Lisa and Chris Ruth have expanded their FirstLight Home Care franchise to include a location in Broward County.
Photo provided
By Christine Davis
A move from Manhattan to Gulf Stream two years ago marked the start of a new business venture for Lisa and Chris Ruth. They opened nonmedical homecare franchises, FirstLight Home Care of the Gulf Coast and FirstLight Home Care of the Palm Beaches.
This year, they opened a third location in Deerfield Beach to serve communities south of Palm Beach County, and they now employ 150 caregivers.
The business answers a community need — providing home care for people, mainly seniors, who require assistance to stay at home.
Good caregivers are crucial.
“Both of us had grandparents with Alzheimer’s,” Chris says. “We’ve seen good and not so good caregivers, and we are always looking for great caregivers to provide exceptional care, and it’s satisfying to see the difference they make in our clients’ lives.”
Their business services run the gamut from offering a bit of respite to family caregivers by taking over driving or grocery shopping to advanced care for clients who have suffered strokes and need mobility assistance, for example.
“Our typical clients are the adult children with kids of their own, who are worried about their parents,” Chris says. “These seniors are at home or in some sort of facility, and their adult children want to get their parents more help.”
When choosing employees, the Ruths carry out background checks and drug testing. They ensure licensing, insurance and bonding. They provide special training when necessary.
The couple decided to get into the home care business after moving to Gulf Stream. They have two children, 7 and 10, and chose to live in the coastal town because of the schools, Chris says.
“We made that decision first and then answered, ‘What should Lisa and I do?’ ” Chris says.
A venture capital investor, Chris had started Halyard Capital, investing in media communication and business services, before owning and running Northern Gulf Partners, a business focused on redevelopment opportunities in Iraq. Lisa ran leadership development for Raytheon before the two married.
So, they have finance and human resources covered, and after catching up with an associate, Bernard Markey, now director of FirstLight Home Care, they settled upon their niche.
What sets them apart is their hands-on attitude, according to Chris.
“We focus on quality. We have an online portal, for instance, that allows our clients to review caretakers’ daily notes. For employees working hourly, they call an 800 number from the client’s phone. It’s like a punch card. We know when caretakers arrive and, if they’re late, within three minutes we’re calling to make sure everything is OK.
“We have a very personalized custom approach. I’m often the one going out meeting with the clients to get a sense of what kind of caretaker would be the best fit. That’s pretty distinctive.”
Costs depend on the level of care, from $75 a visit on up, but sometimes clients don’t realize that some financial help is available.
“Here’s one of my favorite stories,” Chris says. “The daughter, in her early 70s, was the primary caretaker for her dad, a highly decorated World War II vet who was in a wheelchair.
“And when she got sick with breast cancer, his situation was put in real jeopardy. The Military Order of the Purple Heart got in touch with us and we were able to get him services through the Veterans Administration.
“That paid for a significant portion of his care, enough to keep him safe at home while his daughter was going through her own chemo treatments. When we started out, even before the VA committed, I said we were going to help if it didn’t work out. And it did work out and transformed their lives. We love helping people like that.”
For more information, visit http://www.firstlighthomecare.com/home-healthcare-palmbeach-jupiter/
or call 271-4644.
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