How to Drive Business Growth in the Evolving Home Care Market

How to Drive Business Growth in the Evolving Home Care Market

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Dennis Gill: Right? So guys welcome to CareSmartz360 On Air, a home care Podcast. I’m Dennis Gill, a senior sales consultant at Caresmartz.

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Dennis Gill: Today I’m very excited to welcome Michael to this show.

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Dennis Gill: Michael is a passionate and a visionary leader, with over 10 years of experience in international relations, diplomacy and home health

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Dennis Gill: as the CEO of Acti-Kare and the Principal Owner of Tribute Productions. Michael leverages his impressive skills and expertise to create innovative solutions strategies

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Dennis Gill: that address global challenges and opportunities.

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Dennis Gill: So Michael has a strong track record of leading and collaborating with diverse teams, partners, and stakeholders to deliver impactful results.

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Dennis Gill: His mission is to empower and inspire others to make a positive difference in the world.

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Dennis Gill: So I’m really looking forward to diving into Michael’s work, his unique perspective, and the insights. He can share it with us today.

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Dennis Gill: So Michael, welcome to the show.

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Micheal Vergara: Hi! Well, thank you, Dennis. Thank you for having me.

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Dennis Gill: No, we’re really glad you took out the time for this. Podcast. And definitely, I can assure our listeners. So this will be a very fruitful session for everybody. Whoever is tuning into this show.

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Dennis Gill: Okay, so, Michael, straight away, jumping on with the 1st question that I have for you.

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Dennis Gill: So what are the some of the key trends and changes you’re seeing in the home kit industry right now.

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Micheal Vergara: So some of the key changes that I’m seeing right now. Well, 1st off I see a lot more home care agencies here in South Florida and Palm Beach County. There has been a spike in agencies, I would say. There’s probably about 700 agencies now

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Micheal Vergara: just in Palm Beach County alone, and these agencies are offering private pay services, but also Medicaid, Medicare, and numerous other services, various insurance providers, and then also agencies in Broward County that have spiked as well. So with the spike in home care agencies, I would say.

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Micheal Vergara: Some of the biggest changes I’ve seen is that a lot of agencies are diversifying what they are offering. So some agencies are offering infusion therapy. So mobile services, infusion, therapy they’re bringing in their nurses to provide that type of therapy as well.

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Micheal Vergara: I see a lot of agencies that are diversifying into pediatric care, and to post up surgery care as well. So you know, even just dovetailing off, of not just working with seniors, but even working with children, or working with someone who has just received surgery.

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Dennis Gill: Got it, and.

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Micheal Vergara: But just a lot of different methods of care that are being provided, and also technology and telehealth as well. So there’s various conferences that a lot of Home Care agency owners go to. I’m actually going to the Conference next week in Bellevue, in Washington State, and that is a national conference for home care agencies, and I’m very excited to go there, and I’m sure there will be.

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Micheal Vergara: I I think, couple 100 vendors there, and a lot of them offer different services when it comes to technology and telehealth. So that’s something that I’ve been implementing with my agency as well is providing that type of telehealth and also different tablets as well. So I provide remarkable tablets. If you’ve heard of remarkable, it’s really cool and fun tablet. And

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Micheal Vergara: previously, when I 1st started my agency. I was providing journals, for you know all of my care providers to be in contact with me as an agency, and also care manager with the clients, so they would be keeping us on up to date tabs every day on

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Micheal Vergara: changes that were going on with the clients. Whether there’s declinations with the clients. If there had been a recent fall, everything was kept in a journal, but you know, so very old school. But now everything is really kept online into different files, and also to the remarkable tablets. So with these remarkable tablets, whenever I send my care manager or director of nursing

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Micheal Vergara: to a home to check on the client. They’re able to review everything that has been reported into the tablet. So the caregivers report that into a tablet that can be emailed and uploaded to me right away as an agency. So I’m getting daily updates. And I also have given that to my director of nursing. So

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Micheal Vergara: it makes it much more of a fluid service for us all when we’re using technology. I’m also implementing robotics as well. So this is something that you know, it’s going to be very interesting in the future, and I’m also opening my own assisted living community within the next year. So once I open up my community. That’s something that I’ll be talking about more, because

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Micheal Vergara: actual actual robot will be in the community to assist the care providers assist the Administrator and myself whenever we’re in the community.

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Micheal Vergara: So that’s offering an extra pair of hands, extra pair of eyes and ears for all of us, and you know, there is going to be apprehension still with this generation when it comes to that type of software and technology. But we also always have to be thinking about the future. You know my generation. I’m actually millennial. I’m in my thirties, and I grew up kind of in that cusp

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Micheal Vergara: where you know I use windows 95. That was, you know, the 1st rating system. And yeah, Aol, and you know, hearing all the sounds just to get onto the Internet. I I believe it would take

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Micheal Vergara: minutes just to start using the Internet. Now, everything

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Micheal Vergara: just rapid. So with rapid pace, we have to move along with that to where in 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, things will be different, because, you know, someday soon I’ll be a senior myself and my generation. We’re used to using technology. And the generation after me is even more used to it because they’ve grown up with a you know, a mobile phone. They’ve grown up with a cell phone right away. I mean my sister. I think she had a cell phone when she was 7 or 8 years old.

