Scott M. Fischer earned his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Arizona State University in 1986. He has had various healthcare and business experiences in the past 30+ years. His career has been dedicated to the health care industries, working for years in nursing administration, nursing education, mental health, and home health nursing. Since 2000, his sole focus has been on the care and service of seniors, particularly in the area of senior mental health, emphasizing seniors suffering from dementia. He has been a leader in developing and implementing a code of ethics and standards of best practice for the non-regulated senior living referral industry in Arizona and is Past President and Co-founder of the Professional Association of Senior Referral Specialists (PASRS), a group that is dedicated to those causes.
That passion has now extended to a national platform with the formation of the National Placement and Referral Alliance (NPRA), established in 2017, to address many of the same issues across the country. His role includes the development of local chapters for the NPRA, with chapters now in multiple markets outside of Phoenix, and creating the only industry-specific certification program in the nation for referral and placement specialists (CPRS).
His company, Options for Senior Living, was founded in 2003 to provide a professional consultation and guidance service to families and professionals seeking assisted living and long-term care services for seniors. He has served over 4000 families in the past 20+ years, many of those who have had a loved one suffer from some form of dementia.
In 2021, Scott co-founded Senior Resource Connectors (SRC) with a colleague he had helped with resources for his mother at first in California and then later in moving her to Arizona during the pandemic. He was overwhelmed by the number of choices, responsibilities, and his mother’s complex needs. After that, together, they formed Senior Resource Connectors. SRC provides education, outreach, and resources primarily to the adult children of parents navigating the aging challenges.
As a former educator with the Maricopa County Community Colleges, he continues his passion for teaching by speaking for the Desert Southwest Chapter of the Arizona Alzheimer’s Association, PASRS, and the Arizona Fiduciaries Association. He has presented at the national conference of The National Guardians Association. Additionally, he is the former co-host of a radio program called Planning Past 50, which addressed many life issues, including health care and financial planning for those in their 50s and older. He has been featured on other local radio shows, speaking on various issues affecting seniors and older adults. He is a featured contributor to the book ‘Aging in Arizona,’ released in 2018. In 2016, Scott was invited to join the prestigious Health Care Committee at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. This group is developing a wide-reaching, comprehensive state-wide approach to address the most pressing issues facing Arizona’s aging population. He has been an avid reader and loves music and baseball, growing up in Ohio as a Cincinnati Reds fan and an Arizona Diamondbacks season ticket holder since 2002. Scott and his wife, Stacey, have been married since 2015. They have six children and three grandchildren; Scott’s children are married. Scott and Stacey live in the East Valley, where they make their home and enjoy their family.
Scott has dedicated more than 12 years to the unlicensed and largely unregulated placement and referral services industry by working to establish industry best practices, a national certification program, and trade association representation. Scott’s personal mission has been to leave the world better than the way he found it, and he is far from done.
Read Scott’s Interview with ASU about becoming a multi-business owner. Click here to read.
Read Scott & Stacey’s Stroll Magazine Interview below:
