Some people follow a path. Mary Vasinda paved her own. 

 

With strategic savvy, a heart for service, and a determination forged through decades of hard work, Mary has spent the last 40 years building a legacy in senior care. As the President and Co-Founder of The Around The Clock Companies in Bakersfield, Mary isn’t just running a company — she’s championing a mission: to keep people safe, cared for, and comfortable in their own homes. 

 

The story begins not in a healthcare classroom or nursing unit, but in the boardrooms of corporate America. Mary, with a background in marketing and strategic planning, and her then-husband, John, an electrical engineer, were climbing the corporate ladder when they made a life-changing decision: to leave it all behind and open an assisted living facility. 

 

It was a bold move. They invested their wedding and savings money — $50,000 — into a facility they knew little about, only to find it plagued with theft, poor project management, and struggling before it even opened. Still, they refused to give up. 

 

“John quit his job to run the facility himself,” Mary recalls. “We had no experience in senior care. One of our partners showed us the ropes.” Mary stayed in corporate America a little longer, helping on weekends by calling bingo and conducting tours. Her mother-in-law, a nurse, pitched in with assessments. It was a true family project — built not on perfect knowledge, but perseverance and grit. Simply put, they refused to give up. Little did they know they were establishing a legacy, one that lives on today.  

 

Best of all, Mary has made a tangible difference in the Bakersfield area by helping others and making sure that they get the care that they need.  

 

What started as a desperate bid to save an investment became a calling. Mary eventually left corporate America, joining the business full-time. 

 

Over the next few years, Mary and John bought and sold multiple assisted living facilities.  

In 1994, they launched Around The Clock, and in 1996, they formed Around The Clock Home Care, a licensed healthcare entity. Three years later, they founded a nonprofit, Kern Around The Clock Foundation. Today, Around The Clock is a leader in both clinical and non-clinical home health services in Bakersfield — the largest of its kind in the area and still locally owned. 

 

For Mary, the motivation has always been clear: “It’s about making a difference. Sometimes, our nurses or therapists are the only people a client sees. They’re the ones coordinating care and keeping them safe in their home.” 

 

The company lives by a philosophy rooted in Integrity, Trust, Compassion, and Healing — known internally as ITCH. Clients regularly call or write in to praise their caregivers and clinicians, and when they do, the team receives public recognition at staff meetings — along with a gift card, of course. “Care comes first,” Mary emphasizes. “If you’re not providing good care and investing in people and training, you don’t have a viable service.” 

 

Though Mary never had children of her own, her life is rich with family — both by blood and by choice. She’s close to her nieces, nephews, and their children, celebrating holidays, weddings, and life’s big (and small) moments together. Many of her deepest connections go back over four decades, including a group of college roommates who’ve stayed tight since their university days. “There were 13 of us, 11 still remaining, who’ve been friends for over 45 years,” Mary says. “We rally around each other for everything — weddings, births, illness, and loss.” 

 

Then there’s her “Ladies Who Lunch” group — a close-knit circle of 19 women who’ve gathered monthly for the past 29 years. “We met through Junior League,” she shares. “Even with our busy lives, we make time to connect.”   

 

Mary has also been blessed with tenure in her ATC staff, many of whom have been part of the ATC Family for over 20 years. They are not coworkers; they are family. “We have been there for each other through the good as well as the bad times,” especially since we are only a phone call or text away. 

 

Despite her busy schedule, Mary carves out time for the things she loves: travel, decorating, and weekend escapes to her coastal home in Channel Islands, giving her the double blessing of spending quality time with Bakersfield friends who also have homes on the coast, or developing new friends in her Channel Island neighborhood … taking advantage of the area’s beautiful sites, beaches, restaurants or just celebrating life’s events.   

 

Mary also has a place in San José del Cabo, where she goes monthly to recharge. But it’s her home in Seven Oaks that provides her the perfect in-town sanctuary, all of which makes her lifestyle flexible and fun, in or out of town. 

 

And Mary’s life would not be complete without Frankie — her beloved 8-year-old Aussiedoodle and the unofficial mascot of Around The Clock’s corporate office. Originally owned by a coworker’s mother, Frankie was a high-energy puppy that was too much for her to handle. Mary made a deal: if they could get him house-trained, she’d take him in. The rest is history. Frankie is now a beloved member of the team.  

 

As Around The Clock prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary in the health care arena, a new website and fresh branding reflect not just the growth of the business, but the passion that’s driven it since the beginning. Mary and her dedicated team continue to deliver care 24/7 — because they know lives depend on it. 

 

Mary Vasinda is many things: a strategic planner, a loyal friend, a seasoned global traveler, and a business leader. But above all, she is someone who took a risk, trusted her instincts, and never gave up. 

 

And in doing so, she didn’t just build a company — she built a community.