Meet Our Team

Van and Ann Lankford See Home Instead as a Ministry

Some of life’s major events can be explained only through a spiritual lens. During an online search one night, Van Lankford, a former pastor, saw an advertisement for a senior home-care franchise opportunity. On May 16, 2011, Van began operating Home Instead^® of Mount Airy. On May 16, 2021, Van and his wife, who retired from teaching in 2014 to help her husband, celebrated 10 successful years as Home Instead franchise owners. They are going stronger than ever and remain amazed by the opportunity to help Surry County seniors.  “Really, it boils down to being a ministry,” they said.

Learn more about Van & Ann's story here.

Van is available by phone at (336) 789-4472 or by email at vanlankford@homeinstead.com.

General Manager Angela Allen is intimately familiar with the inner workings of the award-winning Home Instead^® franchise in Mount Airy. She’s the office’s “go-to” person.

Angela began her Home Instead career in September 2011 as an Administrative Assistant. In 2012, Angela moved into the role of Staff Coordinator. In 2016, she transitioned into her a role of Office Manager, and in 2022 was named General Manager.  “Before working for Home Instead,” Angela explained, “I worked at another local in-home care agency for three years, so I have totaled close to 13 years of in-home care experience.”

Explaining every detail of what Angela does as the General Manager would be time-consuming to say the least. Angela said, “I oversee the daily operations and offer assistance to our team. I recently stepped into the role of helping ‘onboard’ new Care Professionals and creating more communication between all Care Pros. I see a need, and it’s very important to let our Care Pros know how important they are to us and their clients.”

Angela and her husband Justin live in Mount Airy with their teenage daughter Isabella. Angela said, “Isabella keeps us on our toes, whether she’s playing sports, hanging with friends or going shopping. We have two cats, Lucy and Louise. I enjoy baking for my friends, family and co-workers. I love interior design and keeping up with the ever-changing home trends. I’m also an online reseller. Selling secondhand has become a passion of mine. Giving items a new life and a new home, along with making a positive impact on the environment, are just a handful of reasons I love to resell.”

Angela’s personal credo is: “Think positive and positive things will happen.”

 Angela is available by phone at (336) 789-4472 or by email at angelaallen@homeinstead.com.

To Kim, her Home Instead co-workers are like family. “I like my job, and I look forward to coming to work,” she said. Kim has been with Home Instead since April 2012. She graduated from Surry Community College in 1992. Kim worked at Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital for four years and at the Surry County Home Health Agency for 16 years. She has worked in home care for 25 of her 29 years in nursing.

Kim visits the clients’ homes. During each visit, she gathers information on each client’s specific needs and develops a personalized care plan. Kim does hands-on skills training with each CAREGiver. She works closely with Staff Coordinator Sharon Bledsoe to ensure every client receives a CAREGiver who will best meet his or her care needs.

Kim and her husband Benny reside in Dobson, North Carolina. She spends most of her time entertaining their teenage daughter Emily. Kim’s hobbies are cooking and shopping. She is an active member of Oak Ridge Baptist Church in Cana, Virginia. Her favorite Bible verse is: “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4 KJV.

Kim is available by phone at (336) 789-4472 or by email at kimabruner@homeinstead.com.

Staff Coordinator Sharon Bledsoe emphatically said, “I love this job.”

Why? “I am doing something for both the client and the CAREGiver. It is so rewarding when a CAREGiver is happy, and a client is happy,” said Sharon, who matches the Home Instead CAREGiver to a client in terms of needs, skills and personality.

For Sharon, RN Supervisor Kim Atkins-Bruner and Recruiting Coordinator Anne Collins, it is a team effort. “We work closely. I go into interviews with new CAREGivers and also observe some training to get a feel for the new CAREGivers. I need to know their skills,” Sharon explained.

“When you are scheduling, the thing I go back to if there’s a tough decision is, ‘What would you want for your family?’ You want everyone to feel good, the CAREGiver, client and family. I follow up with CAREGivers to see if they are happy.”

Sharon, who started with Home Instead in 2012 as a CAREGiver, also has served as the Client Care Coordinator and Recruitment Coordinator. She recalled: “On a normal day, I make sure my calendar is filled with CAREGivers who are in place with clients. I make sure vacations and call-outs are covered. Shifts range from a few hours to 24/7 team care.”

Sharon, a former CNA and an Activities Coordinator, has a strong background in service. “I’ve always loved seniors and feel drawn to helping enhance their quality of life,” said Sharon, who lives in Mountain Park with her husband David. “We have two daughters with wonderful sons-in-law. Our teenage granddaughter Saylor keeps us active because we attend her sports and activities.”

Sharon is glad God gave her a church. She attends Bear Creek Baptist Church with which she and her husband are very active.

