Meet Danny O’Brien, Founder and CEO of Avila Home Care
Avila Home Care represents the integration of Founder and CEO Danny O’Brien’s professional experiences in senior living, health care and pastoral ministry. For sixteen years, Danny was a senior executive and board member of Erickson Living, one of the nation’s leaders in senior living and health care. At Erickson, he served as Executive Director of Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville. At the time, it was the largest life-care retirement community in the United States, providing housing and healthcare for over 2,400 residents with over 1,300 staff.
In 2006, he received an unexpected invitation to become the pastor of Grace Fellowship Church. Early on in Danny’s career, he’d earned his seminary degree and served in a ministry to young adults (Young Life) in Baltimore County, and this new call to service was a profound opportunity for Danny to work with the families at Grace to build a beautiful ministry, especially serving those with disabilities, illness, and other physical and emotional challenges, as well as providing end of life spiritual guidance.
During his time at Erickson, and throughout the decade that Danny served as the pastor of Grace Fellowship Church, he realized that there was a tremendous need for quality home care services for seniors who are not yet prepared to leave their home, but who need more support to age in place.
In the years since Danny founded Avila Home Care to meet this need, the staff has grown to a team of over 350 caregivers- all of whom Danny personally meets with and interviews before inviting them to serve our clients. “We hire people for whom serving seniors and other homebound clients is not just a job, but a calling. Our entire Avila family of caregivers and staff see our work as God’s work- and we serve with joy and gratitude every day.”
Avila’s partnerships with GBMC HealthCare, Lifebridge Health Partners, and Gilchrist Hospice have enhanced the capacity and services we provide, and Danny and the staff are grateful for the opportunity to nurture relationships between our clients and our partners to ensure the best care possible.
Read about our other wonderful staff and nurses at Avila Home Care!
Fire Safety Tips You Should Know While Aging in Place
As we age, it can become harder to take care of ourselves on our own and protect ourselves from potentially dangerous situations. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), adults over the age of 65 are twice as likely to be injured or killed by home fires than anyone else. When choosing to age…
Marthalyn Kwenah is Avila’s Caregiver of the Month for March, 2021!
Marthalyn Kwenah is Avila’s Caregiver of the Month for March, 2021! Marthalyn has been a caregiver with Avila since June 2018. She is a delight to talk to, and is always willing to help in whatever way she can. The compassion and kindness she shows her clients is surpassed only by her joy-filled spirit. Congratulations…
Aging in Place: Planning for Natural Disasters or Emergencies
While natural disasters and other emergencies affect everyone, older adults tend to be more vulnerable in these situations. Here, the caregivers at Avila Home Care help to ensure that aging in place seniors are prepared in the event of an emergency and have a plan to address their individual needs. Developing an emergency plan specific…