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Micheal Vergara: Okay? And I didn’t have a cell phone until I was, I think, around 1718 years old, and you know, so on and so forth. So they’re used to texting and used to using.

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Micheal Vergara: you know, phone. So we have to think about some of the services that are offered. You know, when you have a senior. There’s always going to be a senior population that has some, you know, hearing issues and has some sight, some vision issues as well. So there’s always going to be a need. For you know, these capital services and these phones like that. But we have to also think in 20 years.

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Micheal Vergara: okay, how’s that technology gonna look like when you know someone growing up in my generation. And Gen. Z. And you know, being born in the last 10 years, when they’re older. They’re going to be used to using this like really fast technology and using Tiktok and all these different apps. So we have to kind of keep up with that as it changes.

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Micheal Vergara: and that’s 1 of the major changes that I’ve seen just in the last few years alone. And that’s something that I’ve been looking to keep up with as an agency as well as active care.

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Dennis Gill: Good to hear that good to hear that, and that does answer my next question that I had for you, that how, as the CEO, have you adapted your business strategy to stay ahead of the curve and capitalize on the evolving marketing dynamics? So you did answer some of the things anything you want to add in that.

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Micheal Vergara: Yeah, I would say that my background really lends itself to be very unique in the industry.

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Micheal Vergara: Oftentimes I have people ask me this question. They say you know, what is your link to home care?

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Micheal Vergara: You know. Are you a nurse? That is the question that I get often, and you know it is true that I would say a good percentage of home care owners are nurses, or have had some experience in the medical.

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Dennis Gill: Yeah, but that’s.

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Micheal Vergara: Not always the case, you know. I’ve met owners that are gerontologists. I’ve met owners that, you know were attorneys. Actually, I met owners that just were in so many different fields, and they have something that is new and innovative to bring to the table. So because I used to work at the Embassy of Ecuador work in international relations.

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Micheal Vergara: I have a certain different scope and field and also working at the Software Alliance in Washington, DC.

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Micheal Vergara: I worked with major companies like Microsoft, adobe autodesk with numerous software companies. So my mind is always thinking, okay, I want to be ahead of the curve.

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Micheal Vergara: And I was in the entertainment industry a bit as well before I moved to Washington, DC. So you know, a couple shows like burn notice, and you know, some commercials here and there, some some modeling acting, you know, really cool and fun things like that working alongside entertainers. So once I was ready to develop my business, I said. You know what? What are my interests that I can bring to the table to make my agency

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Micheal Vergara: different and stand out, and I think that that’s always the key thing is differentiation. So that’s when I started my company tribute productions. So tribute productions. It’s essentially it’s my entertainment production company. It’s over a hundred tribute artists that I have in my company and Broadway singers. So when I say tribute artists, just to inform.

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Micheal Vergara: you know, the general public. That is someone that does an impersonation. But they’re also able to sing and look like the artist. So it’s not just a look alike who you know. They come and appear, as you know, Michael Jackson, for example. But they can actually sing, perform, like them, and do like a whole 1 h set.

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Micheal Vergara: So I have about over a hundred of those artists, and it all started a part of my marketing budget because I wanted to market and bring these artists to seniors at 55 plus communities at assisted living and memory care communities as well.

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Micheal Vergara: And then it just went on from there. And I realized, this is going to become a bigger thing, where they’re also going to sing for my patients and my clients that are in hospice. You know. They’re also going to participate in my fundraisers. I began doing fundraisers a few years back and raising money for the Alzheimer’s association

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Micheal Vergara: and causes meant a lot to me like Parkinson’s as well. You know. Also I did cystic fibrosis so various causes like that, and I would always have my entertainers there. So it was a way to introduce my company, but also have some

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Micheal Vergara: big name entertainers perform at these events, and I just had a fundraiser in July on July 31, st and it was at a really beautiful community that opened last year with a Michael Jackson tribute and Aretha Franklin tribute. And you know we brought in almost $10,000 for the Alzheimer’s association, and.
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Dennis Gill: Great.

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Micheal Vergara: I had. Yeah, just an amazing turnout food and drinks. I had my Michael Jackson impersonator sell one of his thriller jackets to one of the residents so.

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Dennis Gill: Okay.

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Micheal Vergara: You know, it’s just. It’s a really fun experience. And that’s something that I have personally done. To differentiate myself is to make music a big part of what I do. So you know, even when I brought them to memory care communities as well. It’s the most beautiful thing to see 30, 40, 50 residents who all have, you know, dementia Alzheimer’s vascular dementia

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Micheal Vergara: all singing along in unison, you know that’s something that I see in memory care more than in assisted or in 55 plus communities is they’re not overthinking, you know. How do I look at, or how do I sound? They all just start singing in unison. And it’s the most beautiful thing. And I really do think that music can also

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Micheal Vergara: just add better health and mental health in years to a lot of my clients and a lot of residents that have dementia

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Micheal Vergara: and just in general. So I think that that is one thing that I have done with my agency to differentiate is just to bring the musical aspect of it.

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Micheal Vergara: And to really think, Okay, you know, why did I get into this.

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Micheal Vergara: I got into this because my grandmother had dementia, you know, and she she had 2 strokes and she got dementia. And then, unfortunately, my mom who had kidney failure.

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Micheal Vergara: She passed away before the age of 60, and I had to be her caregiver as well. So, and she was a nurse for over 30 years. So my family was a big inspiration for me. And so that’s why I was like, you know, I’m going to put in as much as I can possible to my agency to make it stand out.

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Micheal Vergara: Between the music, and also currently writing my own book on the story of my my grandmother and I I.

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Dennis Gill: Okay.

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Micheal Vergara: I, I really found a way to differentiate and put an input into the industry. So

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Micheal Vergara: yeah, to make a long story short, I think that that’s 1 of the biggest things is making sure the company you differentiate and go go along with the Times as well.

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Dennis Gill: That’s definitely a very unique and a great initiative I’ve had. Really, I’ve heard it for the 1st time. Music involved with this. Yeah, it. It is a very unique thing.

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Dennis Gill: And as you were speaking about the the Home Care Association of America that you’re going on, our team is also there. If you do get time, please do visit our booth. Booth. 2, 1, 5.

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Dennis Gill: Our co-founder would be there, Mr. Manjit Dhariwal.

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Dennis Gill: So if you get time, please do visit at 2, 1, 5, we would be there.

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Micheal Vergara: Definitely. I will.

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Dennis Gill: Yeah. So next thing, Michael. What are some of the biggest challenges one K providers are facing when it comes to driving growth and expansion in today’s market. What are your views on that.

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Micheal Vergara: So I would say, there’s there’s quite a few challenges, I’m sure, as you’ve spoken to some of the owners, you know, in this podcast they will tell you that you have to put on a lot of hats

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Micheal Vergara: right? And one of the things that they probably will tell you too, is that you know you want to work in the business a bit as well, and know how it is to provide care. But you mostly want to be working on the business so that you know you’re you’re growing it as well. But I will say that I always see some, some common challenges.

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Micheal Vergara: one challenge that I have seen is often a client or potential client will attempt to find a caregiver on their own.

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Micheal Vergara: or they will actually attempt to use the caregiver that you provided and utilize them privately. And I don’t think that this is something that any agency will say that there’s never been a problem. Maybe it’s it’s something that they’ve had less issues with once they’ve, you know, figured out how to navigate that. But I think that every company has had this issue at least one time.

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Micheal Vergara: and what I do is when I have the assessments, or meet the client 1st time, especially with my director of nursing. I go over with them what services we provide and why it’s vital to have an agency. Why, it’s better to have an agency than to just seek a caregiver

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Micheal Vergara: privately, and some of the things that I go over with them is all the care management we provide. So, for example, we will be having a nurse come to the house to reassess every month. That is no extra cost to the clients, no cost whatsoever, to have a nurse checking in their vital signs every month

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Micheal Vergara: the technology and software that we’re providing. For example, the tablets that I mentioned, professional liability insurance, oftentimes a caregiver that is working privately. They’re not going to keep up with professional liability insurance workers compensation. And that’s something that I mentioned to the clients. You know, a private aid may not be doing their due diligence, whereas a company is going to make sure that they do that as well as background checks level 2 background checks

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Micheal Vergara: and spending a lot of time and getting to know these caregivers and making sure they are the most ideal caregiver for your mother, father for your grandparents, the ongoing care management that we’re providing, working closely with Hospice. I mean, essentially, I can go on and on about all the services that an agency does. And there’s a reason why we provide value in the market. You know, there’s

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Micheal Vergara: a reason why some of my caregivers are often complimented by the communities that I work with, because

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Micheal Vergara: we’re working hand in hand with them to make sure that they are the most quality caregivers in the industry. So I would say, that’s 1 of the biggest things. Another thing I would say also, is the cost of care.

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Micheal Vergara: You know. The cost of care went up a lot during Covid, and a big reason for that, of course, was because of the caregivers. There was often a caregiver shortage to the point where I said, Okay, fine. I’ll go in and work, because, you know, I was just the type of person, Dennis, where I was never afraid of Covid.

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Dennis Gill: I would.

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Micheal Vergara: We’re afraid of a lot of seniors having Covid.

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Micheal Vergara: I never actually got Covid. So yeah, so so I guess I was just very fortunate. But

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Micheal Vergara: one thing that I saw is that in a lot of these communities, especially in memory care, where a lot of the residents were told. Of course they don’t have to wear a mask because they had dementia, so they didn’t really understand what was going on. A lot of the things that I saw was isolation.

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Micheal Vergara: you know, because they were being isolated. They were being quarantined, and a lot of the caregivers didn’t want to take the cases. It was almost paradoxical. Because it’s like, you know, the caregivers. A lot of them knew. Okay, we would get paid out more for taking in patients that have Covid, but at the same time we don’t want to take the case, because if we get Covid and then or we come home and bring it to our kids or our family. Then we’re out of a job, and then all of our family are sick.