Sharon’s inspiration is the King James translation of Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

Sharon is available by phone at (336) 789-4472 or by email at sharonbledsoe@homeinstead.com.

A longstanding friendship has benefited Home Instead^® of Mount Airy and its seniors with the addition of Linda Mize as the award-winning franchise’s part-time home-care consultant.

“I met Linda before I opened the Home Instead Mount Airy office in May 2011,” Home Instead co-owner Van Lankford said. “In April 2011, I was visiting a senior networking event for the first time, and Linda was there. During a drawing for a door prize, everyone put in their business cards. After the drawing, I asked the host if I could have all of the business cards for follow-up later. I opened the office the following month.”

Van added: “During the networking meeting, I overheard Linda tell someone how much she loved sushi. As fate would have it, our first office was beside a Japanese restaurant that served sushi. So, I called Linda one day and asked if I could take her to lunch to eat sushi. I will always remember her response. When I said we were eating sushi, she said, ‘You’ve got my attention!’ We still laugh about that to this day.”

Linda and Van became fast friends. Van immediately felt Linda had bought into the Home Instead mission and they were going to work beautifully together. “People will be surprised to learn that Linda was one of our first nurses who helped us when our business started. We are required by our state license to have a registered nurse perform assessments and supervisory visits. Linda would help me with assessments after she finished her day with an area home-health company and on her lunch break. She was a lifesaver and helped us start new clients,” Van said.

About five or six years ago, Linda and Van started talking about her working as a Home Instead home-care consultant when she retired after 30-plus years with her agency. She wanted to work part time, and Van believed that in the Mount Airy market, a part-time person would be the best fit. Van recalled: “She and I talked about this transition for several years, and we talked about it again at her retirement party in June. In August, she called and said, ‘I’m ready!’ I feel so fortunate to have Linda on our team. She is well-respected in our community and with our peers in the senior health-care community.”

Linda said: “My first day as the home-care consultant with Home Instead was Sept. 5, 2023. I have known for years that this was my ‘next chapter,’ and I finally made it! My goal with Home Instead is to keep spreading the word about this great agency for clients and also Care Professionals who may be looking for a great place to work.”

In addition to Linda’s highly successful professional home-care experience, she is a family caregiver for her son Joshua, who was in a car accident in 2011. With Home Instead, she helps people navigate all of the different services that are available and what each type of agency can do for home care.

“I am blessed to have a wonderful family and extended family. Daniel is my oldest son, and he is married to Samantha. They have Zoe and a new baby girl, Alivia, on the way. Joshua is 38. His dad is Rick, and his wife is  Lisa. We are all a team to take care of Josh,” Linda said. “Since working in home care and also receiving the help we have received with Joshua, I understand the importance of having people help with day-to-day tasks. I tell family caregivers that they cannot do the task 24/7, and that help is there.”

Linda is available by phone at 336-789-4472 or by email at Linda.Mize@homeinstead.com.

First impressions. Administrative Assistant Cindy Simmons knows the importance. “I am the first contact for Care Professionals and clients when they come by the office or call,” said Cindy, whose amazing wealth of skills is so important to her award-winning Home Instead^® office. Cindy interacts with all Care Pros to ensure their care plans are delivered in a timely manner. She also tracks care plans and utilizes them to finalize billing and payroll. In addition, Cindy invoices clients, bills insurance companies and keeps up with client-chart filings.

Cindy joined Home Instead on Feb. 1, 2022. “I have a bachelor’s degree in Human Services from Gardner-Webb University. I spent the past seven years, before accepting this position, providing counseling services in the public school system. I felt I was ready for a change and was looking for other jobs when I came across the Home Instead position,” she said. 

Cindy added: “Before the school position, I had worked in home-health billing and administrative work for nearly 12 years. Home Instead was interested in my application because of my background and love of home-health care. I felt I’d be a good fit. In addition to my billing knowledge, I was comfortable interacting with the 100-plus caregivers within the home-health agency for whom I previously worked.”

Cindy has been married for nearly 20 years. “We have no children, two-legged ones anyway. Our home is always full of dogs – we are dog lovers and animal-rescue supporters, volunteers and fosters. We work closely with Kreitzer’s Critter Corral Puppy Rescue in Kannapolis, North Carolina. We foster pregnant and nursing dogs for them. We have raised and adopted out more than 100 puppies for Kreitzer’s. We now have four rescue dogs of our own, C-Jae, Lake, Gwendolen Faith and Paisley Rain and one adult foster dog, True,” Cindy said.

Cindy is respectful, responsible, trustworthy and a fast learner. Her motto is “Simply treat others how you would want to be treated.”

Cindy is available by phone at (336) 789-4472 or by email at cindy.simmons@homeinstead.com