Clare Colamaria knows what it’s like caring for an elderly, ill parent. A stressful, scary experience with her 93-year-old father, who contracted pneumonia while he was living alone, inspired the Saratoga Springs resident to leave her management career in the hospitality industry and found a start-up called A Senior’s Choice.

“It’s very overwhelming for seniors and their families when someone falls and breaks a hip or becomes ill,” she said. “When a family’s hit with that, you kind of go, ‘Where do I begin?’ ”

The service aims to eliminate stress so families can carry on with their day-to-day business knowing that accommodations for their loved one are being taken care of, Colamaria said.

“We do all the legwork,” she said. “They contact us and we research what their best resources and options are to find an in-home help agency or assisted living facility that fits their needs.”

The business profits from a one-time referral fee paid by the agency or facility the family chooses following an interview process. There is no cost to families to use A Senior’s Choice.

Colamaria and four consultants have been spreading the service from Saratoga to Glens Falls, Albany, East Greenbush, Poughkeepsie and Pittsfield, Mass., since launching late last year.

“Senior care is a huge market today, and it’s supposed to explode in next few years,” Colamaria said. For more information, call Colamaria at 424-2527.