July 2, 2025 • 24 mins
What happens when a home care agency owner launches his business just as a global pandemic begins? Meet Dale York, whose Cardinal Home Care agency in Northern Virginia has thrived despite starting under the most challenging circumstances imaginable.
Dale's journey into home care began in the mid-90s when he discovered his passion while working in an HR position at a local agency. "As soon as I started working in home care, I loved it," he shares. "It was something that I just felt was a natural fit." This natural fit eventually led him to establish Cardinal Home Care, which now serves clients throughout Northern Virginia with personalized care solutions.
Through illuminating client stories, Dale reveals the diverse ways home care supports families. From a young stroke survivor needing morning assistance to an elderly couple with dementia requiring daytime supervision to prevent falls, the agency tailors its approach to each situation. Perhaps most eye-opening is Dale's revelation that approximately 40% of their clients already live in senior communities. "When I first started in this industry, I thought: if you live in assisted living, why would you need home care?" he admits. The answer lies in the gap between institutional staffing and individual needs – private caregivers provide the one-on-one attention that prevents falls and maintains safety when community staff cannot be constantly present.
What sets Cardinal Home Care apart is their high-touch approach to client relationships. Dale personally meets with families, transparent service agreements are immediately shared, and caregivers are personally introduced during first visits. "I think the family just appreciates that someone cares," Dale reflects. "There's compassion, you're showing love, support, trust." This dedication extends to being available whenever clients need assistance – whether for a weekend, during a family caregiver's business trip, or following elective surgery.
Have you been considering home care but aren't sure what to expect? Listen to this conversation to understand how flexible, compassionate care can transform lives and provide peace of mind for families navigating the challenges of aging or managing health conditions.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
My name is Dale York.
I'm the owner of Cardinal HomeCare and we've been in business
a little bit over five years.
We are based in Fairfax,virginia, and our home care
agency covers all of NorthernVirginia.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
That's great, awesome , and that's a big territory in
and of itself.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
It's huge.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Tell us a little bit about the reason why you got
into this business.
What was the catalyst and wheredid you come from before home
care was in your life?
Speaker 1 (00:32):
So back in the mid-90s, after college, I got
involved in the healthcareindustry.
I was managing practices, Iworked in hospitals, and I
really got tired of that settingso I was looking for something
different.
There was an ad for an HRposition at a local home care
agency.
I had heard of home care butdidn't know anything about it,
(00:54):
so applied, got the job, and assoon as I started working in
home care, I loved it.
It was something that I justfelt it was a natural fit.
And I remember just thinking tomyself like I think this is my
future Working for a home care,something that I just felt it
was a natural fit.
And I remember just thinking tomyself like I think this is my
future Working for a home careagency, that I worked for some
different assisted livingcommunities and it really just
solidified that fact that I wantto own a home care agency.
(01:17):
Right before COVID, likeliterally like a few months
before COVID we were blessed bythe state of Virginia.
We were green light, thumbs up,let's move forward.
And then COVID hits.
Yeah, it's been a veryinteresting ride, but I have to
say I've loved every day.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
That's awesome.
Oh, you know what they say ifyou love what you do, it's
hardly work at all.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
So that's great 100% yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
And what a time to come on board the beginning of
COVID.
Even the most stealthy,long-term, been around for years
kind of home care agency had areally hard time during COVID To
be starting this up.
You hit the jackpot on hard.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
And I can tell you what happened just real quickly.
There was a family that was inArlington and they lived in a
community and, if you remember,during COVID, literally
everything was shut down, likeyou had to isolate in your rooms
, and so she lived in anassisted living and the family
had reached out and said I wantto move my actually it was their
sister into an apartmentbuilding to give her some more
(02:21):
freedom.
Could you provide a live-incaregiver?
This way she has a largerapartment and the live-in could
do things.
And it was just.
It was a better situation andthat was one of the very first
clients that we got.
She was in her late fifties,had ALS, worked for the
government, just a wonderfullady.
But yeah, that was one of thevery first clients that we got.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Wow, and that's not an easy case either.
So you have really you're like200 years old in home care years
.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Maybe it's been what a blessing it is to own a home
care agency and to help people,and maybe I should rephrase that
by saying, just by owning abusiness and being able to help
other people really like that'sa huge blessing.
