Danielle Lord Named COO of O’Connell Care at Home

HOLYOKE — Danielle Lord, who began her career at O’Connell Care at Home as a scheduler in 2007 while attending Springfield College to obtain her master’s degree in health care management, recently took on a partnership role within the organization as chief operating officer.

As a large segment of the American population — the Baby Boom generation — is aging, the need for at home healthcare is steadily increasing. This growth in healthcare needs has been evident at O’Connell Care at Home for more than five years. According to the Administration on Aging (AoA), the number of individuals age 65 and over totaled 39.6 million (or 12.9{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} of the U.S. population) in 2009. By 2030, the AoA estimates the same segment will total about 72 million, nearly 20{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} of the population.

With such rapid growth in O’Connell Care at Home’s core demographic, Lord — who also has a degree in psychology and math from Springfield College — has worked to grow the organization. She was largely responsible for O’Connell Care at Home’s second location in Deerfield, which celebrated a grand opening last year; her efforts culminated in her appointment as chief operating officer.

“I am humbled to be in a position where I may be able to mentor our staff who care so deeply for our clients and take our motto of ‘I am more’ to heart,” Lord said. “I am grateful for this opportunity and take pride in the fact that we are able to positively impact so many lives in the Pioneer Valley.”