Congratulations to Elder Care Coordinator Debbie Groh – The APA’s Outstanding Service Provider
by Dennison Keller
It is a bitter-sweet time for us at The Law Practice of Dennison Keller. On one hand, we are thrilled that our Elder Care Coordinator, Debbie Groh, was named the Outstanding Service Provider in the Field of Aging by the Association for Professionals in Aging (APA). We feel tremendous pride that Debbie is the fourth member of our team to be honored by the APA since 2011 – a strong indicator of the culture of our firm. We loved celebrating with her and her wonderful family at the APA awards ceremony this month.
At the same time, we are sad because Debbie is retiring. Her award is a fitting exclamation point to a sparkling career helping the aging. As I write this, today is her last day of full-time employment. She will stay on to help with vacation relief, but we will miss her terribly day to day.
To give you a sense of what she means to the firm, and to elders in the area, indulge me in reading the nomination letter we submitted for her APA award.
“Debbie Groh is an angel. That statement is not hyperbolic opinionated commentary. It’s just a fact – or at the very least, the reality experienced by the clients at the Law Practice of Dennison Keller. I know this because I hear it over and over from their own mouths. “That Debbie Groh is an Anngggeellll.”
A registered nurse by trade, she spent the bulk of her career at St. Margaret Hall. There, she served as the Restorative Nurse Coordinator, Assistant Director of Nursing, Privacy Officer, and Director of Admission. She could have retired and put a capstone on a meaningful career almost a decade ago. As a matter of fact, she did. But she could not resist an opportunity that she viewed as too good to be true – not a financial opportunity filled with perks, but an opportunity to extend what is her life’s mission: to advocate for senior citizens. In 2016 she accepted her position as Elder Care Coordinator at our elder law firm. Her “retirement” lasted a grand total of one week.
Since then, I have watched Debbie draw on her forty years of experience helping families choose the right facility, make end-of-life decisions, lend a sympathetic ear or shoulder to cry on, advocate at care conferences, and occasionally call out facility staff when she knows they could do better for their residents. Yet, she does it all with a grace and unyielding kindness that most of us mere mortals can only strive to attain.
Still, don’t be fooled by her wings. Like the Archangel Michael, she knows sometimes battle is necessary. And she will summon all powers available to her to take on a long-term care insurance company denying coverage that was rightfully earned and paid for by a deserving elder.
In her entire tenure at the firm, I can honestly think of only one professional criticism that I have given her: “Debbie, you need to take more vacation time.” Over the past nine years, she has endured numerous personal challenges that would have offered her the perfect excuse to call it quits……for real this time. But she kept coming back, always drawn by the mission to help elders get to a better place.
She has dedicated her entire life to serving the elderly, providing hands-on care, comforting them, and enhancing their quality of life. If that’s not God’s work, I don’t know what is. And if you believe there really are angels among us, then you must recognize Debbie Groh as the Outstanding Provider in the Field of Aging.
Thank you Debbie! And enjoy your retirement!!!!!!
