Meet Our Team

Casaundra Ernst was born and raised in Kansas where she still lives with her two wonderful kids. She came to Home Instead Senior Care as a Care Professional. She quickly was able to adapt to the individualized needs of the clients she served. She was able to quickly learn how to deal with even the toughest clients. Casaundra went from being a Care Professional to the Administrative Assistant/Lead Care Professional for the office then was promoted to Service Coordinator. Recently she was promoted to Senior General Manager. She overseas both Overland Park and Kansas city franchises. She continues to do the Service Coordinator position where she works to match our Care Professionals up with our clients but now also has added daily management of the office to her duties. The love and skill she had as a Care Professional for her clients help her understand the needs of Care Professionals and clients alike. She enjoys helping others and their families in time of need. Her past work in customer service support makes her a great asset to the Home Instead team.

Ebony Smith is the Recruitment & Enrichment Coordinator for the Kansas City, Missouri, Home Instead office where she hires and supports Care Professionals to care for our clients.  She also coordinates and schedules homecare services for the clients. Ebony has been successful in Medical/Pharmacy claims processing, Health Information Management, and most recently Behavioral health scheduling for our Veteran’s. Ebony has a passion for supporting our Care Professionals and loves seeing them grow in their profession.  She also has the sense of urgency needed when staffing/scheduling, yet the compassion needed to consistently serve our Care Professionals and the aging community. She is best known for her smile and her contagious, positive spirit. Ebony inherently understands that sharing her heart can be one of the most valuable assets in the Home Care industry and is driven by the pursuit of serving others. When she’s is not in the office, Ebony enjoys watching 80’s sitcoms with Her Mom.

Ava Shipley’s home country is El Salvador, Ava has always loved being around her grandparents and aunts. She enjoyed hearing their stories and the wisdom they shared. This childhood experience led her to a career as a Care Professional at Home Instead.  She remembers the first time she was faced with Alzheimer’s it was her very own grandmother who was diagnosed along with some of her other relatives. The sons and daughters had to deal with them taking care of them. Her mother started acting different, lacking focus and easily forgetting things. It was hard for her to accept that her mom was not able to take care of herself anymore.  She helped her mom as much as she could before she came to the USA.  After moving to the USA she realized the need for caregivers. Her heart is moved when she watches the aging population driving or trying to do their own grocery shopping, so when she saw the Home Instead TV advertisement, she answered the call to be part of the Home Instead Caregiving team. She have been learning about senior care in theory but also in the field. She gives God all the glory and honor because He is the one who sent her to this country and He helps her to do her job the best way possible. She was promoted to Lead Care Professional/Admin Assistant and she really enjoy working for Home Instead. Home Instead has given her the opportunity to help people who have lived their life working or taking care of their families. As a Care Professional and Lead Care Professional she helps our clients and Care Professionals by providing exceptional care and training in each home.

Artis is Training Coordinator for the Home Instead locations in Overland Park and Kansas City and Administrative Assistant for the Kansas City location. Artis has always been a caregiver at heart, so when she saw the Home Instead motto, To Us it's Personal, it really resonated with her. Artis loves taking care of people. Her philosophy is to always try to leave her clients a little better than she found them. She also has cared for several family members with various illness and church members who did not know where to turn. Artis's background in hospitals, nursing homes, home care, school nursing, mental health and administration has helped prepare her to be a Home Instead Team Member. Artis started with Home Instead in 2017 as a Care Professional and was promoted to her current position as Training Coordinator and Administrative Assistant in 2019. Her background as a nurse and her personal experience as a Care Professional made her the perfect person to train new Home Instead Care Professionals. Artis also does some work with our quality assurance program, making sure our clients individualized needs are being met. She loves being a part of the great team in Kansas City.