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Micheal Vergara: So it was really, it almost seemed contradicting at times, and it was very difficult to work through as an owner, and that’s why. Sometimes I was going in and working with some of the clients in memory care and saying, You know, I’ll be with them one on one while I’m working on my business, or I would have to essentially bargain with some of the caregivers, and.

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Micheal Vergara: you know, pay them much more than we’re usually paying like $25 an hour, $30 an hour just to get them in there, and that was, of course, costing. You know, the clients so much money.

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Micheal Vergara: And then from there it’s not easy for rates to just go back down. Because then imagine telling a caregiver. Okay, now, we’re going to slash your rates by $8 an hour, $10 an hour, and and you know. So on so, and some of the best caregivers you want to pay them well, because you know that they’re going to go above and beyond, for you know the actual client. So

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Micheal Vergara: I would say that that’s been one of the biggest things you know. I I had a client recently that 24, 7 client.

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Micheal Vergara: They live in a memory care community. If you know how much memory care communities cost, it’s more, it’s more expensive than being.

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Dennis Gill: Yeah, I’ve heard. It’s yeah. I’ve heard it’s more expensive. Yeah.

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Micheal Vergara: So. And then, when you look at this community, which was a new community that just opened maybe a year and a half ago
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Micheal Vergara: with an amazing sensory room. More technology, beautiful interiors.

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Micheal Vergara: They’re paying about $9,000 a month.

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Micheal Vergara: Okay? Then they’re receiving 24, 7 care from my agency.

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Micheal Vergara: I bought my handy calculator out, and I was like, How much are they paying? Including with the community? It was nearly $300,000 a year.

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Dennis Gill: Oh, gosh!

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Micheal Vergara: No, I’m sure that’s not all of their expenses.

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Dennis Gill: Yeah.

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Micheal Vergara: When you take into account all of that I’m then now having a financial conversation which I don’t stray away from.

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Micheal Vergara: I end up having a financial conversation with the family and asking them about their budget. How do the next 6 months look? How does the next 12 months look? Because, even though he had lewy body dementia

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Micheal Vergara: with my excellent caregivers with Hospice.

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Micheal Vergara: you still really never know how long someone’s going to live, you know.

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Dennis Gill: We can’t.
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Micheal Vergara: Data and statistics, but people are still living longer nowadays. So

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Micheal Vergara: what if he’s now living? You know another 3 years. Let’s say he’s now surpassed over a million dollars in spending just on

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Micheal Vergara: a studio

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Micheal Vergara: and 24, 7 care. So.

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Dennis Gill: Too much.

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Micheal Vergara: Me! That’s do!

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Dennis Gill: But yeah.

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Micheal Vergara: Yeah, when you really add that up, it’s just kind of like, okay, wow, you know, how do you break it down to the family that he needs care, then work with the community, and how long do they have for care? I mean, the families have literally told me this is not going to be affordable for us in the long run. Some of them told me, maybe 2 or 3 years, but not 5. So what happens when they live to 5 years, you know. So

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Micheal Vergara: these are all I would say challenges that agencies have

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Micheal Vergara: and these are challenges that I think can grow in the long run, because even with private pay, like half of our clients, are long term care insurance right? Another half private pay. Well, at least for my agent right?

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Micheal Vergara: Something that’s been said often is that long-term care insurance policies are not good as good as they used to.

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Micheal Vergara: So what happens in 10 or 20 years when the policies aren’t as good as the clients I’m receiving now. So

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Micheal Vergara: a lot of things feel like it’s being stretched out. And that’s why, as agency owners, we have the task of the fun task of you know, providing the best care while being innovative while also trying to be affordable, you know, and

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Micheal Vergara: or at least affordable for clients that maybe are not the highest, highest end earners, you know, because you have upper middle class earners that can afford this care?

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Micheal Vergara: But again, can they afford to pay over a million dollars in 2 and a half years.

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Micheal Vergara: you know. So.

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Dennis Gill: That’s a big amount. Yeah, that’s up.

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Micheal Vergara: Yeah. So there’s there’s definitely things that I’ve I’ve done to try to see. How can I also still be affordable

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Micheal Vergara: while providing the best quality care and technology as well.

00:22:45.770 –> 00:22:58.279
Dennis Gill: Great, great great! That would be really beneficial for all the listeners. And the challenges that are there. And what Michael does telling you guys, you can always take a note of that.

00:22:58.670 –> 00:23:07.059
Dennis Gill: So moving further, Michael. What strategies have you found most effective for building and maintaining a high quality caregiving team.

00:23:08.150 –> 00:23:12.950
Micheal Vergara: So the strategies that, I would say has been the most effective is that

00:23:13.070 –> 00:23:17.840
Micheal Vergara: with my caregiving team, I would just say the number one is just appreciation.

00:23:18.100 –> 00:23:18.540
Dennis Gill: So, really.

00:23:18.540 –> 00:23:20.569
Micheal Vergara: Caring about your care staff.

