01/15/2025
This testimonial perfectly gets to the heart of why I love doing what I do.
"When she learned that I was taking my first wobbly steps into retirement, a friend urged me to look over Elder Care Consultants, Inc. in Reston. Talking with ECC's founder-director, Vanessa Bishop, would be enlightening, my friend said. She was right.
Ms. Bishop's credentials as a social worker specializing in senior living issues are impressive. You can find them in the staff biography section of ECC's website.
Having worked with her for over a year to choose an assisted living facility, update my estate documents, and to select a better team of medical specialists to oversee my deteriorating health situation, I can attest that her performance is top notch. So let me make three points that might not be evident to readers of her professional biography.
First, she has lived and worked in the greater DC area for several decades. She holds degrees from two local universities and has worked in VA, MD and DC. Her deep roots in this area are much more significant than just a matter of she's-one-of-us sentimentality. Her long experience as a social worker here has brought her a wide network of personal contacts that can yield material dividends for her clients. At several times during her work with me, Vanessa has known exactly whom to call to get information we vitally needed.
Second, she takes very seriously her responsibilities as her client's advocate. This has been particularly useful to me several times when I felt I was getting nowhere with intractable bureaucrats or high-level administrators. Vanessa is not afraid to go jaw to jaw with such people if necessary — I have seen her do it.
Third and finally, she is an energetic, hardworking, multi-tasker. She gets more work done in a short period of time than anyone else I have ever met.
Elder care consulting is not cheap. But if you can afford it, it can make a tremendous difference in your quality of life, or that of the person for whom you care, for many years."
- DM
