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!
A Life of Miracles- In Honor of Avila Home Care Client Helen “Halina” Silber
Avila Home Care was blessed to care for Helen “Halina” Silber until her passing this year. A survivor of the Holocaust, she was number 16 of the 1200 souls on Schindler’s list.
“She always said that her life had been a series of ‘miracles with improbable ends and that God was with me all the way,’ and he was until the end of her days,” her daughter Fran reflects.
Bettylue Cooke-Gordon is Avila’s Caregiver of the Month for July, 2023!
Bettylue Cooke-Gordon is Avila’s wonderful Caregiver of the Month for July, 2023! Bettylue is the definition of an incredible caregiver! She is gentle, kind, and cares deeply about her clients. Bettylue always finds a way to not only persevere, but also to go the extra mile. She is reliable, trustworthy, and extremely hardworking. Avila’s clients…
Motunrayo (Mary) Orepekan is Avila’s Caregiver of the Month for February, 2023!
Please join us in congratulating Motunrayo (Mary) Orepekan- Avila’s Caregiver of the Month for February! Mary is the utmost professional, and she is incredibly loyal to all of her clients. She’s experienced working in especially challenging situations. Mary shows compassion and tenacity, and we are so fortunate to have her be a part of our…