Shontres Miller is co-owner of Beaches Home Care, with offices at 3304 Sawgrass Village Circle in Ponte Vedra Beach. Recently, Beaches Home Care received the highest number of votes from readers to win the Best In-Home Care category in the Best of the Beaches community poll. In addition, it has received numerous five-star reviews online.
Tell me a little bit about Beaches Home Care and what types of services it offers.
Beaches Home Care is a nurse registry and we match our clients with our CNAs [Certified Nursing Assistants] for home health care and companion services. Our company offers home health care and companion services, which include but are not limited to personal hygiene, light housekeeping, sitting services, transportation, errands, etc.
How long have you been in business?
Beaches Home Care started in 2013 as Ponte Vedra Home Care.
I know Beaches Home Care comes highly recommended and won the Best of the Beaches in its category. What sets it apart from other agencies?
What sets it apart is that we try our best to get caregivers that actually care about our clients, as well as we have adopted the philosophy of Patient Over Profit so if we cannot meet your needs we will do everything to get you to the right company who can. Our clients are not just a number; we try to build lasting relationships.
Tell me a little about your background and what drew you to this line of work.
I have been doing this kind of work off and on for 33 years. I started at the Georgia War Veterans Building in Milledgeville, Georgia. I worked for four years full time, unpaid for a senior helping ministry called Rescue Of Love, where we sought out the elderly and coordinated them with any needs they may have had. I have always loved seniors, even as a child going to the nursing homes with a church group called the Pathfinders.
What do you like best about what you do?
I love what I do because by watching seniors and their lives they show me that anyone can get through anything; just keep on living.
Have you lived in this area long? What do you like best about living in Northeast Florida?
I moved to Jacksonville at the age of 7 in 1978 from Huntington, New York. I graduated from Samuel W. Wolfson in 1988 and have been here off and on ever since.
How do you like to spend your free time?
In my free time, I spend it with my children and grandchildren, and I also help a senior that cannot afford our services. I organize yard work for her as well as cleaning of her house and personal hygiene.