HERMITAGE, Pa. - Seniors Helping Seniors has been operating in the Shenango Valley since 2019. It offers services with a unique premise.

"Our biggest thing that we do is companion care. Our caregivers are seniors themselves in most cases," Rob McGoff, locally-based owner of the agency, said.

McGoff runs Seniors Helping Seniors with his wife Elizabeth.

The onset of the pandemic brought the couple staffing challenges, as many of their high-risk caregivers opted to stop working. Fast forward to a year later and many of those challenges are still present for the agency.

"This is the busiest we've ever been, unfortunately it's also the hardest to hire caregivers it's ever been," McGoff said.

It's a trend felt by similar agencies locally. But for McGoff, the age of his workers adds additional difficulties to the hiring process.

"They are, you know, aging out and going from more of a caregiver to a recipient," he said.

In an attempt to curb the shortage, McGoff and his agency are incentivizing potential hirees with the promise of a $300 signing bonus, but that's not all.

"We're also offering a $100 bonus that we are going to put in their name. It's going to be a donation to the Alzheimer Association," McGoff told 21 News.

The agency is looking for caregivers aged 40 and older along with other medically-licensed staff.

As for potential care receivers, the agency charges a flat rate of $22 per hour, offering at minimum of two hours of care per week all the way up to 24/7 care. Anyone interested will be paired with caregivers on a case-by-case basis.

"We really want it to feel like a friend stopping by," McGoff said.

It's with this unique premise for service that he hopes to reverse the current trend in employment seen throughout the care giving field.