Meet Our Team of Senior Care Professionals

Bob Mikolich | Owner

Helming Amada Senior Care Cleveland, native Buckeye Bob Mikolich brings three decades of healthcare experience to his role. Ranging in scope from pharmaceuticals to medical device sales and owning a specialty medical company,  Bob was drawn to the homecare industry by the opportunity to help deserving seniors in his community.

An up close and personal experience with his mom and seriously ailing dad also fueled his decision to enter the realm of compassionate senior care, understanding the need that profoundly affects family members as much as clients. “I want to provide senior care in a way that helps people navigate those difficult waters,” he says. “What happens when someone ages should not stress family members in ways that become unmanageable, impacting their own mental, emotional and physical health in the process.”

An expert in long-term care insurance (LCTI) and Veterans Administration (VA) benefits, Bob helps clients and their families distill the complexities of accessing funds to help pay for care. “We know we’ve made a difference in a family’s life by providing exceptional care for their loved one,” he says. “When we are told we’ve lightened their load, we know we’ve been successful in carrying out our very determined mission.”

Bob has been married to Stacee for 25 years and has two boys, Jack, a senior at Ohio State,  Sam, a sophomore at Ohio State.

Kevin McLaughlin, MSN | Director of Clinical Services

Kevin knows that graduating from St. Ignatius High School means everything to so many area residents, a badge he proudly wears in his role as Director of Clinical Services. Starting as the agency’s original employee/operations manager, he wore many hats and was integral in developing all of the company’s Standard Operating Procedures.

Today, his role involves much of the above, as well as marketing and community outreach. He oversees the entire office staff. “My hand in supporting each and every member of our company, and clients and their families, is in everything, which is the way it should be,” he says. “The words I live by are ‘how can we help?’”

Kevin served in the Navy from 1996-2000.  After he was discharged he obtained his BS and MS in Nursing enroute to a long career in venues including the Cleveland Clinic. There he worked in neurology/neurosurgery with an emphasis on Alzheimer’s/dementia. Time as coordinator of the Cleveland Clinic’s Deep Brain Stimulation Program for Parkinson’s disease led to a role as Nurse Manager of Neurology where he oversaw 60 nurses and nurses’ aides, treating patients with strokes, brain tumors and movement disorders.

Married with seven children, Kevin says his wife is his best friend and credits a sense of humor with growing a loving family and compassionate business.

Erin Ruscin, Operations Manager

In her role as Operations Manager, Erin comes to Amada having worked for a wide range of diverse caregiving agencies both as a caregiver and in office management. Her responsibilities at Amada include overseeing scheduling, recruiting and day-to-day business management. Her healthcare journey began as an EMT, transitioning to acute care dialysis for many years.

During a break in healthcare, she worked for one of the Real Housewives of NYC — a clothing manufacturer by profession — in quality control. Erin’s grandfather was a mining engineer, something that had fueled her interest in manufacturing and industry. Additional operations work in her quiver include shipping and logistics, the finely honed attention to detail and optimal efficiency required, she says, translating well to running a successful senior in-home care business.

In her spare time Erin crews on a tall ship, the U.S. Brig Niagara, the relief flagship for Oliver Hazard Perry in 1812’s Battle of Lake Erie. She reveals her great grandfather, a career sailor, owned a tall ship and that she’s been sailing her entire life.

“I was very close to my grandparents growing up,” she says. “My grandmother had medical issues and I was always the caregiver in the family. It makes sense that my passion for seniors would lead to my position with Amada.”

Sharon Sheehan, Caregiver Success Coordinator

Sharon takes her role as Caregiver Success Coordinator quite seriously, noting the scheduling component of her job, though important, is only one part.

“I started with Amada Cleveland as a caregiver myself — one of the very first caregivers when we opened — and can proudly say I worked with the first client,” she says. “I now work with caregivers to find the best possible fit for them, one that takes into consideration their personal lives and career goals, and their strengths and interests,” she continues. This makes her better able to help pair each caregiver with a client who will thrive under their care.

