Mark Twain famously said “Do not complain about growing old. It is a privilege denied to many.” Given the choice, everyone would wish to age with their cognitive and physical abilities fully intact and to remain in the company of loved ones in their own home. But as life is unpredictable, our plans for the golden years are often thwarted by illness, leaving many seniors unable to perform activities of daily living independently. At this point, the idea of aging in place at home may start fading away. We start looking for external support to allow us to enjoy our comfortable home.
As seniors age, they are faced with a decision about who to call for help, or where to live to ensure that they are safe and have their basic needs met. Often that is relying on friends and family for help, which doesn’t always work well as the adult children may be busy with their own lives, or the senior may live far from any close family and will be hesitant to impose on friends. If there is no one available to fill the gap between the senior’s needs and their ability to care for themselves they may be forced to move to leave their beloved home and move to a community living setting.
That is where Home Matters, a compassionate and experienced in-Home care provider comes to the rescue by using their personalized care solutions –increased clinical competence, Nurse-Guided Care and assistance for seniors to reignite the purpose of living and remind the seniors why their Home Matters for their wellbeing. The relief of being able to age in one’s own home cannot be overemphasized. This has never been more clear than in the past few years during the pandemic. Covid-19 accelerated the need for in-home care and made this option much more appealing to the golden age group. Home Matter’s service allow aging adults to thrive in their own home, through the aging process, conveniently rather than just surviving.
Home Matters’ unique methodology incorporates strategies to rekindle a healthy sense of purpose. After a rigorous study of thousands of aging adults of 85 years and above, they built a care plan and assessment process that incorporate 5 keys to successful aging. The assessment process allows them to explore new interests or hobbies to find simple ways to render better service. Home Matters professional caregiving team is trained to foster a sense of purpose for their clients. Home Matters services meet the changing needs of aging adults by providing a personalized care plan based on a family’s unique needs. It ensures that older adults receive care in the comfort of their homes, without sacrificing independence or safety.
This idea of purposeful living is well captured by Clayton Foutch, the Founder and COO, who leads the organization to run on a purpose-driven mindset. Based on the principle, Home Matter’s well-trained caregivers are committed to instilling confidence, a sense of independence and control within older adults through activities such as exploring new hobbies, interests and observing these 5 keys to successful aging:
- Remaining physically active
- Engaging the mind daily
- Nurturing a strong social network
- Strengthening the client’s sense of purpose
- and finally, building fun into their life
These 5 keys, are a secret to waking up each morning with a keen sense of purpose that creates optimism, motivation and ultimately helps aging adults thrive. This is especially important among our aging population where many report a loss of this sense of purpose.
Aligning Services with the Care Needs of Aging Adults
It can be a stressful and complicated process for families when considering housing options for their loved ones. Today, there are a myriad of options that include Independent or Assisted Living, Memory Care, Adult Care Home, or moving in with a family member that can all be suitable when looking for their safety. Adding to the scenario is the time frame in deciding on the best option for care, which may often be urgent. As a result, most of the aging adults gravitate back to simply wanting to go home and age in place, as it is more familiar to them.
Home Matters Caregiving allows aging adults to do just that by offering a safe care plan. The organization utilizes a combination of high-touch and hi-tech approaches to monitor the change in condition and delivery of service and to train and guide the caregiving team. Doing so allows caregivers to help their clients make effective decisions about their care needs. The approach also provides information on when care is best suited in another setting, allowing caregivers to share it confidently with their clients and their families.
Alongside, the organization provides basic services that include activities of daily living such as housekeeping, cooking, bathing and companionship. In the States where licensing allows, Home Matters’ Nurse Guided Care allows its teams to manage more complex care, such as medication management.
Whether the needs are basic or complex, the organization’s Purpose Driven Mindset service model is the core for allowing its seniors to thrive at home and seek optimal physical and emotional care. It is a philosophy of care and training based on over a decade of research that uses purposeful strategies and related factors, leading to successful aging.
Let us learn more about the role of Home Matters Caregiving in resolving the modern aging dilemma.
Inspiration Behind Home Matters Caregiving’s Establishment
Home Matters Caregiving was founded in Beaverton, Oregon, in 2007 to provide care for aging adults led by the expertise of nursing and a clinical team that understands the aging process. The thought of being able to create good-paying jobs, mentoring professionals, and elevating the role of the caregiver was very motivating to the organization soon after its launch.
Clayton’s original inspiration, though, was his father-in-law, Mr Clark, who built a business to create a work-life balance for his family that would provide honest work for electricians and a comfortable life for his family. He was a blue-collar man with a strong work ethic forged right out of the Grapes of Wrath story. Clayton knew that those traits would transfer into the in-home care industry, so he asked him for advice.
