No One Should Face
Aging or End of Life Alone

After marrying and having 2 beautiful daughters, Karen stopped working in healthcare for a while — but the passion and love for helping others never left. As family members or friends became sick, she was there to advocate for them and their families, offering emotional and practical support to get them through the complexities of health-related issues.

Walking closely alongside her mother-in-law who died from pancreatic cancer, and in later years having to navigate oceans to support her own mother who died from multiple myeloma, Karen developed a strong belief that no one should ever have to age alone or die alone.

In 2013 Karen, alongside her husband and their two daughters, moved to Palm Beach County — leaving some family behind while looking for better opportunities and a safer environment to raise their children. Karen soon started working in a small primary care office that specialized in geriatric care. It was not long before she developed a deeper connection with her patients, realizing their problems were not always something the doctor could fix: patients in their homes living alone while trying to manage physical, emotional, and/or cognitive decline; home and food insecurities; the need to move into an assisted living facility but not knowing how or where to start the process; social isolation.

Once, a patient arrived at the office and was unable to speak more than one sentence before he complained of pain and had to cough. Karen asked how long this had been happening and his response was: "I have not spoken to anyone for months so never knew it was a problem." The doctor later diagnosed him with stage 4 cancer. Another patient, aged 98, reported extreme fatigue — on questioning him, he revealed he was fighting sleep every night because he was scared he would die in his sleep and no one would know.

As a small primary care office there was only so much that could be done. But when Conviva, a large primary care provider, bought the practice, things eventually changed. They introduced Community Health Workers to conduct home visits and meet what are called SDOH needs — Social Determinants of Health. Karen jumped into this new opportunity with both feet. It allowed her to offer the level of hands-on care seniors really need. She met both seniors and, if available, family and caregivers in the homes, assessed what was needed, and not only made care plans to recommend a plan of action but assisted in getting everything concreted. For example, if a patient needed to apply for long-term care through Medicaid, she did not just provide the phone numbers — she would walk the patient and the family through the entire process.

During Covid, Karen completed certification in elder care and end of life studies through Doulagivers. Since then she has had a burning passion to start her own business so that she can give her all without the limitations that working for corporate brings. Then was not the right time — but now is. Navigating The Sunsets Together has been birthed, and Karen is looking forward to having the privilege to journey alongside seniors, their families, loved ones, and caregivers in what we like to call "The Sunset or Golden Years."