Christina Ramos and her family got into the business following her grandmother’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Unsatisfied with their own experience—which she calls “one nightmare after another”—she and her parents decided to open their own Touching Hearts at Home franchise in 2010.
“We found there was a huge need and a huge gap, and there was a lot of quality care missing in the world of personal care and private duty homecare,” she said. “So, here we are. We wanted to, as a family, do homecare the only way we know how—the right way.”
And for Ramos, doing it the “right way” includes coordinating additional events and community connections, not just for their clients but for all seniors in the Gainesville, Florida area.
“Any given day, we might be doing a senior portrait studio at a continuing care retirement community, or today we hosted birthday parties for all the seniors and residents at a rehab facility,” she said.
Ramos’ event planning began during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is when she stepped into her role as executive director. She immediately jumped in with community give-back initiatives, including car parades to locked-down nursing homes, meal delivery for homebound seniors and a “cards for seniors” campaign where children sent cards to seniors in need of cheering up. She also spearheaded a Donuts for Seniors campaign, fundraising and delivering more than 5,000 Krispy Kreme donuts to seniors and health care workers across three Florida counties. The donut drive was also inspired by Ramos’ grandmother, who loved Krispy Kreme donuts.
“We were visiting my Nana through the window of her rehab, and I was just thinking, ‘What could we do for her that would spark joy? What would make Nana happy?’” Ramos said. “That grew into this massive fundraiser to benefit Alzheimer’s research in her honor. We worked with Krispy Kreme to get those hot donuts delivered.”
The fundraiser has become an annual event that Ramos says the community looks forward to. For the company’s recent 15th anniversary, Ramos and her team threw a fundraising gala, with proceeds going to the Fisher House, a housing option for the families of veterans needing hospitalization. Touching Hearts at Home was able to give more than $20,000 to help veterans in need. Ramos said she and the team are always working to bring attention to the needs of seniors in the Gainesville area. That includes organizing an annual community health fair to connect families with vital resources, a senior prom benefiting local eldercare, karaoke and pickleball events that raise funds for Alzheimer’s, and holiday-based events for area seniors like Thanksgiving Pies for Parkinson’s and a Halloween Dracula-themed blood drive.
Ramos has also lobbied for the Alzheimer’s Association at the state’s capitol, sharing her family’s story, and does public awareness training on fall prevention, sundowning and more. Ramos also works as an adjunct professor at the University of Florida in the College of Health and Human Performance. She said she’s inspired by the younger generation and sees this role as another way to give back to the community.
“What makes Christina extraordinary is how she seamlessly blends business acumen, community service and personal compassion into every decision,” her father, Ruben Ramos, wrote in his nomination. “She leads with dignity and faith, ensuring her agency provides not just care, but what she calls exceptional care.”
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