George Arab never had the opportunity to see his mother when she became too old to live with him and had to be placed in a nursing home.
In 2020, Arab, a native of Rutland who has worked in the healthcare IT sector for 25 years, bought a pizza. He didn’t have time to visit his sick mother in a Lebanon nursing home since he was too busy with work. Dolly, his mother, passed away in 2021.
A sense of isolation persisted within Arab. Arab’s aunt, who was also admitted to a nursing facility, died in 2020, and his father died when Arab was only 12 years old.
Arab remarked, “I felt like I was left alone in this world.”
As Arab heard the stories of elderly people in distress while working at the pizza, he was reminded of his mother all the time.
Numerous short stories were included. “Like an elderly man whose wife passed away and his children are in a different place,” Arab remarked. ended up wandering the streets alone with his dog.
Inspired by these tales and his own relationship with his mother, Arab decided to leave the pizza and IT industries to become a Seniors Helping Seniors franchisee and assist the elderly.
The organization’s website states that Seniors Helping Seniors is a caregiving service initiative that pairs senior citizens in need of care with older individuals. The Greater Boston area is home to franchises for the organization. The organization’s first franchise in Central Massachusetts will be Arab’s, situated in Worcester.
Seniors in Worcester, Shrewsbury, Northborough, Boylston, West Boylston, and other nearby regions will be served by the Central Massachusetts franchise, according to Arab. By late July or early August, he hopes the franchise will be up and running.
Arab will be in charge of managing the caregivers he employs in his capacity as the franchisee. Additionally, he will be in charge of pairing seniors who are compatible with caregivers.
“Obviously, you would find another caregiver who would match if the senior has cats and the caregiver is allergic to them,” Arab added. It would be my responsibility to ensure that everything is put together properly.
To make sure everything at his franchise runs properly, Arab will apply the 25 years of experience and expertise he has gained in the healthcare IT sector.
Arab assisted in developing data systems for physicians when he started working as an IT specialist at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine in 1998. According to Arab, the physicians utilized the systems to ascertain whether their patients had taken particular drugs, had particular diagnoses, or experienced particular issues. Arab found fulfillment in this profession because it allowed him to indirectly assist patients.
Arab remarked, “I felt like I was connected to something because I was so far away from my parents.”
After accepting an IT position at UMass Memorial Health, Arab relocated to Massachusetts in 2007. Arab purchased the pizzeria in 2020.
When his wife worked in the shop, he initially believed he could continue working in IT, now as a consultant.
However, Arab had to shift his attention from his work in healthcare IT to the pizza when the COVID-19 outbreak struck.
He had to put his mother and aunt in nursing facilities in Lebanon, where they both resided, for the course of the following two years. In an effort to escape the chaos of the unfolding civil war in Lebanon, Arab fled to the United States in 1984 in search of better possibilities.
After his mother passed away, Arab had heard numerous tales from elderly people who were not given much attention at the pizza. When he had to put his loved ones in nursing care, these stores caused him to experience terrible wounds.
He remarked, “I want to do something to help, and the restaurant is bogging me down. I don’t want to sit back and watch.” I am able to provide folks with the independence and respect they are entitled to thanks to the Seniors Helping Seniors franchise.
Arab stated that as his new position draws near, he wants to provide elderly people with the respect they merit, just like his mother did while she was in a nursing home.
According to Arab, caregivers are frequently volunteers. You have the same calling as me if you approach life with that mindset.