00:23:21.079 –> 00:23:30.039
Micheal Vergara: From the very beginning. I mean, I always knew. Okay, I’m a people person, right? I I care about people, and that’s at the foundation of what I do.

00:23:30.180 –> 00:23:46.920
Micheal Vergara: But people want to feel valued. They want to feel important. Even a thank. You can go a long way. You know the amount of caregivers that I’ve had that are part of my team that have given me referrals of other amazing caregivers, of nurses.

00:23:47.287 –> 00:24:02.359
Micheal Vergara: of clients even, and just right away. I, of course, aside from giving them referral fees and rewarding that way, them that way, even just giving them a Thank you, and telling them how much I appreciate them, and sitting down

00:24:02.380 –> 00:24:18.630
Micheal Vergara: for a cup of coffee with them, has surprised them. They have told me. Other agencies didn’t even do that. They didn’t even call them and say Thank you. They just took the referral and went with it, and that really shocked me, and that made me realize from the very beginning

00:24:18.680 –> 00:24:35.330
Micheal Vergara: I can have a really amazing referral base, just based upon the way that I nurture and treat my caregivers so I will tell you honestly. I mean, of course, I have posted on job boards. You know my recruiter has posted on job boards to to get more caregivers.

00:24:35.440 –> 00:24:45.050
Micheal Vergara: you know, like, indeed, and and other job boards like that, I will say, for the vast majority of the time that my company has been open. I haven’t posted very frequently.

00:24:45.150 –> 00:24:57.310
Micheal Vergara: because a lot I received so many referrals from my care staff that I haven’t found the need to. So in the very beginning of my company. One of the things that I did was a caregiver appreciation day.

00:24:57.630 –> 00:25:25.789
Micheal Vergara: so I had an appreciation day. My office is in downtown West Palm Beach. I rented out one of the large conference rooms, invited some of my caregivers over which can be difficult to do with scheduling, but I had about 10 caregivers in my office. I had catering come in, so you know, I made sure that there was a budget for catering. I made sure there was a budget for entertainment as well because of my entertainment company. I even had a singer there as well.

00:25:25.810 –> 00:25:29.500
Micheal Vergara: and then I have certificates for each caregiver.

00:25:29.640 –> 00:25:45.749
Micheal Vergara: and on each certificate was a specific title for each caregiver that my staff just kind of made up ourselves. So one of our caregivers, for example, she’s just been able to do amazingly when it comes to taking care of some of our clients with

00:25:45.750 –> 00:26:02.340
Micheal Vergara: dementia, with Alzheimer’s lewy body, vascular dementia, all different forms of dementia to where, you know, I’ve really seen the the client turn around. So we titled her, you know. We put her name on a plaque. And then her was dementia whisperer.

00:26:02.570 –> 00:26:03.060
Micheal Vergara: So

00:26:04.880 –> 00:26:11.318
Micheal Vergara: yeah, because, you know, with a lot of our clients with dementia, a lot of them are non verbal.

00:26:11.640 –> 00:26:12.600
Dennis Gill: Yeah, you know.

00:26:12.600 –> 00:26:21.439
Micheal Vergara: Had clients, for example, that have had aphasia, and they’ve lost all their verbalness. They they didn’t speak at all after 3 months.

00:26:21.450 –> 00:26:31.040
Micheal Vergara: So, to provide a caregiver that can understand. Okay, you’re not going to be necessarily having a lot of communication with your patient, but

00:26:31.130 –> 00:26:33.029
Micheal Vergara: you know, smiles.

00:26:33.030 –> 00:26:33.640
Dennis Gill: Alright!

00:26:33.640 –> 00:27:00.680
Micheal Vergara: Making sure that when you’re transferring them, that you’re doing the transfer with a smile on and making sure you’re taking care of them. Well, not pushing and dragging them onto a bed and transferring them in the most ill mannered way, but really taking care of them. You know I’ve had caregivers that came in and brought their clients. You know, Teddy bears and things like that, because working with someone that has dementia is totally different. So

00:27:00.680 –> 00:27:22.599
Micheal Vergara: you know we gave her that title dementia whisper, because we just thought she’s made an impact on so many of our clients with dementia. So we gave them each titles. We gave them each coffee mugs with their names on it, and of course, with the secure brand logo and a nice little red envelope as well that you can imagine what was in it.

00:27:22.600 –> 00:27:23.660
Dennis Gill: Again that.

00:27:23.660 –> 00:27:35.790
Micheal Vergara: Yeah. So a lot of our caregivers feel really appreciated. And I would say that that’s 1 of the reasons that my company hasn’t really had too much of an issue with retention.

00:27:36.412 –> 00:27:39.339
Micheal Vergara: I mean, of course, you’re going to find Caregivers, a.