I don't take that lightly atall.
So when I had the opportunityto really get someone to help me
get through the licensureprocess and the policies and the
(03:14):
procedures, everything justfell into place and it just
reconfirmed every day that thiswas where I needed to be.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Absolutely.
That's a great story andhopefully we won't have a whole
lot more of that kind of stuffgoing on in our universe.
But, having said that, thereare people who are in crisis
every single day or they feellike it's a crisis and they need
answers.
So when someone calls you, whatare some of the most typical
(03:43):
things you get asked?
When consumers call CardinalHome Care and are looking for
help, Good question, okay.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
So when a family calls us, they typically top
question is probably what kindof services do you guys offer?
And other questions would berelating to schedules.
This is what I need.
Is that something that you guyscould do?
How much does it cost?
Is this out of pocket?
Is it private pay?
Is it long-term care insurance?
(04:11):
So actually, let me do this.
Let me give you some examplesof some of the families that we
help and I think this will allcome together.
So we recently got a phone callfrom a family that lives in
Arlington, virginia, and he's ayoung gentleman.
He's not even 55 years old.
He had a stroke, he lives athome with his wife and he was
(04:32):
being discharged 12 pm.
When the wife comes home, wehelp him get up in the morning.
We help him get ready for theday, shower, go to the bathroom,
get dressed, whatever he needsto do to get his day started
(04:53):
meal preparation.
So that would be one example.
We have another family that wejust started helping a couple of
weeks ago.
Both mom and dad actually havedementia.
They live in Ashburn, virginia,and this family wanted to age
in place.
They've got a beautiful homeand mom and dad are independent
(05:16):
right.
They can go to the bathroom andthey can get changed.
They're not bedbound by anystretch of the imagination.
The family's main concern isfalling.
They both have a history offalling.
There's been some noncompliancewith medication.
So the idea behind helping thiscouple was could you guys come
(05:37):
in and work 8 am to 8 pm sevendays a week and just keep
everything stable at home?
Can you provide care if care isneeded bathroom or shower,
getting dressed, whatnot?
Can you make sure that themeals are prepared?
Can you make sure that if wehave questions or if we have a
concern, can you help us?
And it was an added measure ofsecurity for the family and so
(06:02):
we've been helping them now fora short period of time.
And last week we got a call.
It was for a family.
And so we've been helping themnow for a short period of time.
And last week we got a call.
It was for a family.
They actually want to round theclock care.
So their mom was just put underhospice care and the family
during this very sensitivetransitionary time.
They don't want to playcaregiver.
(06:22):
They don't want to be sittingbedside changing their mom and
giving their mom sponge baths,and so the caregiver is coming
in and they're providing thoseservices, making sure that she's
being rotated, that she'smaintaining that dignity that we
all want.
So those are just some examplesof some of the hours and some
(06:43):
of the services that we've beenable to provide recently.
With regards to insurance,long-term care insurance is
typically fine.
We have never been rejectedfrom a long-term care insurance.
Like Medicare, they're notcovering, so your commercials
are not going to cover.
But if it's a long-term careinsurance, I tell the families
double check, but typicallynever a problem.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Yeah, I think a lot of folks are confused about what
Medicare covers and what itdoesn't and unfortunately
although I know there's beensome talk about other things,
but right now, pretty much forlong-term care like this
Medicare is not going to coverthose services.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Private pay or long-term care insurance, but
what a great variety of clientsand a great variety of requests.
So someone could get short-termcare or just part-time care
during the day, and then youhave folks that go all the way
to 24-hour care, I'm sure and sothat's great that you were able
to provide such a well-roundedset of services and whatever
(07:43):
hours people need.
Basically.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yeah, you do your best and I think some of the
challenges that we've had overthe years are you've got the
right.
You got the children right, thepeople our age that are saying,
hey, my mom, my dad, whomever,they need help, and there's that
I don't need help, no one'sgoing to help me.
I've lived in this house for 47years, right, and I get it
(08:06):
right.
There's a dignity there and Ialways tell my staff make sure
you're doing everything and love, compassion and showing that
dignity, and so we have to bemindful of that.
And sometimes, if a familyreaches out and we're meeting
with them and the person thatneeds care is just, I'm not
budging, I'm not doing this.
