About Us
Mary and Michael Doepke, long-time residents of Western Springs, opened Home Helpers of the Western Suburbs of Chicago in April of 2005.
Mary L. Doepke, RN
A natural caregiver, Mary earned her RN license in 1981 after graduating from the Misericordia School of Nursing in New York City. Her experience includes supervisory positions at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and the Wadsworth Veterans Administration Hospital in Brentwood (CA) before deciding to focus on Home Health Care.
Mary’s role with Home Helpers is to personally interview and approve all caregivers prior to employment. She is also responsible for the development of all client care plans and determining the ideal caregiver for each assignment. It doesn’t stop there, as Mary will be involved in the on-going process of caregiver performance review and care plan adjustment as needs change.
Michael D. Doepke, CSA
With over 27 years of corporate marketing and management experience, Mike’s role is to manage the “business” functions at Home Helpers. This includes everything from efforts to find the best caregivers to developing partnerships with other companies that have resources of interest to their clients. Mike is also responsible for the scheduling of caregivers and the handling of any unforeseen situations where a back-up individual may be needed.
Mike is also a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA), having completed additional training on the health, social and financial issues that are important to seniors, and the dynamics of how these factors work together in seniors’ lives.
Why We Started Home Helpers
In February, 2005 it was necessary for Mary to go to New York to help her mother care for her father who had just suffered a stroke. Although he had returned home after rehab, John needed constant attention as he was disoriented and unable to care for himself. Mary’s mom did all that she could but clearly needed respite from the 24-hour a day responsibility. Mary ended up spending 3 weeks in NY assisting her mom and dad.
When Mary returned to Chicago, she and Mike learned that Mike’s sister, Page, had to have surgery to remove a malignant tumor. The operation was a success and Page is doing well after undergoing an aggressive round of chemotherapy. Mary accompanied Page to her chemo sessions and noticed that many of the other patients were alone, without someone to keep them company during the treatments and help them home afterwards.
Finally, Mary and Mike have many friends who are concerned about their aging parents. Many of these friends are feeling conflicted as the demands of their personal and professional lives contend with the increasing needs of their parents. To many, the only alternative is Assisted Living, which is not only costly but moves the parents out of their comfortable home.
Home Helpers seemed like the natural next step for the Doepkes. What a great opportunity for them to apply the skills developed over the past 20+ years to help others in their community to continue to live independently in the comfort and security of their own home. With Home Helpers, you can always count on having someone there when you need them!
Home Helpers
Home Helpers of the Western Suburbs of Chicago is part of a national network of over 400 offices throughout North America. Each office is independently owned and operated. You get the advantage of dealing personally with Home Helpers representatives who are your neighbors, or the neighbors of your family members, along with the added advantage of the resources from a national headquarters training and information source.