00:27:39.370 –> 00:27:44.620
Micheal Vergara: you know. Come and go. But I think that ultimately, when the caregiver feels really valued

00:27:44.660 –> 00:27:54.359
Micheal Vergara: when they feel like they can either call on me. They can call on, you know, the care manager that’s on staff call on human resources and say, Hey, you know

00:27:54.380 –> 00:28:08.949
Micheal Vergara: I I maybe I need some a couple of days off, or I’m going to go on vacation, or Hey, can you give me some? You know alternative methods to take care of my client? Can you have the care manager? Come in, and you know. Help me with this client, or

00:28:09.090 –> 00:28:14.650
Micheal Vergara: you know, sometimes they just want events and just make sure that there’s someone that they can reach out to

00:28:15.042 –> 00:28:33.009
Micheal Vergara: I think that those are all things that you know we have provided as a part of an agency, and it makes the it makes the caregivers feel like they’re a part of a family. So you know, that’s something that can be difficult when you’re talking about a company that is mobile right

00:28:33.417 –> 00:28:52.400
Micheal Vergara: Home Care Agency. We don’t have one huge facility, like an Alf, where we can just all meet up and see each other, so we don’t have that as a home care agency. You know, the caregivers want to feel like, okay, we can easily reach out to Michael, or you know, Michelle, the director of nursing, and.

00:28:52.400 –> 00:29:07.025
Micheal Vergara: you know, just discuss with them some of the issues that we’re having. And another thing I would say, too, that I’ve done is, I’ve gone on a lot of lunch. I guess you could say lunch dates and dinner dates with my care providers as well.

00:29:07.550 –> 00:29:31.740
Micheal Vergara: So meeting them where they’re at, you know South Florida is is huge, so sometimes I’ll go meet a caregiver that’s in Boca, about 45 min away, and have a lunch with them, and and just have discussions about how things are going on with the with the clients, and you know how they’re doing what their future looks like. And you know, once you get that close to a caregiver, it’s it then becomes really difficult for them to want to go to another agency.

00:29:31.770 –> 00:29:32.325
Micheal Vergara: So.

00:29:32.880 –> 00:29:34.859
Dennis Gill: Definitely definitely and.

00:29:34.860 –> 00:29:35.220
Micheal Vergara: Yeah.

00:29:35.220 –> 00:29:44.409
Dennis Gill: Thing that you’re saying about. If the company has maximum referrals that clearly see speaks about the work culture of the company because only those companies. They do get more referrals for the.

00:29:44.410 –> 00:29:58.610
Micheal Vergara: Yeah, it’s all been referral based. I have a holiday party coming up in 2 months, and you know a big part of the holiday party. The Christmas party is going to be to honor the caregivers. So again, you know.

00:29:58.990 –> 00:30:14.210
Micheal Vergara: where are you going to find an agency? Where they’re going to say, Hey, we’re going to essentially lavish you on Christmas and make you feel good. But you know that’s how I want the caregivers to feel. Oh, and one more thing I will mention is caregiver trainings.

00:30:14.240 –> 00:30:40.809
Micheal Vergara: So you know, with home care agencies, caregiver trainings. I would say. It’s not very robust, essentially caregivers have to get about 1 h of training per month, 12 HA year. So a lot of agencies will send out courses from relias, or, you know, specific, you know, training course programs where they can fill that fulfill that training. However, I personally never felt like it was robust enough.

00:30:40.870 –> 00:30:47.750
Micheal Vergara: Because if you look at again all these different types of dementia, I’m sure you may know there’s about

00:30:47.850 –> 00:31:03.759
Micheal Vergara: almost 200 different types of dementia. I mean, it’s pretty lengthy, and a lot of people will just associate that. It’s Alzheimer’s which, of course, Alzheimer’s is about 70, I would say about 70% of cases of dementia. But within that

00:31:03.820 –> 00:31:16.580
Micheal Vergara: other, let’s say 30. There’s so many different forms of dementia. And with that also comes different types of personalities. So you know. Let’s say, for example, we have a client that was a veteran.

00:31:17.020 –> 00:31:44.080
Micheal Vergara: With that you’re going to have a different personality that comes with that different type of dementia, because when someone is in the Va. Oftentimes they have different types of triggers. So you often may find that you go to a community, or you know you go at home where that client is located, and you know the person may have a certain trigger. They may have a trigger while they’re using the restroom, or taking a shower or cooking, or to hearing certain sounds.

00:31:44.525 –> 00:31:49.839
Micheal Vergara: Or I have found clients that it’s almost like they feel like they have to get to work.

00:31:49.930 –> 00:31:53.309
Micheal Vergara: So because of that dementia, they’re going back in time.

00:31:53.350 –> 00:31:59.860
Micheal Vergara: They may be going back in time sometimes to their twenties or thirties or forties, right? So when they’re going back in time.

00:31:59.880 –> 00:32:09.549
Micheal Vergara: someone who was in the you know, the Va like that’s what they may be going back in time is, what were they doing for work at that time? Was someone working in an office?