Maybe sometimes, valerie isokay, can we compromise?
(08:29):
Can we say maybe we'll come ina couple of days a week and
we'll just come in for themorning hours.
Let's help you get your daystarted and let's just give it a
couple days next week.
Let's try it, let's see whathappens.
It's not always, but you're notgoing to get 100%.
Yes, but the family appreciatesthe fact that, okay, you're not
(08:52):
trying to do a hard sale,you're not trying to force my
mom or dad, it's.
Let's compromise on somethingand, like you and I know
sometimes just cracking the doora little bit, you've got a good
caregiver.
They're empathetic, they'rethere to help the individual.
It just opens up that door towow.
You know what?
Betty was really great with mymom and I think my mom is
(09:14):
actually a little bit morereceptive.
So maybe we can try three daysnext week.
And this is a very delicateindustry.
These are seniors.
I think the average age that wehelp is mid-late 80s.
They grew up in a differenttime, a different era.
You just can't force somethingto happen.
You have to be willing to giveand take.
(09:35):
I know some agencies haveminimum hours per week.
Maybe it's 20 hours a week andthat's what we do think.
We try to take the position ofyou may need that, you may need
more, but if we can maybe meetyou halfway and show you that we
care and we're going to helpand build some trust, maybe do
(09:59):
we do a couple of weeks as aspringboard for moving forward.
So there's really no formula.
You know this, you've beendoing it for years.
It's just you do the best youcan, you try to build trust and
you go from there.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah, I think you guys are.
You're right on track.
Not everybody's ready for 24hour care day one.
It is a process of let's seehow this works, let's ease into
it.
It really does help everyoneconcerned.
Help everyone concerned,establish that trust, establish
that nothing bad is going tohappen here.
This really is helpful to meand I'm sure along the way there
(10:34):
have been families and seniorsthat have said we should have
done this 10 years ago.
We should have done this fiveyears ago, two years ago.
What a change it is now that wehave somebody that can help us
with the light laundry and themeal preparation or going to run
errands.
It's such a saving of energyand less worry for the adult
(10:55):
children who live maybe a fewtowns over.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
A hundred percent.
You're absolutely right.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Yeah, and you serve.
I know, tell me a little bitabout this.
People don't have to live in ahouse.
You serve people in independentliving, assisted living, all
over the place.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Yeah, actually that's a great point.
I would say roughly 40% or soof the clients that we help live
in communities that are likeassisted living communities,
memory care communities, andwhen I first started in this
industry, I'm like if you livein an assisted living, why in
the world would you need homecare?
Like, why would you needprivate duty?
That made no sense to me and Idid a recent video about this
(11:34):
and people don't understand thatif your mom and dad, if someone
moves into a memory carecommunity or into an assisted
living community, they check onyour mom or dad every hour, two
hours, whatever the stateregulations are, but it doesn't
mean that your mom or dad arenot going to fall.
(11:55):
It doesn't mean that thingsstill are not going to happen.
And we had a recent family thatcalled us because the wife's
husband he's 80 something yearsold has dementia.
He kept falling and thecommunity said look, this is
really a safety issue.
You need to bring in a homecare agency to provide private
(12:16):
duty so that when he gets up outof his bed or out of the chair
he's not just getting up andfalling.
And a lot of people don'trealize that there are times
that you may have your mom ordad in a community and you still
need home care, and you have tothink about that, right,
because again, it almost doesn'tmake sense, but from a safety
(12:40):
perspective, they can only do somuch, right.
Assisted living communitiesthere are so many in this area
and they're wonderful.
There are so many that are justabsolutely marvelous, but they
can only do so much, right.
Assisted living communitiesthere are so many in this area
and they're wonderful.
There are so many that are justabsolutely marvelous, but they
can only do so much.
And so sometimes you get afamily that's a little
discouraged and they call andlook, my mom's been falling a
lot and they just need thatextra help.
So, yes, we do that and yeah,it's unfortunate, right, it's
(13:03):
like you move into a communityand but anyway.
So yes, we do that.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
And I think that for especially for independent
living communities, the longeryou want your loved one to be
able to stay there and thecommunity wants them to stay, so
sometimes having a little extraprivate duty help is really
what extends the ability forthem to stay there for as long
as possible.