Mission, Vision and Values
Home Matters’ values lay in its commitment to change the way home care is provided. It means that we will constantly and continuously look to improve, we will use information to guide us, and we will listen to our clients and professional caregiving team’s opinion of us as our measuring stick. We are what they say we are!
Home Matters Caregiving, at its core, is a Nurse Guided organization that values the role of the Professional Caregiver as it does for its internal customer. Every team member is trained to function as a first responder, resulting in the aging adults being reassured that they’d receive care no matter what. This care model is based on data and intensive research that meets the goal of continuous improvement in the care outcomes of aging adults. Lastly, Home Matters Caregiving believes in “Do well by doing good,” which is part of its core values, and why it’s essential for every organization to give back to the community that they are serving.
Tapping into the Challenges Faced by the Aging Adults
The aging population has approached a time in history where approximately 15% of the US population is aged 85. This reality is a significant factor in the looming questions, “Who will take care of us as we age” and “How will we pay for it?”
The answer to both questions is that Home Care organizations must embrace technology to facilitate the aging process healthily. While there are many forms of technology; from wearable devices and sensors to artificial intelligence and audio data, the best of these technologies assists agencies in monitoring any change in a condition, a potential fall, or a dramatic situation in the absence of one-on-one care.
This allows Home Matters Caregiving to take proactive actions, focus on client and caregiver specific training, and ultimately minimize the risks associated with a fall, infection, cognitive decline, and the natural change of condition that our clients experience.
Scaling Operations in 2023 and Beyond
Today, the Home Matters franchise combines a smart approach to home care—leveraging advanced training, innovative technology and processes—that lead to better client outcomes. As a result, there is greater satisfaction among clients, family members and team members.
Keeping scaling in mind, Clayton aims to seek entrepreneurs with the right work ethic, mindset and alignment with the organization’s values to enhance opportunities for both the aging population and professionals who choose to work with the organization.
Generally, at Home Matters, the entrepreneurs have all the expected corporate resources, such as an operation manual, a launch playbook, and all the tools needed to start and build a successful agency. In addition, and just as important, these entrepreneurs have an Area Developer who specifically supports them in their state along with other locations with the same goals in mind. An Area Developer is someone who has gone through extensive training to understand an organization’s business, has a track record of personal and professional success, and is ultimately a mentor to the entrepreneurs in his area. He or she will be a person who is willing to invest in themselves their area as well as Home Matters in 2023 and beyond.
Thus, it can be said that this is truly a three-way partnership that gives Home Matters a competitive edge and the greatest chance of success. In the highlight of its success, the organization has been recognized multiple times as Provider of Choice and Senior Advisor’s Best of Senior Living by its clients, Employer of Choice by the caregiving team, and Beaverton’s Best from the community that its first location serves.
Concluding Note
The trends for senior care have shifted. Aging adults today are seeking the ability to live at home safely. They are a proud group who are willing to accept help but don’t want to compromise the respect that they deserve. They want a voice in the care that is being provided and spoken to. Home Matters Caregiving addresses their needs by aligning its assessment process, caregiving tasks, and the Purpose Driven Care Mindset based on the feedback of the individual and the family that they are serving.
Ultimately, the organization’s secret ingredient to care narrows down to following the process, working hard, and caring for clients and the team members who choose Home Matters Caregiving.
Clayton’s Journey in His Own Words
My career started at Intel in 1993, and over the next seven years, I learned about process disciplines and continuous improvement principles. Since leaving Intel, that experience served me well as I began applying the theories of constraint management and constant improvement in my sales, consulting, management, and other leadership positions. It was early 2007 when I talked to Mr. Clark to get his advice on how to start and build a business together with my wife the way he and Sue had done. Christina is a licensed Occupational Therapist, passionate about seniors, and understands the aging process. The advice was simple, compliment her expertise with the parts of the business that you’re passionate about, stay in your lane when working with your partner, work hard every day for the team of people who rely on your company for their income, and purchase the commercial real estate where you run your business.”
In September of that year, with Christina’s help and support, Home Matters Caregiving was born. A few years later, in 2010, I met my future franchise business partner, Jeff Giedt. He shared my same passion for serving others. He was smart, and I knew that I could learn from him. He wanted to duplicate our business model in Beaverton, so I set out to help him launch his first foray into owning a caregiving agency where he lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. Through that process, I learned how many of our business systems were scalable and which ones needed improvement.
The truth is that you never learn more about yourself and what you’re doing than when you are teaching someone else how to replicate it. Following the launch, we stayed remarkably close to each other over the next decade, helping each other improve, sharing best practices, and honing our brand. In 2020 the Home Matters Caregiving Franchise organization was born as a result of that work.
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