Continued: As seniors age, AgeWell is there to aid in transition

When we first said howdy to Joel Theisen nearly three years ago, his AgeWell Home Care company had grossed $2 million in 2005, his first full year in the senior care business.

This year, AgeWell is heading for revenue of about $7 million, which figures out to a tidy annual growth rate of 55 percent in the past three years.

His secret: a roster of thoughtful "extras" that go far beyond health care to cover a client's interests and passions. It's what Theisen calls "life-care management."

Heading the list is AgeWell Wishes, a program we chronicled for you in 2006, which offers monthly "memorable experiences" to its clients.

Among recent beneficiaries of this uncommon service: a retired Episcopal priest and lifelong fisherman who was given a day of fishing with outdoorsman Ron Schara.

And a man dying of Lou Gehrig's disease, crippled and having difficulty speaking, who was taken to his cabin on Lake Mille Lacs for a weekend with his longtime fishing buddies.

He died the night he returned, with a heartfelt "thank you" among his last words.

This "wishes" concept continues into a new offering called AgeWell Housing Solutions, started in 2007 to help seniors who can no longer live at home to find housing options that fit their passions, as well as their physical capabilities and financial limitations.

"We were seeing our clients transitioning out of their homes, leaving their lifelong interests behind," said Theisen, 40. "It's a traumatic experience."

So he set out to ease the experience, starting with six months spent researching the pluses and minuses of several hundred Twin Cities senior housing options: independent housing, assisted-living facilities and nursing homes.

The company has studied the market so thoroughly, for example, that it managed to pinpoint the perfect choice for a gent who loved movies, not to mention the occasional tipple or two: a residence that not only had regular "movie nights" but also a weekly "happy hour," complete with a pianist serenading the crowd.

Or consider the lifelong outdoorsman with an advanced case of Lou Gehrig's disease, whose wish was to spend his final days in a care facility where he could look out on a bucolic scene. He's now in a residence surrounded by a thick grove of white pines with a lawn where he can watch his grandchildren play.

Pinpoint placement

In one case, the company even located a residence populated with folks who shared a client's interest in travel and world cultures. In another, they found a single location to suit a couple with widely different needs: He suffered from Alzheimer's and required special care, she was physically handicapped but only required an assisted- living facility.

"It's a phenomenal service, invaluable," said Joni Mudge, admissions coordinator at Ebenezer Ridges Care Center in Burnsville. "Finding the right location for an elderly person is a maze for families to go through, a real struggle.

"There are others doing placement work, but no one goes so far" to satisfy personal priorities, she said.

Valerie Gunnerson, director of social services at the Crystal Care Center in Crystal, seconded the notion: "AgeWell looks at the whole person and tries to meet the emotional, as well as the medical and financial needs" of a client, she said. "They're the only ones in the metro area who take that wide an approach."

In assisting its senior clients, AgeWell works off a list of 400 locations, half of which have agreed to pay the company a commission for referrals that amounts to one half of the first month's rent.

AgeWell offers two levels of services, one of them free. The latter supplies clients with three to five options they can contact, based on interviews about their health, financial and personal interests such as location. Data on availability and contacts is included.

For those requiring more hand-holding, AgeWell charges $200 for six hours of assistance with the search and transition, including help in assuring that the client's most treasured belongings are included in the move.

Started late in 2007, the service generated more than $100,000 of revenue in its first 12 months, Theisen said.

About 25 percent of AgeWell's clients require no home care, but rather engage the company for periodic visits by 12 professional nurses or social workers to assess their conditions and needs and help with plans for the future.

"It's like a financial adviser, only the advice is about health and well-being," Theisen said.

The company also added a recent free service Theisen calls "legacy work," engaging Rachael Freed, a clinical social worker and an expert in the creation of personal histories, to help staff members and client families work with the elderly to record their memories and ideals.

"We're seeing people fading away with their life stories never having been passed on to their families," Theisen said. "We wanted to do something about that."

Dick Youngblood • 612-673-4439 • yblood@startribune.com