Health Fair Addresses Aging

Seeing an opportunity to increase knowledge of important services, Amanda Avery, Kathleen Stoller, Susan Riesenbach, and Melissa Weigle devised a plan to bring awareness to seniors and their caregivers on Marco Island. The end result is the Engaging Aging Wellness Wednesday health fair taking place on February 7 at Wesley United Methodist Church. 

From 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, 27 vendors representing a broad spectrum of businesses will be dispensing information and answering questions from their booths. There’ll also be presentations, demonstrations, raffles, free coffee, tea and snacks. Attendees will receive a free raffle ticket, with an opportunity to purchase more, to be entered into the drawings for more than 23 door prizes. All raffle sales proceeds will go to the Marco Island Food Bank. People are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items for donation to the food bank. 

The free event is sponsored by the businesses that created it, Marco Island Downsizing Solutions, SKR Home Health Care Solutions, and Senior Care Authority of Southwest Florida, both located in Naples. 

“We're just really hoping this becomes a success and we're able to bring awareness to a lot of people of what services are available in the area,” said Amanda Avery, who co-owns Marco Island Downsizing Solutions with Kathleen Stoller.

Avery said that in working with seniors on Marco, through their business, she and Stoller have “Found a great need for so many different services that are not known to anybody here. So, this for us is another way of bringing like-minded business people who cater to, more or less, an older population, with services that can help them thrive and live as well as they can for as long as they can.”

Marco Island Downsizing Solutions, which opened last March, helps people to declutter and organize their homes, along with moving and downsizing, and cleaning out storage units and garages. Being relatively new, Avery and Stoller have made networking and marketing a focal point in spreading the word about the company’s existence and services. 

At one networking event, they met Susan Riesenbach, founder and owner of SKR Home Health Care Solutions, and Melissa Weigel, an advisor for Senior Care Authority of Southwest Florida. That encounter set in motion the wheels that led to Engaging Aging Wellness Wednesday.

SKR places caregivers, companions, and skilled nurses in homes throughout Southwest Florida. Senior Care Authority of Southwest Florida assists people with making informed choices when choosing an independent living, assisted living, memory care, or skilled nursing facility. 

“We met these other two women and found we all kind of had the same passion for helping people and wanting to bring people together and creating a sense of community,” said Stoller, who credited Avery with suggesting the health fair concept be the vehicle for furthering that goal. “They are very much in the healthcare industry, and we both used to do a lot of elder care but transitioned into this downsizing business. So, we just all have a passion for helping people.”

The event will also help their three companies and the vendors expand their client bases by building awareness among the island’s residents of who they are and what they have to offer. In addition, vendors will make donations to support Wesley United Methodist’s programs.

Stoller stressed the fact Engaging Aging Wellness Wednesday is intended to be an interactive, all-ages affair. 

Avery said she hopes attendees will come away with information and a mindset reflecting the importance of “having a plan so that as you get older, when a crisis hits, you have the help you need, or when health issues arise, you know what's out there to help you along.” 

For more information about Engaging Aging Wellness Wednesday or for questions, please contact Marco Island Downsizing Solution at 508-344-1146 for Kathleen or 262-309-5278 for Amanda.

Senior Care Authority will streamline the process to make it easier for you to make informed choices and reduce the stress associated with such important decisions. Our certified senior care advisors carefully inspect locations of all sizes and at different budget levels. We meet the staff, residents, and family members (when possible). State reports are reviewed to advise you of any citations or complaints issued against a particular provider. Whether it is Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care or Skilled Nursing, we have the knowledge and experience to help you find the best fit. Your elder care advisor will accompany you on visits to places that meet your criteria, ensure that all your questions are answered, and assist with paperwork and negotiations. The hallmark of our service commitment is that we are by your side every step of the way.