Our Mission
Tucson Senior Services (TSS) was launched in 2023 to serve the needs of the senior population in the greater Tucson area. Our mission at TSS is to promote independence and improve the quality of life for our seniors based on free choice, respect, dignity, and compassion.
What sets TSS apart is that we offer a unique, affordable service that delivers individual care, partnership, and support through our concierge advocacy. The service combines personal engagement to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of clients while delivering peace of mind. We are small-scale, intentionally-designed to take only a limited number of clients to truly prioritize individual care for you or your aging loved one.
Our Goal
Tucson Senior Services is a non-medical concierge service assisting, coordinating, and educating care for seniors. Our goal is to help our clients maintain their independence so they can age in place as long as possible. Whether you are a senior who needs a little support to remain independent and maintain your lifestyle, reside in an assisted living facility but need some extra support, or you’re simply concerned about your loved one living alone, our services are tailored to your evolving needs.
At TSS, we are here to help you remain engaged, comfortable, independent, and safe. You can rest easy knowing you have your own personal assistant so you can continue living your best life. Additionally, you can feel comfortable that we will value your privacy and will not disclose your personal information to others without your permission.
Meet Our Co-Founder and CEO
Tucson Senior Services was founded by Siamphay (Sam) Bouttirath and her husband, Cecil Hopper. Sam has spent her life dedicated to caring for others. She has worked as a member of a team in several settings where the values of loyalty, dedication, and compassion have played a major role in the caretaking of others from those with developmental needs to seniors.
Born in Laos, Sam came to the United States as a refugee at age 5 following the Vietnam War. Her father was a prisoner of war and he was able to escape to Thailand where Sam’s mother met up with him with their three children. Sam’s family settled near downtown Tucson where she grew up.
As a child, Sam remembers watching Wonder Woman and learning English from Linda Carter and the characters on Sesame Street. Sam attended Amphi High School where she continued to sharpen her English skills. While there, she was given the opportunity to read to students with developmental disabilities. There, she felt the students didn’t judge her heavy accent and they enjoyed her visits. This made an impression on Sam and she found a love for helping others.
“I know what it’s like to be scared, being in a new place and wanting to fit in,” said Sam. “I know what it’s like to want to belong to a community. This is just something that I have always done and I can’t see myself doing anything else.”
In 1994, Sam was given the opportunity to work with children and adults with developmental disabilities in a group home operated by Easter Seals, a nonprofit organization. Sam worked there and quickly advanced up the ranks to manager and program coordinator. While there, she created educational and training materials for the Easter Seals Blake Foundation. She also oversaw the training department after the State of Arizona approved her curriculum. After spending 23 years working with the Easter Seals Blake Foundation, Sam left in 2017 to work for a for-profit organization, Danville Services Corporation.
Sam continued to work with people with developmental disabilities in her new role at Danville Services Corporation. She worked there until 2020. During her time there, Sam became the state director for that organization, once again proving her abilities not only to connect with those who needed her but in her leadership abilities.
Like many people during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sam decided it was time for a career shift and made the change to working with senior citizens. Sam started managing a large assisted living facility in Tucson called Oasis Fellowship Square. She then went to a smaller, luxury assisted living facility, Saguaro Ranch Luxury Assisted Living, in 2022.
While working at the assisted living facilities, Sam would often be told by family members of residents that they were so happy she was there to look after them. The families felt they could finally go on vacation because they had a trusted staff member they knew would truly take care of their aging loved one. That got Sam thinking about what she could do to better to fulfill the needs of seniors living alone and those in assisted living, as well as improve the environment at assisted living facilities. That’s when the idea for Tucson Senior Services was born.
With nearly 30 years of caregiving and training experience in Southern Arizona, Sam has been background checked and holds an Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card. She holds an Assisted Living Manager Certification through the Arizona Nursing Care Institution Administrators and Assisted Living Facility Managers (NCIA) board and a background leading some of the largest, most exclusive care facilities in Arizona. Sam brings professional, real-world experience to TSS. She also has earned many certifications that make her an ideal caregiver and certified caregiver trainer:
- Assisted Living Manager Certification from the Arizona Board of Nursing Care Institution Administrators
- Person Centered Planning Instructor from the Arizona Department of Economic Services/Sonoran UCCED
- Principles of Caregiving Instructor from the Graham County Rehabilitation Center
- Women’s Leadership Academy Graduate from the YWCA Southern Arizona
- First Aid/CPR from the American Heart Association
In addition to her desire to care for others, Sam also enjoys educating others to provide the best care and support possible through ongoing certified caregiver training. Sam also wants to share her passion for improving support for caretaking staff by providing assisted living facilities with their ongoing training and regulation needs.
Sam is also a firm believer in philanthropy. As a result, she has volunteered her time in the caregiving community by serving on the program review committee for the Division of Developmental Disabilities for the State of Arizona from 2012 to 2014.
Meet Our Co-Founder
Cecil has spent his career making memories for others, working for more than 25 years in the hospitality industry. He said over the years, he listened to Sam talk about the care both people with disabilities and seniors were receiving and how there were so many similarities with the hospitality industry. In each instance, authentic connections, warmth, and personalization are what make an experience truly exceptional. This inspired Cecil to work with Sam to create the concept of concierge advocacy and give back to the Tucson community by launching TSS.
“Hearing her stories from the industry over the years, it became clear that there was a gap in the caregiving industry,” said Cecil. “There is a distinct difference between delivering basic services and providing personalized care with empathy. We wanted to fill that gap and elevate the experience of caregiving.”
Cecil said that people are paying an enormous amount of money for healthcare in America, but they aren’t getting anywhere near what they are paying for in terms of service.
"For the past decade, I have worked here in Tucson at a premier luxury wellness resort where I have helped deliver world-renown experiences to guests with a focus on their wellbeing,” Cecil added. “Through concierge advocacy and unmatched placement services, TSS brings these service concepts so common in the hospitality industry to a community of people who deserve nothing less than the very best."
Acknowledging that staffing at appropriate levels has never been more difficult, Cecil said attracting and retaining the best caregivers is imperative for care facilities. He said this is where ongoing training of certified caregivers for assisted living and senior care facilities by TSS will be beneficial. Assisted living facilities are required to have properly trained staff to meet healthcare regulations while providing quality care for residents. Tucson Senior Services offers both caregiver training and consulting services for improving the care of residents in assisted living and senior care facilities.
The education and experience of TSS staff equates to consulting services that identify opportunities and methods for improved senior care, stronger caregiver recruitment, and quality staff retention, said Cecil. Additionally, he said the professional consultants at TSS will ensure care facilities meet or exceed all healthcare regulations and requirements so compliance is much easier to achieve.
As co-founder for TSS, Cecil said his 25-plus years of leading organizations to exceed guest expectations will bring personalized, high-touch, customer care back to the senior community through TSS services.
“At TSS, we want people to elevate the expectation of what senior care should be and deliver the extraordinary service seniors deserve,” said Cecil.
Why Choose Tucson Senior Services?
Senior caregivers and assisted living facilities are often so overwhelmed and focused on the physical and medical needs of their clients, they can overlook the emotional and mental wellbeing of their patients.
Tucson Senior Services fills the gaps in care for our clients. We provide the individualized, non-medical care and services our clients need and deserve. By fulfilling the special needs of each client, we ensure the whole person is cared from the intellectual, emotional, and mental health perspectives as well as their physical wellbeing and safety.
With assistance and support from Tucson Senior Services, you or your loved one can live your best life!