As a child Sharon spent a great deal of time around the kitchen table with a mom who was an LPN, and her nurse colleagues, knowing immediately she wanted to pursue healthcare. “I’d accompany my mom to the scrubs store and have her buy little scrubs for me,” she recalls. She adds as soon as she could work in senior care she did, believing that was the right calling for her.

Accordingly, at 15, Sharon started an afterschool and weekend job in dining services for a senior living community, later becoming an aide at two other facilities looking to focus on memory care. To further her education, she immersed herself in world renowned Positive Approach dementia care expert Teepa Snow’s online instruction and videos. She also garnered experience on the Cleveland Clinic’s neurology floor as a PCNA during the pandemic, transitioning to in-home senior care with Amada, knowing that’s where her heart is.

Alyssa Miller | Talent Sourcing Coordinator

With her entire family in the medical field, Alyssa grew up knowing the importance of caring for others. In her role as Talent Sourcing Coordinator, Alyssa goes to great lengths to ensure caregivers are the best fit for Amada and the clients to whom they are assigned. She hires the most skilled, compassionate caregivers she can find, those who are truly motivated to serve seniors. She also spends time in the field with clients, families and caregivers to make sure successful relationships and ideal outcomes are happening all around.

Starting her career as a K-12 intervention specialist, Alyssa credits the people skills she developed early on as integral in working successfully in the senior care industry as well. “In both fields you need empathy and compassion,” she says. “It’s got to be a big part of who you are. You can be taught as many skills as you need, but no one can teach you compassion.”

Raised by her grandparents, Alyssa says her joy and passion come from lifelong relationships with seniors. She still makes a point of having dinner with her grandmother and her grandmother’s sisters — all the time!

Cathy Winkler, BS, MSN | Clinical Care Coordinator

With a long and varied nursing career in cardiac and pulmonary care, medical surgical, step down, home care and hospice nursing, and also psyche nursing, Cathy brings a wealth of experience to the job of Clinical Care Coordinator. The former 15-year Cleveland State University clinical associate professor sees great parallels between her nursing students and the Amada caregivers she mentors, with providing optimal care the fundamental mission and ultimate goal.

Working with clients, families and caregivers, her role is to ensure everything clicks right out of the starting gate: that the client and caregiver are well-matched in terms of specific skillsets and personalities “We are totally invested in ongoing training and education, building an exceptionally strong team which translates to exceptional client care,” she says. “Our most experienced (lifelong) caregivers mentor newer ones, and I mentor the mentors—as well as anyone and everyone who needs my help.”

As a labor and delivery nurse’s aide in the 1950s, Cathy’s mother was a maverick in the field with ideas to change a system that did not always put the patient first. This inspired Cathy to make strides herself when she entered healthcare, her compassion for all living things paramount. “As a child I would even name the snakes I found in the yard,” she recalls.

“In nursing, and certainly here at Amada, I always meet the patient or client where they are in their life’s journey, evaluating the world they live in, along with family members. It’s the same with caregivers. Everyone has different ideas, needs and goals. To get the best from people, they need to be understood, supported, valued and respected for who they are.”

Kitty Kadas | Sales & Marketing

With a dedicated 30-year-long career in healthcare, largely in Sales & Marketing, Kitty’s heart is truly with the seniors and their families she loves to serve.

As marketing director for assisted living and memory care facilities for two decades, she also worked in admissions and as a hospital liaison for a skilled nursing facility, later becoming a private pay homecare liaison. Her vast experience leaves her to conclude that so many people can thrive in their own homes with the correct services in place and someone overseeing those services.

“I have seen many changes in the healthcare system over the years and now more than ever people need advocates like Amada by their side,” she says. “Nothing makes my heart smile more than to hear someone say, ‘We would have never gotten here without your help. My whole family thanks you.”

In her spare time, Kitty heads up her church mission to assist people with their aging decisions.