00:32:09.610 –> 00:32:18.749
Micheal Vergara: And now they have dementia. They may need to be kept busy, you know, or you may wonder why they shuffling things all the time or changing their clothes. And

00:32:18.800 –> 00:32:41.050
Micheal Vergara: there’s so many different habits that go into someone who has dementia, that it’s not even just about the dementia itself, but also their personality. So in these, you know, trainings, those are some of the things that we go over. I am a certified dementia practitioner. So what I do is I have other certified dementia practitioners

00:32:41.150 –> 00:33:04.439
Micheal Vergara: who will teach, you know. I’ll have my caregivers come for about a 2 h seminar every month, and they will learn about these different types of foundations and also go above and beyond. And they can ask questions, and I’m usually at these trainings as well. So if you’ve heard of like the nationally, or maybe world renowned, certified dementia practitioner, Tippa Snow.

00:33:04.440 –> 00:33:23.010
Micheal Vergara: A lot of people follow her as well. So you know some of those types of software, and and, you know, really guiding them to some of the best practitioners in the field is something that I’ve looked to do, and also continue to grow within my company, so that, you know these caregivers, my care. Partners feel like, okay.

00:33:23.020 –> 00:33:28.129
Micheal Vergara: we’re learning and growing, not just based upon experience, but actual knowledge. You know, what is our.

00:33:29.970 –> 00:33:34.420
Dennis Gill: That definitely does help because they are also evolving in the market

00:33:34.990 –> 00:33:46.590
Dennis Gill: completely. Get that? And finally, Michael, looking ahead, where do you see the greatest opportunities for home care providers to drive sustainable business growth. Your views on that.

00:33:47.200 –> 00:33:50.860
Micheal Vergara: So I would say, and I kind of touched up on this in the beginning as well.

00:33:50.860 –> 00:33:51.860
Dennis Gill: Yeah, you did. Yeah.

00:33:51.860 –> 00:33:57.549
Micheal Vergara: Technology. Is, of course, going to be a big one and telehealth as well.

00:33:57.620 –> 00:34:01.809
Micheal Vergara: because we honestly, we just can’t be everywhere. And

00:34:02.470 –> 00:34:26.700
Micheal Vergara: you know, a lot of the client base grows for a lot of the companies when you have over a hundred clients, even when you have over a thousand clients, and you know big caregiver support staff, I mean, you know, when it comes to my caregivers, my clients, my even my entertainers, and then all the people that I liaise with. So because I also put on fundraisers, I’m constantly liaising with.

00:34:26.699 –> 00:34:42.759
Micheal Vergara: you know, various nonprofits, associations, people that work work with these companies, and also my referral partners as well. So if we just tabulate that, I’m just talking about thousands of people at this point, right, how can I possibly be there for everybody. I’m just one person.

00:34:42.760 –> 00:34:43.760
Dennis Gill: You know. That’s right.

00:34:44.139 –> 00:34:49.070
Micheal Vergara: And then there’s also my mental health as well. So, in order to

00:34:49.120 –> 00:35:00.880
Micheal Vergara: run this company properly, and, as I said in the beginning work on the company, not just work in it at all times. I have to take care of my own mental health. So because of that, you know. You know.

00:35:00.970 –> 00:35:04.300
Micheal Vergara: as an owner of this company, and I would say numerous companies.

00:35:04.440 –> 00:35:11.480
Micheal Vergara: Part of the way that we get referral partners is because people love what we do and believe in our mission.

00:35:11.590 –> 00:35:17.050
Micheal Vergara: So I often will tell people about my mom. As I mentioned earlier, my grandmother

00:35:17.450 –> 00:35:39.549
Micheal Vergara: and you know I have a you know, as I mentioned earlier book, that’s coming out soon. About 2 months. I’m releasing my book, and it’s a children’s book, and it’s a story of my grandmother and I, and growing up with her and about. I believe it was in the year 2010 is when she had her 1st stroke, and then afterwards she got a second stroke.

00:35:39.620 –> 00:35:43.110
Micheal Vergara: That’s when she developed vascular dementia.

00:35:43.250 –> 00:35:51.239
Micheal Vergara: So. But I essentially, I talk about the story with, you know, in the book. It’s a children’s book, and it basically talks about how

00:35:51.290 –> 00:35:57.040
Micheal Vergara: my grandma had this big and fun and and boisterous personality, and she was into wrestling.

00:35:57.110 –> 00:36:24.679
Micheal Vergara: you know. And yeah, so she actually was the person who got me into watching wrestling on TV as a kid that’s supposed to show how animated of a personality she had. And the reason I came up with that book was so that I could really get out there to children more, because what I found was the longer I was in this industry is that we have people that are part of this industry who are oftentimes, let’s say, 40, 50, and up right.

00:36:24.680 –> 00:36:46.600
Micheal Vergara: But then, when I would talk to anyone that was in their twenties or teens, you know, or kids, they really really wouldn’t understand, you know caregiving very much, or understand, you know why the service is being provided, and you know the fact, you know. Let’s say they had a grandparent that had dementia, they wouldn’t really understand it very much.

00:36:46.720 –> 00:36:59.080
Micheal Vergara: My grandma was diagnosed with dementia was before I was in this industry. I didn’t understand it that much, and I was in my twenties, and my mom didn’t explain it to me very well what was going on with grandma.

