About Us

Karen Bernat LICSW, C-ASWCM

Founder, Aging Care Choices

Eldercare Consultant, Certified Geriatric Care Manager and 

Social Worker

 Since 1996, Karen Bernat has been working with elders and their families, gaining valuable knowledge and training through her nursing home and assisted living work. She has been a strong advocate for elders, especially those with family living far away, at times, in other countries, serving as a liaison between family members and her elderly clients.

Before starting her own practice, Ms. Bernat worked as a geriatric care manager for Creative Alliances in Boston, MA. As a geriatric care manager, Ms. Bernat focuses on maintaining her clients' independence while balancing their safety needs. Ms. Bernat collaborates with caregivers, physicians, and legal professionals to protect her clients’ interests and well-being.

Prior to Ms. Bernat’s care management work, she managed a social service program for aging Holocaust survivors. In that capacity, Ms. Bernat set up and managed home care, medical and transportation services. She provided intake and referral, assessment, intervention programs, and follow-up services. Ms. Bernat assessed for client safety and helped with the transition from home to assisted living or nursing home facilities. She assisted with guardianship, legal and financial issues.

In the past, Ms. Bernat worked in the mental health system, providing assistance to those with mental illness and substance abuse. Ms. Bernat provided psychotherapy, crisis management, discharge planning, family counseling, and facilitated a number of groups.

Ms. Bernat earned her Bachelors degree in Education from 

the University of Georgia and her Masters in Social Work from Simmons College. She is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) in Massachusetts and is an Advanced Member of the Aging Life Care Association (formerly known as the National Association of Geriatric Care Managers) where she served as a Board Member and former Chair of the Program Committee of the New England chapter from 2008-2009.  Ms. Bernat continued her service on the Aging Life Care Association Board as a Board Member and Co-Chair of the Membership Committee from 2020-2022.  

Ms. Bernat is the 2020 Recipient of the Susan Shapiro Leadership Award (SSLA), awarded for outstanding leadership qualities by New England Aging Life Care Professionals.  Ms. Bernat is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and is a Certified Advanced Social Work Case Manager (C-ASWCM). 

Sarah Rogers, LICSW

Consultant, Aging Care Choices

 Geriatric Social Worker, Case Manager and Therapist

Sarah is a pragmatic social worker who has been assisting older adults and their families in navigating life’s challenges to create a quality of life that is authentic to them since 2008.  Her passion for empowering older adults began as a Geriatric Scholar at the University of Michigan’s School of Social Work.  Through her extensive work as a hospice social worker, she learned how to engage with community resources and coordinate elders’ service delivery in their homes.  She then transitioned to complex case management work under Cambridge Health Alliance’s PACE program, which included discharge planning, advocating with healthcare providers, and arranging therapeutic support for individuals with varying cognitive capacities.  

In 2014 Sarah began working primarily with older adults/caregivers in a counseling role as a member of Cambridge Health Alliance’s Geriatric Outpatient Psychiatry team.  In this position Sarah provided psychosocial assessments and counseling for older adults with severe and persistent mental illness.  She also collaborated with families and care teams in assisted living/nursing homes to create a comprehensive plan of care for clients and provide behavioral health recommendations.   She has almost a decade of experience in private practice working with older adults, individuals living with disabilities/chronic illnesses, and the LGBTQ+ community.  She is currently engaging in continuing education regarding human sexuality to further her knowledge of sexuality as an integral part of seniors’ lives.