No Place Like Home
For families in Bucks and Montgomery counties, Visiting Angels of Bucks-Mont provides an array of caregiving services to help older adults stay safely and happily at home.
Everyone ages differently, each journey as unique as a fingerprint. While one older adult might prefer the comfort and security that comes from moving into a continuing-care retirement community, another prefers to “age in place” in the familiar surroundings of a long-time home.
Aging in place is often an ideal option, until illness, injury, or the ravages of time make staying at home impossible without assistance. These situations can be incredibly challenging, not only for the individual, but also for his or her family.
Steve Mekanik sees such scenarios unfold on a daily basis.
“When Mom or Dad gets to a point where they need help, it can be a big burden on the rest of the family,” he says. “Their adult kids try their best, but it’s a lot to ask because they have their own lives and jobs and obligations. What Mom or Dad really needs is one-to-one, specialized care, where they can stay in the privacy of their own home, surrounded by their belongings and the things that make them happy.”
Mekanik co-owns Visiting Angels of Bucks-Mont with his wife, Jacqueline, a registered nurse. Their enterprise offers nonmedical home healthcare services such as personal hygiene, bathing, and grooming, as well as light housekeeping, doctors’ visits, and companionship. Services range from a one- to two-hour visit for a shower or a checkup to live-in care for those who need around-the-clock assistance, and everything in between. Services can be paid for with long-term-care insurance as well as private pay.
“For nearly 25 years we have served our community—hundreds of seniors and their families—and built a track record of success and compassion, with a quality of care that is second to none in this area,” Mekanik says. “We have seen that people tend to do better when they can stay at home, in part because their family tends to come and visit more often, compared with going into a nursing home.”
Visiting Angels of Bucks-Mont’s 170 caregivers provide care to approximately 120 clients in Bucks County and eastern Montgomery County, from Blue Bell and Lansdale to Red Hill and Green Lane. The organization has grown considerably since the Mekaniks first starting operating their franchise in 2003; they have opened two satellite offices, in Quakertown and Levittown, with another coming soon to the Blue Bell area, all facilitated by a staff of 14 who have 187 years of combined experience in senior care.
“Our caregivers are the best you’re going to find,” Mekanik says. “The average age of our caregivers is 49, so they have a lot of experience. Most have been with us for at least two years. Every caregiver we provide has to pass the ‘Mom Test.’ Even if they meet the state compliance of a clean criminal background and they clear an additional background check, if for some reason we don’t feel comfortable sending them out to Mom, we don’t hire them.”
Visiting Angels of Bucks-Mont tailors care to each client, including those with specialized needs, such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. In fact, Mekanik recently earned a Certified Dementia Practitioner® designation from the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners. While such certification is not required of a healthcare professional, the CDP® designation reflects Mekanik’s commitment to person-centered dementia care, sustained through recertification every two years. In addition, Visiting Angels of Bucks-Mont’s specially trained caregivers can provide hospice care, palliative care, and assistance to military veterans. The company has the flexibility to adjust care schedules as needs change.
“If you’re going out of town for a wedding and want to take Grandmom or Grandpop with you, we can help you plan that out,” he says. “We also offer respite care for clients with dementia and other specialized issues. If you’re the primary caregiver and want to go away for a three-day weekend, we can provide that care in your place.”
While Visiting Angels of Bucks-Mont is locally owned, the Visiting Angels brand is known far and wide; the corporate parent, which is based in nearby Bryn Mawr, has a network of more than 600 franchises across the country. Safety is the organization’s top priority. Besides helping clients with the activities of daily living, Visiting Angels strives to help clients avoid in-home issues that could become problems later on. For example, in-home assessments for prospective clients can help to eliminate potentially dangerous areas in a home, such as throw rugs or other trip hazards that increase the likelihood of a fall.
“Unlike some other agencies, we are 24/7,” Mekanik adds. “If something happens and you have an unexpected need on a weekend, we can have someone out there to meet the family so you don’t have to wait until Monday to resolve a stressful situation. That happens frequently with hospice, with a patient coming out of the hospital late on a Friday.
“God has blessed us with this company, and we’ve been able to make it work and grow so we can better serve the community,” he continues. “Doing what we do, providing the care we provide, is rarely easy, but it is always worthwhile. Within our territory, whether it’s a family in need or a senior care professional looking for a new opportunity, we want Visiting Angels to be their first thought.”
Visiting Angels of Bucks-Mont
3617 Route 202
Doylestown, PA
(215) 345-9600
Photo by Jody Robinson
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life, October 2026
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life, October 2026