00:36:59.100 –> 00:37:10.290
Micheal Vergara: So I wrote this book because, the book is called The Memory Keeper Michael’s Promise to Grandma, and I’m I wrote this book, and you know the reason I wrote it was because

00:37:10.330 –> 00:37:24.130
Micheal Vergara: I want to get more children involved and more kids, more teenagers, more 20 somethings. So I think that that is another big thing that we can add to the pocket. That is, you know, we can see for the future. Instead of just looking at

00:37:24.190 –> 00:37:43.459
Micheal Vergara: technology and telehealth, how can we get younger folks involved as well. So you know, I went to some local universities like Lynn University, like Florida, Atlantic University, and I began looking for interns. I began looking for students that were 1820, 22 years old, who

00:37:43.500 –> 00:37:48.439
Micheal Vergara: didn’t know too much about home care and providing care services for grandma and grandpa.

00:37:48.460 –> 00:38:11.880
Micheal Vergara: and began educating them and began bringing them to communities and working with working in activities and doing fun activities like Mini golf with seniors. And you know, things like that. So I would be getting all generations involved is something that I could see for the future. And the younger generations are the ones that are really hip on technology, anyways. So

00:38:11.940 –> 00:38:15.629
Micheal Vergara: I would say, between technology and telehealth, also

00:38:15.680 –> 00:38:18.599
Micheal Vergara: just getting our our youth involved getting the

00:38:18.650 –> 00:38:24.080
Micheal Vergara: next generation just because someone is 1518 years old, 22 years old.

00:38:24.340 –> 00:38:46.590
Micheal Vergara: you know. Don’t count them out, and don’t think that they’re not bright enough to, you know. Be a part of home care in in whatever capacity. So I would say that that is one of the big things is bridging the gap with different generations and bringing in more technology bring in more software, bringing in apps that can really expedite the process

00:38:46.590 –> 00:39:03.130
Micheal Vergara: for home care, and also bringing in some sort of telehealth and tablets. And, you know, bringing in hospice to work mobilely and infusion therapy. And you know doctors mobily. And just how can we make the lives of seniors easier, Dennis? That’s what it.

00:39:03.130 –> 00:39:03.480
Dennis Gill: Yeah.

00:39:03.480 –> 00:39:05.180
Micheal Vergara: About the end of the day.

00:39:06.680 –> 00:39:09.949
Micheal Vergara: You know every time that I I start my day I.

00:39:10.430 –> 00:39:20.850
Micheal Vergara: To be honest, and this is not to get like religious on you or anything. But I I lead with a prayer, and and my prayer usually leads with I want to help more families

00:39:20.920 –> 00:39:27.189
Micheal Vergara: genuinely. I want to help more families, and how can I do that in a better way every day.

00:39:27.670 –> 00:39:36.680
Micheal Vergara: So whenever I you know, I lose a client, I have a client that’s passed away, and and that’s something that we have to deal with in this industry.

00:39:37.166 –> 00:39:40.819
Micheal Vergara: Often, often my mind doesn’t go straight to

00:39:41.020 –> 00:39:48.430
Micheal Vergara: revenue, or or it doesn’t go to any of those things first.st Of course, I have to think about. Okay. These caregivers now need work.

00:39:48.889 –> 00:39:52.780
Micheal Vergara: Because these caregivers are no longer working with that patient.

00:39:53.050 –> 00:40:14.819
Micheal Vergara: But I’m often thinking, where is my mentality at, you know. Are we being genuine with everything that we’re doing? Are we working, you know, to the hardest of our abilities, but also working smart to take care of seniors, and if that is where my mind is at, and how can I take care of more seniors every day? Then those are the blessings that are going to come forward.

00:40:14.880 –> 00:40:42.220
Micheal Vergara: So there’s a lot of opportunities in the home care industry. I I go to networking events quite often. And people tell me, oh, I want to start a home care business, and I’m thinking another one. But I’m also thinking, you know. Look, if you’re genuine. If you’re hardworking, there’s always room for all of us. Over 20% of the population of Florida are seniors. I think it’s like 25% now so

00:40:42.220 –> 00:40:59.130
Micheal Vergara: and this is a population of several 1 million. What 30 something 1 million people in this State. So just in Florida alone, no matter how many home care agencies we have popping up. There’s actually still enough room for everybody to take care of numerous families.

00:40:59.140 –> 00:41:02.370
Micheal Vergara: So I would say, those are the big things.

00:41:02.490 –> 00:41:07.030
Micheal Vergara: the generations dividing the gap technology and telehealth. That’s where we’re heading towards.

00:41:08.810 –> 00:41:29.220
Dennis Gill: Thank you. Thank you, Michael. It was great, great talking to you, and thank you for sharing your expertise with us, and I definitely believe the listeners would get a lot of benefit out of these. So till the time, and to our lovely audience, thank you for tuning in until next time. I’m Dennis Gale, signing off.

00:41:29.230 –> 00:41:30.710
Dennis Gill: Thank you, Michael, for your time.

00:41:30.970 –> 00:41:32.239
Micheal Vergara: Thank you. It was a pleasure.