With a lifetime of experience, five successful entrepreneurs look back at their lives, careers and decisions in a letter to their 25-year-old self. There are few regrets, but many reminders — to always have and maintain integrity, emphasize trust in relationships and focus on long-term sustainable success, not only short-term wins.  

Thank you to Kristine Nickel and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune Media Group for highlighting Take Care Home Health's founder, Susanne Wise, RN, MBA, alongside her daughters, Courtney Wise Snyder, MSG, CMC, and Erika Wise Borland, MA, for a special Mother's Day article "Like Mother, Like Daughter" in the May issue of Style Magazine.

My mother, Ruth, in my eyes, never aged. She made a point to prepare her estate in the event of her death-though rarely did we talk about such topics. In 1990, just after Christmas dinner, as we washed and dried dishes together, I discussed with her the importance of establishing a plan in regard to her own health care. Acknowledging the aging process and initiating the conversations on how to handle various stages is not easy. However, it was important for me to assure my  mother that she was an integral part in the decision-making process for her future well-being. We were both nurses, so as we talked she understood the need to be proactive and plan for her future. This plan allowed for options, which included her wish to age in place and receive care in her own home, buying a long-term care insurance policy, and securing Take Care Advisor’s geriatric care management component. Having this in place assured my mother that her wishes would be met.

By Matt Walsh Editor Susanne Smith Wise has had this scene etched in her mind since she was a grade school girl. She remembers her father, a grain and beef farmer in Coldwater, Mich., population 10,000, sitting at the kitchen table, in the quiet of 3 a.m., writing his thoughts about his latest idea and next ventures. ...

As President for Take Care Home Health and Take Care Advisor, Courtney Wise Snyder coordinates and facilitates daily operations, ensuring a continuity of character and consistency of values that enable both companies to provide outstanding, services. Take Care specializes in personal care, whether in the client’s home or facility and helps clients navigate their health care with registered nurse geriatric care managers.