Our Staff at BrightStar Care® Lower Bucks / SE Montgomery Co.

Nicholas Gremminger has been serving health care providers in Montgomery and Bucks County for almost 10 years. Originally working in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, Nick has an extensive knowledge in treating many of the key diseases that require home care and skilled nursing. While Nick has worked with local physicians and facilities on things such as central nervous system disorders, brain tumors, to chronic pain, his passion for patients comes from his personal experience. Nick's grandfather suffered from severe Alzheimer’s causing his family to learn the struggles that can come from finding good care that involves assisted living, home care, and eventually hospice. At the time, the experience inspired Nick's mother to join the hospice industry and now Nick has found his opportunity to contribute as well! When Nick is not working, he is working out or caring for his recently born baby boy.

Born right here in Bucks County and seeing first-hand the positive impact BrightStar Care services had provided for his own family, Alex Katz is now fortunate to serve this same community as co-owner of BrightStar Care of South Bucks & Southeast Montgomery Counties. Alex has a background in financial services, management, HR/Recruiting and sales, Alex is tasked with leading the day-to-day operations of our agency. Prior to BrightStar Care, Alex spent 6 years at one of the nation's leading insurance carriers, helping educate Financial Planners and their clients on the importance of proper planning and utilization of Long-Term Care insurance and Life insurance. Alex will be quick to share how grateful he is to be led by both the agency's office staff and all our amazing caregivers and nurses in the field, as they were just humbly recognized by the top home healthcare rating agency (HomeCare Pulse) as one of the Top 100 Home Care agencies in all of North America (#57th to be exact)! When not working, you can find Alex trying new restaurants with his wife, Katy (who is a RN/BSN at Lankanau Hospital and equally a big foodie), spending quality time with friends and family locally and down the Jersey Shore, or staying active through sports! 

Toni Puzo joined the Brightstar Care team in 2012 as a Licensed Practical Nurse serving skilled and non-skilled cases with clients in their homes. Over the past decade, Toni has served BrightStar Care in a multitude of roles including Field Nurse, Nurse Case Manager and Nurse Manager before transitioning to her current role as Branch Manager. Toni became a nurse with the mission of being able to care for people in a wide capacity and enjoys that her current position allows her to continue caring for BrightStar Care clients and staff alike. With her extensive knowledge of all roles and functions within the company, Toni is a strong resource for all of our clients, families and staff for all things BrightStar Care. Toni’s continued commitment to our clients and staff is a major contributor to the overall success of BrightStar Care of South Bucks & Southeast Montgomery Counties. While we are still not convinced Toni ever truly stops working, she claims to enjoy being outdoors, reading and spending quality time with her family in her free time.

Ellen Zane is a skilled Registered Nurse with over 30 years of nursing experience. Having received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at West Chester University, Ellen had gone on to work in a large metropolitan teaching hospital as a staff nurse and clinical manager. Having a vast knowledge of medical surgical nursing, she has also specialized in oncology and solid organ transplant and has also worked in outpatient infusion settings. Ellen’s extensive nursing education and working experience has made her an incredible resource to Brightstar Care’s clients for the last 5 years. As one of our two Directors of Nursing, Ellen works diligently to develop an individualized plan of care for our clients’ specific needs and oversees their plan of care ongoing to ensure that we are always attaining the highest standard of care. Ellen is passionate about ensuring that the medical needs of all of our patients are met and completes the initial and ongoing training of care staff to ensure that they are best equipped to care for our clients. In Ellen’s free time, she enjoys reading psychological thrillers, spending time with her family and rooting for Philadelphia’s sports teams (especially the Phillies and Eagles). Let’s go E-A-G-L-E-S!

Mary Wilkins is a skilled Registered Nurse, having received her Associate of Science in Nursing from Gwynedd Mercy University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Arcadia University. Mary has extensive experience from the hospice industry, allowing for a smooth transition into the home health care industry. Mary enjoys being client-facing and being able to visit the clients in the comfort of their own homes, which allows her to better complete the responsibility of assessing a client’s needs and creating an individualized plan of care for each of her clients. Mary especially enjoys managing care the care staff, as she believes the bond between a client and caregiver is priceless and that front line staff are the real heroes of our industry. Mary also completes routine supervised visits of care staff to ensure that our standard of care is upheld and that our front-line staff receives continuing education. In Mary’s free time, she enjoys checking out new restaurants and wineries with friends, travelling and spending time with her rescue dog, Matty.

Caroline Abbott is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with experience working in long term care and hospice. As the Director of Client Outreach & Care Advocacy, Caroline manages and maintains relationships with community partners, clients and their families, and individuals in her clients’ care team. What’s important to you is important to her - Caroline works to advocate on your behalf and collaborate with everyone involved in your care to ensure you can achieve your highest level of well-being. In Caroline’s free time, she is watching this year’s Oscar nominated movies, working on a new knitting pattern, or finishing a puzzle while watching the Eagles game.  

Being exposed to the health care field by assisting with the care of her family members at a young age piqued Nicole McCoach’s interest in the industry. Nicole believes in making a true difference in the lives of people in the community and this is what drew her BrightStar Care specifically. For Nicole, there is no better feeling than being able to make a positive difference in the lives of others which can be seen with the great pleasure she derives from speaking with clients and their families, being the friendly voice over the phone and assisting clients with receiving the care they need right in their own home. The enthusiastic passion that Nicole has for helping others, genuine caring, and compassion has helped set the tone for our entire office. Nicole has over 25 years of professional management and customer service experience and plays an integral role in ensuring that the clients of Bright Star Care receive the absolute best care possible by making sure our clients receive the proper staffing for their specific schedule, needs and personal interests. Nicole takes great pride in her work and is proud to work for a company that she believes truly gives back to the local community, to which she has been a life-long member of. Nicole is a married mother of five children, who enjoys good music, traveling and spending quality time with family and friends in her free time.

Kali Dutcher is the current Branch Operations Associate with BrightStar Care and assists the management team with improving daily functions and processes to support BrightStar Care’s long-term goals and commitments to their clients and staff in a variety of capacities. With extensive experience in business operations and human resources across several industries, Kali is excited to bring her knowledge to home health care. Kali received her introduction to the health care field while volunteering in a number of assisted living facilities, and is excited to help BrightStar Care bring a positive impact right to the client’s front door. In her free time, Kali enjoys cooking, reading, and spending time with her five pets as an avid animal lover.

Lakisha McMillan has been working at Brightstar Care since May of 2022. Having prior experience in the home health care industry, Lakisha made for an easy transition to our team. For our clients, Lakisha handles all invoicing and medical billing and may assist with sales inquiries and/or questions about our services. For our staff, Lakisha handles all payroll processing and may also assist with scheduling. Lakisha is dedicated to her work and is always eager to jump in and help wherever needed with a smile. When she is not working.

Jordan Aichele has been working in healthcare, primarily home health care, for the last 6 years. Jordan got her start as a caregiver which provides unique perspective to our office personnel. At BrightStar Care, Jordan has been able to use her working experience to identify, recruit and onboard quality front-line personnel and assist with scheduling needs. In her free time, Jordan enjoys reading and spending quality time with her family outdoors.