Lifelong Sharon resident launches business to help families navigate aging

SHARON – Meghan Kenny is on a mission to support an aging population with the launch of a new company, Alumni Care Advisors. From small day-to-day tasks to major life transitions, Kenny’s vision is to become a trusted resource for families and individuals navigating the challenges of aging.

Kenny, a lifelong Sharon resident, is no stranger to caregiving. After serving as the director of the Salisbury Visiting Nurses Association Home Assistance (SVNA) for more than a decade, she said the time to start her own venture became evident as a growing gap in the market emerged.

“We’re in a rural area, and geriatric care management is essential in alleviating emotional, financial and physical worries,” she said. “But you really have to know what’s going on.”

Her business helps older adults and their families navigate the challenges of aging by coordinating care, assisting with insurance and Medicare paperwork, advocating with healthcare providers and connecting clients with resources.

Kenny grew up in a funeral home and eventually earned her degree in mortuary science in college. She said growing up in that atmosphere and being exposed to uncommon situations as a child and teenager prepared her for a lifelong commitment to supporting an aging population.

“It was extremely common for somebody to knock on the door when I was home, and I had to learn how to respond to different types of situations,” Kenny said.

One day, she recalled, a distraught man visited the funeral home and told Kenny that his wife had just died. “It really gave me an idea of what people go through during such an emotional and confusing time.”

Today, Kenny brings that compassion to Alumni, providing personalized geriatric care management and patient advocacy services “because no aging journey is the same.”

To date, she has supported clients with long-term care planning, insurance and Medicare paperwork, and medical bill management. But the support doesn’t stop with logistics, Kenny said. For a dementia client, Kenny recently toured a memory care facility and designed the resident’s room based on color psychology.

“Different colors and different shapes can be more calming than others when it comes to dementia,” Kenny said, “so we designed the room based on her diagnosis.” She continues to visit that client once a week to check in and communicate with the family.

The company’s name was chosen intentionally out of a deep respect for the aging community, Kenny said, and was inspired by the way high school and college alumni are often honored.

“They are the alumni of life,” she said. “They deserve the best, they deserve every option available to them and they should be given that same respectful treatment.”

Kenny launched the business alongside co-owner and senior care advocate Taylor Miller, whom she met while working at SVNA. The two spent five years working together before deciding to build Alumni.

“Taylor came in green, but she molded into this field quickly,” Kenny said. “Our morals and ethics are completely consistent, and we work really well together. Having a partner allows us to serve people around-the-clock.”

Although the business officially launched just weeks ago, Kenny and Miller already have their sights set on a larger goal.

“We want to eventually create a senior hub here in the Northwest Corner,” Kenny said. “A place for exercise classes, crafts, and opportunities for people to socialize and come together.”