LEBANON – A private agency supporting independent living for the aging population of central and northern New Hampshire is now under new ownership.
Comfort Keepers of Central New Hampshire, which provides non-medical, privately-funded home care and assistance to residents of 78 communities stretching from Laconia to Lebanon and north to the Notches, has been sold by Through the Woods, Inc. of Campton to Swats Ventures, Inc.
Maundy Mitchell, owner and administrator, sold the company Monday, May 14 to Martha Swats, another New Hampshire resident. The sale and transition were coordinated by New Hampshire Business Sales, and its Business Transition Strategies Director John Howe.
Swats said she is retaining all current management personnel as well as caregivers and homemakers, so clients should see no change in the service they receive.
“Maundy set a fine example for providing quality care for our clients, and a good work environment for the staff, and I intend to continue this,” said Swats, who just returned from an intensive training program at the Comfort Keepers’ national office in Dayton, Ohio.
The agency is licensed by the State of New Hampshire, and is part of the Comfort Keepers national franchise system. It employs approximately 45 people living in Belknap, Carroll and Grafton counties. In addition to private care and homemaking, the agency also works with veterans under contract with the Veterans Administration. It has offices in Campton and Lebanon. More can be found at the web site, www.comfortkeepers.com/office-633/campton-new-hampshire
“We have had the good fortune of working with many talented people, and serving many wonderful clients through the years,” said Mitchell. “I will miss everyone, but am looking forward to starting a new chapter in my life.”
“Together with her husband Matthew Kizer, Mitchell started Comfort Keepers in 2005 with a single office and small staff, and built it up to a professional organization spread across three counties,” commented Howe, who brokered the transaction. “It continues to be among the top offices in the Northeast region for the franchise.”
Swats holds a B.S. degree from Old Dominion University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Troy State. She is also an Emergency Medical Technician and a Licensed Nursing Assistant.
Trends suggest the demand for services will continue to grow. A recent study by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire indicates: “The number of older adults in New Hampshire will increase rapidly during the next two decades because of aging in place and a migration gain of older adults.”