Senior Care of Alaska Inc.: working to re-establish identity after state program ends.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa

On July 28, 2007, Gov. Sarah Palin signed Senate Bill 4 to continue support for low-income older Alaskans through the Senior Benefits Program. While this continuation of financial resources will certainly benefit the state's senior population, perhaps no one is happier about the new program than Kevin Turkington, CSA, president of Senior Care of Alaska Inc.

The company, which provides non-medical, in-home care for seniors, has often been confused with the senior benefits program known as SeniorCare, established by former Gov. Frank Murkowski. "When I started this business five years ago, I did a name search to make sure that our company name did not conflict with any similar services located in the same locale, which was a state requirement," explained Turkington. "When Gov. Murkowski took office in 2002, he tabled the state's Longevity Bonus and replaced it with a program called SeniorCare. I called the governor's office and cried foul, because that kind of confusion wasn't good for either of us."

Despite his complaints, the government program continued under the same name, causing quite a bit of confusion. "As the program continued to grow, my phone started ringing off the hook," said Turkington. "People wanted to know how to get their checks. Then they started coming into our offices."

CONFUSION REIGNS

When the legislative session ended in May without extending the expiring SeniorCare program, the problem got even worse. "People were extremely frustrated, and because they confused us with the state program, it really placed a gray cloud over our business," said Turkington.

Now that the state's SeniorCare program has been replaced by the Senior Benefits Program, Turkington hopes that people will come to think of Senior Care of Alaska Inc. in a more positive light. "Our sole focus is on customer service," said Turkington, whose staff provides clients with assistance in areas...