Marina Ramirez
Marina Ramirez, our owner and President, has over twenty years of professional experience in Finance, Marketing and Customer Service at both national and multinational organizations. Her professional life was guided by a commitment to exceptional quality and service.
Marina gained first-hand understanding of the difficulties of taking care of an aging parent when her mother passed away and she and her sisters became the primary caretakers of their father. He had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and after several difficult years eventually succumbed to the ravages of this disease. At the same time, she saw her mother in law struggling for many years to take care of her husband, who suffered from Parkinson’s. These heartfelt experiences made her realize the need for quality for in-home care for the elderly and moved her to create Assisting Hands Palm Beach.
Marina is an involved leader in the Palm Beach community. She has been a member of the West Palm Beach Rotary Club for many years and now also serves on the Board. Since she has both personal and professional experience with the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease, she has been involved as a Chair member of the Alzheimer’s Walk for three years in a row. In addition, she is a longtime active member of the Hispanic Chamber, lately serves as Chair of the Healthcare Committee.
Fluent in both Spanish and English, she has a BA from Georgetown University and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley and enjoys reading, gardening, traveling and sharing the simple joys of life her husband and teenage daughter.
A commitment to quality in service combined with empathy and passion ensures that at Assisting Hands® Home Care – Palm Beach we fulfill our pledge to provide “Quality Home Care You Can Trust!”
Carline Grand-Pierre, RN, NP
Carline Grand-Pierre, RN, NP is Assisting Hands® Palm Beach’s Nursing Supervisor.
At Assisting Hands® Carline is accountable for caregiver training, supervision, and in-services, visiting clients, and compliance, among many other responsibilities. She is great at identifying that “little something” that a caregiver may need to make her better and makes sure that caregiver receives that training and feedback. For clients, she is quick to understand their requirements and makes sure that everyone gets that extra bit of attention. Everyday Carline’s drive and positive attitude motivate us all.
Growing up in New York, Carline moved to Florida a young teenager. She has over 25 years of experience in the health care field; where she started as a CNA, a certified nursing assistant, working in home care. She studied, became a registered nurse (RN), continued to study and is now a nurse practitioner (NP). Indefatigable, Carline continues to study to specialize in psychiatry. For many years Carline has worked at hospitals.
When asked, Carline will tell that the story that drives her devotion to deliver the best care to all her patients and families is this: she was inspired by her Aunt Evelyn who is a Nurse Practitioner. After Carline finished her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and started working, her aunt invited her to follow her for a week. Carline spent a week with her aunt and followed her throughout the hospital as her aunt encountered each patient, she greeted them and took time to be with each of them. It seemed to Carline that most of the patients regarded her aunt as part of their family, they all hugged her and told her personal issues that were going on with their lives. Carline says: “my aunt Evelyn did not just practice skills, she practiced empathy and competent care. What I learned during that week of spending time with her, the patients and their families changed my life in a profound way. Since that week, I am devoted to caring for all my patients with excellence and empathy.”
Verna Wagner
Verna is the glue that holds our office together. She’s been in the medical field for the past 27+ years in different capacities. Verna serves as our office manager/scheduler and effortlessly juggles client requirements, HIPAA regulations and caregiver placement with kindness, care, efficiency, compassion, and consideration. Prior to Assisting Hands, she worked in a chiropractic and rehabilitation practice where she was the office and human resources manager for a multi-location trauma and rehabilitation facility. She is well versed in patient care, client service, resource management, and has a keen eye for details.
In addition to being a Florida native, born in Ft. Lauderdale and attending school in Palm Beach County, Verna is also of Bahamian descent and enjoys traveling back to her family’s home country several times a year. She has three adult children and several grandchildren. She enjoys reading, cooking, brain puzzles and attending church with her family and also is very active in her high school classes’ multiple community causes, projects and organizations in her spare time.
Verna’s top priority is to ensure our clients are able to live at home happy, healthy and safe and that the caregivers we employ are fully compatible within the assignments they are placed so that a harmonious situation is enjoyed by both caregiver and client. She is always open to questions and concerns and handles all aspects of her duties with deep knowledge of the needs in our business and obtaining successful results.
