Meet Josh and Amy Angeles of Class Act Assisted Living Homes in Southeast

Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh and Amy Angeles.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
A few years ago, we had to make the hard decision to move Amy’s Nana, Marie, out of her home she had lived in for over 50 years and into assisted living. Nana fought the change and swore she would never be happy moving but after a few falls and close calls with her health, we had to make the tough decision. A few years before that, Amy’s family had to do the same with her great grandma, Birdie, but the outcomes of the two situations couldn’t be different. Marie ended up in a high-end 100 bed assisted living facility with all the accommodations of a 5-star resort, but the outcome of her being there was anything but 5 stars. The staff was overworked often with them having to take care of 10-15 residents to one caregiver, so needless to say, Marie’s needs were often overlooked or forgotten. Meanwhile, Grandma Birdie was placed in a small 8 bed assisted living home where she received impeccable care and was doted on like a member of the family. These experiences set us up for our future – little did Josh and I know at the time. Fast forward and Josh and I move from the expensive and hectic lives in San Francisco with our newborn in tow to the relaxing, better cost of living and, most important, family-friendly, living of Arizona. Once here, we wanted to start a business but not just any business. Having had the experience with Marie and Birdie we had and knowing the need for seniors will only increase as the baby boomers reach their retirement years, we decided on senior assisted living and knew that the smaller 10-bed homes were perfect for us to make an impact larger than most businesses. Being Christians we knew we would be better able in the smaller home to help make a difference in the sunset years of these residents lives. Our daughter and now, newborn son, will be able to grow up with our residents and we can bring everyone – caregivers, residents and their families – into our family and hopefully make a joyful difference in their sunset years. We feel truly blessed to be able to take our past experiences with our most prized family members and help to extend that love and care to our residents.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
We can definitely say the hardest part of this business is saying a final goodbye to residents that are in the final days of their lives. You become so close to the residents and their families that you create a bond with them, so when they pass it’s as if you lost a family member. It’s not something you can prepare for or get used to. There are always challenges with any business especially when dealing with other peoples’ loved ones, but when you can focus on the positive mission of your business – in our case, to provide the best care with the most amount of love & attention for our resident’s in their sunset years – you can rise above any issues or troubles that may arise.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Class Act Assisted Living Homes – what should we know?
We have the privilege of owning two 10-bed senior assisted living homes in Mesa. We provide a home and around the clock care to our 20 residents in their sunset years. Everything from assisting with their daily living needs (clothing, bathing, etc.) and higher levels of care based on the need to providing fun and mind stimulating games and entertainment. We are known for clean beautiful homes, but what sets us apart is our caring and loving staff. In this industry, it is very difficult to find good caregivers, it is well known that the average turnover for caregivers in any home is 6 months or less, but over time we have been able to really find amazing help and I can say what sets us apart from other homes is that we are able to retain these amazing men and women because we put a major focus on their happiness as employees knowing that their happiness will rub off on their work and the residents. We are so proud when we have a family or family friend take us aside as owners to complement the incredibly hard work our employees put in but even more proud when they notice the love and care each of them put into each day. We have employees who will take their own money to buy gifts, cakes and special treats for residents or come and sit with them on their days off because they truly love them as a family. It’s beautiful to watch and we feel incredibly fortunate to have them.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
The ability to deal with change and problem solve on a daily basis. Since we work with 20 different people with 20 different personalities and needs, including the families, doctors and maintaining two homes, every day is different with new obstacles and problems to solve. You have to love a little chaos, at times and have the ability to not let problems get to you but to spring into action to solve them. Little things to most people can actually cause a major problem in our world, for example – a washer or dryer stop working and most people can wait for a repairman to show up hours or days later but for us we’re running multiple loads a day to ensure the cleanest and healthiest environments for our residents so you have to become a handyman or get creative in solving such an issue in the quickest way possible. Josh is fantastic at embracing those moments instead of hiding from them and jumps right in to fix them.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1249 N Los Alamos, Mesa, AZ 85213 2156 E Glencove St, Mesa AZ 85213
• Website: www.ClassActALH.com
• Phone: 480-710-1154
• Email: josh@classactalh.com

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