New Business to Provide Care for the Disabled

With a personal experience with the devastation of illness on family members, Mary Lindewirth and Lorraine Frankel have opened Touching Hearts at Home to help those with disabilities.

The center, part of a national company, helps seniors and those with disabilities or illness to live independently for as long as possible.

“We were inspired to open this business from personal experience,” Lindewirth, a Long Hill resident, said.

Lindewirth said she lost her father a few years ago to Parkinson’s Disease and dementia.

“As a result, my eyes were opened to the devastation this type of illness puts a family through,” she said.

And at around the same time, Lindewirth said, Frankel was diagnosed with colon cancer, and fortunately survived. Frankel underwent two surgeries and months of chemotherapy, but her community joined together to make sure she was well cared for.

“But our experiences changed us,” Lindewirth said. “We couldn’t just go back to our corporate lives, but instead wanted to take our experience and help others in similar situations,” she said.

The center is expected to serve families in Basking Ridge, Berkeley Heights, Bernardsville, Chatham, Chatham Township, Dunellen, Green Brook, Harding, Long Hill, Madison, Millburn, Morristown, Murray Hill, New Providence, Plainfield, Short Hills, Warren, Watchung and Westfield.

Touching Hearts at Home, according to a release from the owners, has been expanding to meet a demand for care and companionship delivered at home. Caregivers, the release said, help with light housekeeping, shopping, meal preparation, transportation, medication reminders and more.

According to the release, Touching Hearts at Home offers personalized and flexible home care services, all for as little as one hour per visit, up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Lindewirth has a bachelor's degree in economics and political science from Stony Brook University. Frankel has a Bachelor of Science in business administration from SUNY New Palz, and an MBA from Adelphi University.

Both women are Certified Home Health Aides, and have completed the American Heart Association’s First Aid CPR AED program.

In addition, Lindewirth is certified in the Alzheimer’s Association essentiALZ Plus Dementia Advanced Care.

Lindewirth and Frankel said they want to give back to those who may be in need.

“Though our personal experiences are different, we are both forever changed by them,” Lindewirth said. “We agree that while our healthcare system focuses on taking care of the physical aspect of illness and aging, not enough is done to help ward off depression, loneliness or to restore purpose in lives that are made more difficult due to chronic illness and/or aging.”

“This is an area we can be most helpful,” Frankel added. “We match compassionate caregivers with clients that share things in common, giving them the most potential to build long-lasting, personal relationships. I was lucky to have an incredible support network. Our clients deserve the same.”

For more information on the organization, visit the website at touchinghearts.com/NorthCentralNJ, or call 908-607-1945.