We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristen Chazaud and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristen, how does your business help the community or world?
Aging in place should be the right of each and every older adult. I find great joy helping people actualize this.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Our clients love that they have access to us directly to help them navigate the maze of resources and services available to them. Our caregivers have a blast making memories and friendships with lots of laughter and fun along the way. The biggest lessons I have learned is that we fail miserably as a nation when it comes to caring for our elders. Nursing homes are not adequate as a place to live indefinitely. Our healthcare system will cover you if you are dying-on hospice, but not if you are living-at home. Our social security dependent elders are not making enough to live on and some are choosing month to month between medications or food. Isolation is the biggest threat to the wellbeing of our elders in my opinion. We pride ourselves in finding solutions, being a resource and adopting an “Age your way” philosophy of conscious caregiving. Every care plan is different and every body has different needs and preferences. We support the whole family through this because family/relationships are part of the care plan. Someday we will have an alternative to nursing homes…until then we are going to give the best caregiving service possible to as many people we can possibly reach!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Wild animal park Balboa park Go see the seals at children’s cove in La Jolla. Mille fluers in Rancho Santa Fe is the BEST hands down food!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Had it not been for the loving support of my husband Henri, I am not so sure I would have survived the pitfalls. He has always encouraged me on my journey and operating a business like this together makes it that much more worthwhile. It doesn’t hurt that he is a genius and master at problem solving.

Website: Www.keepsakecompanions.com

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