric Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, the Children s Seashore House of The Children s Hospital of Philadelphiawhere I spent some of my childhood healing from my accident, and the Medical College of Pennsylvania. But education is never enough. To be a good nurse, to work well with clients, y ou need to have compassion and sensitivity and for this, I must credit my mother . I acquired a lot of my sensitivity from my mom. She and I are close and it w as from her than I learned how to work with the elderly. Watching my mother ena bled me to channel what I learned in a positive way to others. I found that I l ove being able to empathize with other people and, from that, I love being able to help people in any way possible. If we love what we do, we will be successfu l at what we do. And, I love what I do. And, I like people. I like working with people, helping people, finding solutio ns to difficult situations for people. I also know that when people are anxious or nervous they are unable to listen. I found that by really talking to people , by really listening to them, by really communicating with them, I could diffus e their anxiety. By being able to calm people down when they are nervous, and k eep them steady during difficult and seemingly confusion decisions, I am able to help facilitate good communication and truly positive outcomes. I also believe that everything in life is connected and that there are parallels in everything we do and experience. For instance, I ended up working at the Ch ildrens Sea Shore House, which was a surreal experience but served to prove that what we take inward is what we deliver outward. The Sea Shore House was the pla ce where I knew that I wanted to give back, I wanted to help people, I wanted to become a Registered Nurse. Years later, I found myself giving back to people w ho were healing in the same place I had so many years earlier. There are no acc idents and there are no coincidences. If we have a strong sense of self worth, if we are really able to take care of o urselves, we can help others. Once, being a patient and, now, being a patient a dvocate, I understand all aspects of the patient process and this has allowed me to continually fulfill my commitment to make a meaningful difference in the liv es of seniors, improving the experiences of this important community sector. Because I had worked with another home care company I was able to see where pati ent advocates and those working in home care were dropping the ball. Learning a bout where mistakes generated from, I realized that by making minor adjustments, a patient could always receive extraordinary care. Watching the mistakes of ot hers, I decided to make it my motto; my personal philosophy to always go the ext ra mile and this is what we all do at Senior Helpers every day for every client. By going the extra mile, we are able to give our clients what they do not real ize that they are looking for, but what they really need. We give each and ever y one of our clients kindness, generosity, and an empowering sense of dignity. When we do a home visit, we always let our clients know the best direction for t hem. If we are faced with a situation where we are not the right place for a cl ient, we always point them in the right direction and to the correct people, hel

ping each of them receive the care we do not offer, but that they really need. Rather than be disingenuous and give a client unnecessary care just because we c an, we do go that extra mile and help our clients in the best way possible, even if that means the help does not come from Senior Helpers. I have a vast knowledge and I can find the most effective care at the lowest cos t. I understand how limited money is, especially for seniors. I also know the healthcare system and understand how to derive the correct help for our clients. For instance, I know that hospice care can cover a wide variety of situations and that hospice is not all about and all for dying. Hospice involves so much a nd if a client is covered under the umbrella that hospice entails, I can help th at client receive the help he needs from that benefit. Initially, hospice was p rimarily developed to ensure palliative care for the terminal patient; however, I know that hospice also covers care and assistance for a variety of chronic, lo ng-term illnesses such as dementia, diabetes, hypertension, end-stage heart dise ase, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other long-term, debilitating il lnesses. But people are afraid of hospice and the word hospice can be frightening for many clients, especially the elderly. Hearing that hospice is an alternative is not always welcomed as a viable possibility for some, but because I know that hospic e is still not utilized as well as it should be and because I know how hospice c an be used, I can help my clients receive this important healthcare benefit, cal ming their fears and showing them that hospice is simply another alternative to increase the quality of their lives and not a means to the end of their lives. My education, knowledge, and experience are just some of the tools that I use to provide support and health assistance to the clients at Senior Care. Because of my medical background and because I am a Registered Nurse, I can also speak to clients about medical disorders and who they need to be in touch with and what type of care they really need. I teach my clients that another medical opinion enables them to gain better insight and that by being treated in a teac hing facility, they can obtain a number of different modalities, helping them on a variety of levels. I