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Caring
Medical assistant starts elder care consulting company
By Cathy Cassata
“I know what it’s like to unexpectedly lose
your dad and suddenly gain the respon-
sibility of your mom who suffers from
Alzheimer’s,” says Debbi Scarborough,
CMA (AAMA), CSA, CIRS-A, in Pickens,
S.C. That’s why she started Elder Care
Consulting, a one-stop-shop to help care-
givers find services for their loved ones.
Scarborough assists families through-
out South Carolina by finding them in-
home services, such as meal delivery,
transportation, and caretaker options.
“I also make sure that they understand
they have the right to ask for a criminal
background check, driving record, and
drug screening for any person who is
working in the home,” she states.
She also performs in-home safety
checks by inspecting the lighting, remov-
ing dangerous items, and suggesting orga-
nizational processes, such as logs for doc-
tor visits and medications. Scarborough
even offers her services to out-of-state
clients who have elderly family members
living in South Carolina. “I might do peri-
odic check-ins during extreme weather to
make sure they have proper clothing or
bring them a cake on their birthday.”
30 CMA Today MayJun 2009
for caregivers
For families looking for assisted living
communities, Scarborough works hard to
find the right fit. “I have a 100-question
survey that I use when I visit communities
and I usually leave there knowing more
about the facility than the employees do!”
she says. Always keeping her clients’ best
interests in mind, Scarborough says she
turns down placement fees. “When I’m
offered a finder’s fee from communites, I
work with them to put that money toward
my client’s down payment or off their first
month’s rent.”
Finding financial assistance for fami-
lies is a forte of Scarborough’s. “The cost
of caring for an elderly person can be
extremely stressful, and many people aren’t
aware of offerings through Medicaid,
VA benefits, or vouchers offered by the
Alzheimer’s Association and other organi-
zations,” she notes. “So I help them make
use of everything that’s out there.”
Clients also can get stuck in the
quagmire of legal issues, according to
Scarborough. “The decisions that families
have to make for an elderly loved one
can be daunting, so it’s important that
they are educated on all issues,” she says.
For questions with directives, power of
attorney, health care power of attorney,
and living wills, Scarborough connects
families with an elder law attorney.
Scarborough credits her eight years
of medical assisting experience for her
resourcefulness. “A lot of times families
don’t understand the disease process,
medications, side effects, billing and insur-
ance issues, or when to call the doctor,”
she says. “Thanks to my medical assisting
skills, I’m able to guide them in the right
direction to find answers.”
In addition to her CMA (AAMA) cer-
tification, Scarborough is also a certified
senior advisor, a certified information and
referral specialist in aging, holds a train-
ing certification for dementia dialogue,
and is a facilitator with the Alzheimer’s
Association. “All of this combined helps
me provide a well-rounded service for
my customers.”
Elder Care Consulting has assisted
over 150 clients in its three years of busi-
ness, but Scarborough says she’s far from
done. “There are so many people who
are in a crisis situation like I was with
my parents, and they can’t think clearly
or utilize everything they have at their
fingertips,” she states. “I’ll be a success
when I’ve brought peace of mind to as
many caregivers as I possibly can.” 