Meet The Team | Senior Helpers of Myrtle Beach

Meet the Myrtle Beach Office

Senior Helpers Low Country has been proudly serving Horry and Georgetown Counties for over 10 years. In that time much has changed and Senior Helpers has changed with it. Along with new management in 2022 Senior Helpers reinvented itself with a focus on quality, community, service, and care. We at Senior Helpers consider it both a privilege to serve our community by providing the best possible care to those who have entrusted us with their loved ones and themselves.

My name is Amy Petersen-Smith and I am the Owner of Senior Helpers of Myrtle Beach and Charleston and I know how critical it is to find the right person to help aid your loved ones when they need it the most. I was drawn to Senior Helpers because I wanted to bring a sense of peace to families. Knowing your loved one is being taken care of by friendly, trained, and compassionate care providers all in their comfort of your loved one’s home will provide that for you.

It is also important to note that Senior Helpers of Myrtle Beach and Charleston are vendors in good standing with the VA. Veterans constitute a major part of our client base and we would not be in this position without going the extra yard for our veterans. The VA has seen this time and time again and as a result trust us to take care of these heroes.

Senior Helpers of Myrtle Beach is proud to be a part of the Senior Helpers family and like every other owner, we too are fully-committed to the original goal of providing dependable and affordable in-home care with well-trained caregivers. Nothing is more important to us than being the best available resource for seniors and families in our community. We have been lucky to serve hundreds of seniors in our community over the years, and we are committed to continuing to provide uncompromising levels of care to all our families.

Our History

Senior Helpers was founded in 2002 by Tony Bonacuse with the help of Peter Ross after their firsthand experience in caring for their respective family members. Tony and Peter identified a need that was not being filled properly by the other companies. They realized most seniors would prefer to age in their own home rather than move into an unfamiliar institution. Unfortunately, the options available to most seniors were very limited. Most seniors did not have access to well-trained, dependable and affordable in-home care. This was the mission-driven spark that started Senior Helpers.

The first office opened in Baltimore, and quickly developed a reputation for delivering excellent in-home senior care with their well-trained staff of professional caregivers. Based on the success of the Baltimore location, the company began to expand. Over the past 13 years, the Senior Helpers family has grown to include a network of more than 300 locally owned and operated franchises across the United States.

Senior Helpers of Myrtle Beach and Pawleys Island, like every other location, is fully-committed to the original goal of providing dependable and affordable in-home care with well-trained caregivers. Nothing is more important to us than being the best available resource for seniors and families in our community.

We have been lucky to serve hundreds of seniors in our community over the years, and we are committed to continuing to provide uncompromising levels of care to all our families.

Our process

The first step in the process is a complimentary, initial in-home care assessment with a Senior Helpers consultant. This assessment can help you understand the true needs of your loved one, and your options. Together we can discuss their needs, our senior care services and determine what’s best for your entire family.

We will cover:

Your family's specific goals

Your loved one's daily plan design and schedule

Pricing and payment methods

Implementation process

Ongoing communication and follow-up plan

Meet the Myrtle Beach Team

Amy Petersen-Smith

Owner

From a young age growing up in the Midwest, Amy’s grandparents and parents not only instilled a strong work ethic but that caring, respecting, and giving back to your elders was just the natural way of life. She started this mission early in life as a first grader, volunteering with her grandpa at the church. She always enjoyed hearing the stories and jokes told by the “young fellas” and picked up a bit of wisdom along the way. She later went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and spent the last 25 years in executive management for various human service companies; including the last 9 years with the corporate office for Senior Helpers before moving to Charleston. She and her husband, Barry realized the value of being able to help seniors remain independent at home after her grandma had a fall and was forced to move out of her home for her own safety. They have seen the struggle that so many families experience in trying to keep mom or dad at home, where they want to be, because life pulls us in many directions. We cannot provide that care all the time nor have the energy it takes to care of an aged loved one and manage your own lives. Amy and Barry decided to take this value and bring the convenience of living with assistance at home to your loved one in Charleston, Dorchester, and Berkeley Counties with Senior Helpers. Their mission is to bring you a sense of peace knowing your loved one is being taken care of by friendly, trained, and compassionate care providers all in their comfort of your loved one’s home. In her free time, Amy enjoys running, swimming, biking, taking her dog (and office mascot) Brutus to the beach, watching college football (especially her beloved Ohio State Buckeyes), and cooking for friends and family.

Sierra

Recruiter

Sierra was born and raised in the beautiful city of Greenville, SC. As a little girl, Sierra dreamed of living at the beach. In 2018 she had a chance to move to Garden City Beach, and she gladly took that opportunity! She has 3 amazing children whose names are Asher, Alaina, and Atticus that get to grow up by the waves! Sierra has always carried a loving heart for the senior community. She helped her grandmother who had cancer, live her last days in peace and comfort. She started working for senior home care agencies at the age of 16 and has been able to move her way up into the office! She enjoys the change and is happy that she is still able to help the seniors in finding a good caregiver like her to go into their home.

Faith Sanders

Family Care Director

Faith Sanders is our Family Care Director, she is a Passamaquoddy Native American that grew up in the easternmost “city” of the USA, known as Eastport, Maine. Living through Maine winters all her life and dreading the snow each year, in 2020 she decided it was time to move where she vacationed and start a new chapter in life, Myrtle Beach. Her love for caregiving came at a very young age of 10 years old when her Great-Grandmother had a terrible fall, causing brain trauma and leaving her paralyzed on one side. Faith was a natural and quickly realized then that she wanted to help elders. After graduating high school, she became a CNA and worked in many fields of healthcare including home care and hospice with a real passion for Alzheimer’s and dementia clients’. In her role as the Family Care Director at Senior Helpers she takes pride in being able to help families navigate through the world of Home Care and ensure sure loved ones’ can safely age at home with good quality care. When she is not working you can catch her on the beach watching the sunrise, while enjoying some ocean therapy, or spending time with her sons and their cats.

Meet the Myrtle Beach Office

Our History

Our process

Meet the Myrtle Beach Team

Areas We Serve