In a recent episode of Health Futures: Taking Stock in You, host Bob Roth welcomed Michelle Sayles, Co-Founder of Gentle Hearts Living Solutions, for a conversation about caregiving, senior living, navigating the complexities of aging and how one family’s experience became the foundation for a growing business.
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Sayles and her husband, Nicholas, founded Gentle Hearts Living Solutions in 2018 after experiencing firsthand how difficult it can be to navigate care for an aging loved one. Both were hospice nurses, but when Sayles’ grandmother, Vida, needed more support, even their professional backgrounds did not make the process simple.
That experience ultimately shaped the mission behind Gentle Hearts Living Solutions.
Sayles recalled that her grandmother wanted to remain in her own home through the end of her life. After initially considering assisted living, the family ultimately brought in a live-in caregiver, allowing Vida to remain at home until she died.
What struck Sayles was how challenging the experience had been despite her extensive healthcare background.
“We are very educated in the senior space, and we had no idea what we were doing,” Sayles said.
The experience helped inspire Sayles to leave hospice and build a company that could guide other families through those same difficult decisions. Gentle Hearts began modestly, with Sayles working from a closet using a borrowed laptop and a clearance notebook, before eventually growing into a multi-state business.
But Vida’s influence went far beyond starting the company.
Sayles told Roth that caring for her grandmother changed the way she approaches families today. It taught her that sometimes the goal of professional care is not simply to care for the older adult, but to allow family members to return to being family.
“You get to become their loved one again,” Sayles said.
For Sayles, that meant being able to spend time with her grandmother without every interaction revolving around her medical needs.
“I just wanted to be able to be there and hold her hand when she died, and I got to do that,” she said. “And I want every family to be able to experience that.”
That personal experience is at the heart of Gentle Hearts Living Solutions, which Sayles said was designed to be more than a senior placement agency. The company’s tagline, “where compassion meets expertise,” reflects its combination of clinical experience and personalized guidance.
“We’re not just handing people a list,” Sayles said.
Instead, the company helps families evaluate different living and care options and navigate resources based on their individual circumstances. Sayles said her clinical background also allows her team to assess what level of care may actually be appropriate for an older adult.
Roth and Sayles also discussed one of the strongest emotions families experience when it becomes clear an aging loved one can no longer safely remain at home: guilt.
Sayles said families often come to Gentle Hearts during a crisis, such as a discharge from a hospital or rehabilitation facility. A spouse may have promised to care for a husband or wife at home indefinitely, or an adult child may be trying to coordinate care from across the country or even overseas.
“The biggest one is guilt,” Sayles said.
Those decisions become even more difficult when families confront the cost of long-term care and realize that many services are paid for privately rather than through Medicare.
The conversation underscored the importance of planning before a crisis occurs. Roth and Sayles discussed not only the financial side of aging, but also issues such as powers of attorney, trusts and planning for family members with special needs.
For families already facing a care decision, Sayles said education can make the process less overwhelming.
She also cautioned against relying solely on an internet search when looking for senior living.
“I think that’s the biggest mistake,” Sayles said of simply Googling options.
Families may be inundated with calls or directed toward communities that are not appropriate for their needs or budget. Instead, Sayles encourages families to work with professionals who can help narrow the options based on the older adult’s health, finances and preferences.
The discussion also turned to what families should look for when touring assisted living or memory care communities.
Sayles said families can understandably be drawn to how attractive a building looks, while overlooking factors that may say much more about the quality of care. She encourages families to review state records, deficiencies and complaints and to pay attention to details during a visit.
One red flag for Sayles is the smell of ammonia, which she said can sometimes raise questions about cleanliness or how frequently residents are receiving care.
Just as important, she said, is remembering whose decision it ultimately is.
“It’s their home,” Sayles said of involving older adults in the process. “It is going to be possibly the last place that they live in their lifetime, so they should be able to have some say.”
The episode also explored ethics within the senior placement industry. Sayles and Roth discussed the importance of transparency around referral fees and the potential for financial incentives to influence recommendations.
Gentle Hearts’ employees are salaried W-2 employees rather than commission-based, a structure Sayles said helps remove the incentive to steer a family toward one community because it pays a larger referral fee.
For Sayles, that approach is also connected to her identity as a nurse.
“I took an oath with that nursing license to do the right thing,” she said.
Gentle Hearts has also received the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Ethics, while Sayles has worked to promote professional standards through the National Placement and Referral Alliance. She serves as president of the organization’s Idaho chapter and has advocated for stronger standards in the senior referral industry.
Growth has taken Gentle Hearts beyond Arizona.
Sayles explained that the company expanded into Idaho after seeing both the state’s growing senior population and an opportunity to bring its model of care navigation to the region. What surprised her most about Idaho, she said, was the collaborative culture among healthcare and aging-services providers.
“The biggest thing that has taught me is the sense of community,” Sayles said.
Rather than treating every other organization as a competitor, she said providers frequently work together, an approach she hopes to encourage in Arizona as well.
Gentle Hearts is also beginning to establish a presence in Nevada. Sayles said the company had looked at expanding there as early as 2019, but changes in state law only recently made it possible to move forward.
Still, when Roth asked how she hopes Gentle Hearts will be remembered 20 years from now, Sayles did not point to the number of states the company serves or how large it might become.
“The compassionate care we give to people on a daily basis,” she said. “If I can change one person’s life every day, that’s a good day for me.”
The conversation fittingly ended where it began: with Vida.
Roth asked Sayles what she believed her grandmother would think if she could see what Sayles and her husband had built from the experience of caring for her.
“I think that she would be proud of me,” Sayles said.
But she added that Vida might be even more proud that the business has given Sayles the flexibility to remain present for her own children.
“I think she’d more so care about that than how well I’ve done in business,” Sayles said. “But doing well in business got me there.”
🎧 Listen to the full episode of Health Futures: Taking Stock in You to hear Bob Roth and Michelle Sayles discuss caregiving, senior living, planning for aging, choosing the right care setting, ethics in the senior referral industry and the personal story behind Gentle Hearts Living Solutions.
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📝 This content is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered medical or professional advice.