advocate for my clients and give them more than basic h elp with activities of daily living. I give them the education they need to mak e appropriate choices, I give them a safe place to discuss their fears and conce rns, and I give them the assistance they need to live a live with dignity and he aling, all at no extra charge. By serving my clients with a broad wealth of knowledge, I can offer them solutio ns that others cannot. By going the extra mile, my clients receive better care. I believe that having a senior citizen community that is healthier, better inf ormed, and satisfied is a good thing for the community at large. At Senior Helpers we offer assisted living in the client home. We go to our cli ents and spend around one hour conducting an intake. Because my philosophy is n ow the Senior Helpers philosophy, we are able to offer a better up-front experie nce, which leaves our clients more knowledgeable, more comfortable, and more emp owered. This is my goal and this is why Senior Helpers is so successful. With three different offices and over 200 people, we can help a number of commun ities. Around 70 of our employees are caregivers, another 10-to-15 of us are pa tient advocates, and the remainder keep us running smoothly and effectively. My wife, Maria Porchia, is also a Registered Nurse and the owner of Senior Helpe rs. Weve been together at Senior Helpers sharing the same core values and goals for our company and for our clients. We often go together for intakes which rea lly help our clients because, unlike other organizations like ours, we do not ch arge additional for a nurses home visit. Because all intake professionals are Re gistered Nurses, patients receive the benefit of the care of a Registered Nurse without the high cost, which is, by the way, somewhere around $80 a visit. This is just one of the many built-in services that Senior Helpers routinely offers. Maria and I often go together for intakes because we like to provide a balanced match for each client, matching the care coordinator to the personality of the p atient. The care coordinators know the caregivers. This is what Maria does bes t. I know the services. Maria and I enhance each other and this is how we hand le all the pairings for client intake sessions.

Other organizations may have a Registered Nurse on staff, but that nurse may not always be at staff and client disposal. Other organizations may have an owner who has no medical background and no assessment background. With other organiza tions, parts of the whole are looked at and clients are sold a bill of services. Worse, very few of these organizations dont really know what they dont know and they just continue making the same mistakes over and over and offering substanda rd assistance that does no good to the client. We are different. We fill a need. We are more holistic. I have been a Registered Nurse for over 25 years. This is my passion and this o ffers an incredible enhancement and advantage to our clients, providing them wit h a solid knowledge base. Because I love people, I have developed great people skills. I am able to offer a whole package and not simply a shortsighted view. Because my wife and I both work for the purpose of beginning and nurturing a c lient relationship and not to generate a sale, we are always able to give our cl ients all that they need in terms of healthcare options and success. Maria is t he brains behind keeping us organized. She is wonderful in terms of skill, but she is even more directed and aware of the importance of a strong administrative base and operations. Maria is the one who ensures everything runs as it should . Me? Im the touchy-feely one. Turns out, we are the perfect compliment. Im thankful in every day and I believe in always having an attitude of gratitude. I believe that what you think about happens, the glass is always half full, th at our thoughts become things. By making it my lifes goal to become a nurse and dedicate my life to offering the sameif not a betterlevel of care to others I am a successful advocate for seniors , bringing my vast expertise into their lives and helping them in meaningful way s through all the diverse life and health choices with which they are faced. Me and my team are able to consistently bring exceptional service and unfailing pr oficiency to our clients, easily guiding them through the numerous decisions inv olved with health care, living arrangements, and other lifestyle and medical cho ices. Because of my deep and diverse knowledge in medicine and elder care, I ca n present options to our clients that are second to none, providing our clients with individualized and effective solutions. I believe that in loving what I do, I can offer experiences that are significant , successful, and enduring. Because I do enjoy listening to my clients; because I am a master of detail; because I love my work; and because I have been blesse d with working in such a deep and wide variety of organizations, caring for dive rse clients with diverse treatment needs, I am able to give my clients and patie nts what works best for them and their families, all contained in unique solutio ns that provide exceptional levels of compassion, dignity, and independence. I connect directly with family members, I educate clients and families, and I inco rporate the entire family unit into an all-inclusive plan of care. Because I am a care giver in every sense of the word and because I am wholly ded icated to seniors health and exceptional care, I can seamlessly provide what many others in my field are unable to offer: A life with dignity, options, and resp ect in ones own home.