Because, you're right, theydon't.
(13:28):
They're not staffed to beemergently checking on people
every hour or maybe every hourthey are.
There's big gaps of time therebecause they're supposed to be
independent or maybe assistedliving.
So I get it and that is a greatpoint to let people know that
you don't have to live in yourown home to get home care.
You might be in already or youmight just need somebody to be
(13:57):
around in memory care, forinstance, to assist a little bit
more where they're not.
Their staff is busy with lotsof folks in memory care and
maybe your person needs a littlebit more one-on-one time.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Yeah, you're absolutely correct, and I think
an important thing to understandabout home care, at least with
our home care agency, is so youcan get it for a short amount of
time and it's not somethingthat is necessarily required to
be ongoing.
So we have a lady gosh.
Her husband, I think, has ALSand she is maybe like 50.
(14:29):
The wife still works, so whenshe travels for business she'll
call us and get a live-incaregiver for three or four days
.
So it's just a little bit ofthat bridge like a respite.
You don't necessarily have tohave somebody for ever, six
months or whatever it is, it canjust be.
Can you tide me over from thispoint in time to that point in
(14:51):
time?
And then we're good, we've donecare for a weekend.
A good friend of mine works atan assisted living and she said
hey, I need help, family isgoing out of town.
I think the dad was moving in,like on a Monday.
So can you just help for theweekend?
And we did it.
So it's important to understandthat every home care agency
(15:13):
operates differently, but youcan use it from a respite
standpoint for a short amount oftime.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Yeah, and I do.
I've known of folks who have.
You know they have electivesurgeries, so they have a knee
replacement and a lot of timesunless there's a fall a knee
replacement something that youplan when you're going to have
the surgery and you can havesomeone.
I think transitioning fromhospital to home is a great time
(15:39):
to have some temporary homecare and help you get over the
hump, especially if there's nota lot of family around to help
you pick up the medications andmake sure you have a meal, and
you know you're not able to getaround right away when you have
a knee surgery or a hip surgery,so it's nice to have somebody
there who can do all thehousehold stuff for you, and
(15:59):
that is sometimes a plannedevent.
So planning ahead for ahospitalization that's an
elective surgery is a nicecalling, and setting up that
care for the day you come homeis a wonderful way to get
through that without having alot of challenges and being
readmitted.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
And I tell you something actually funny To your
point we got a call maybe it'slike a few months ago a lady was
having a mommy makeover with alocal plastic surgeon and I mean
, we hadn't done one of those inyears, but it was so nice.
She reached out to us and shewas super happy.
But yeah, it's just like again,like these little short things
that sometimes you might notthink about, but she just she
(16:40):
couldn't bend over, she couldn't, she was so sore, and so anyway
, yes, I agree with your point ahundred percent.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Yeah, it's rough when you especially as we even at 55
, having a surgery is a lotharder on on a 55 year old than
it is on a 25 year old.
I got to say oh, it is nice tohave somebody help you out.
When people call and they talkto you and you're able to answer
their questions and that, andthey want to start services give
(17:08):
us sort of a hint at what theprocess looks like.
They call, they say we needsome care, and then what happens
from there?
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Our agency is very transparent.
One of the things that we dojust off the bat whether they're
inquiring for services and thenwhat happens from there.
Our agency is very transparent.
One of the things that we dojust off the bat whether they're
inquiring for services or theydefinitely say no, we need
services, we'll always send themthe new client service
agreement.
So obviously, if they want tostart ASAP, they need to look it
over.
But there's families thatsometimes reach out because
(17:36):
they're planning ahead.
We'll email them the new clientservice agreement.
Look, read through it.
Any questions, call me, I cancome over, we can talk about it,
whatever.
So I think having thatimmediate transparency I think
puts people at ease.
Typically after that I like toschedule a home meeting where I
can meet with the family.
(17:56):
A lady had contacted me over theweekend and she was looking for
care.
She plays tennis and she wantedsomeone to be with her husband
while she's playing tennis twicea week.
So I said you know what I saidlet me come over.
She lives here in Fairfax andlet's just let's talk about this
, let me meet your husband andlet's just let's have some Q and
A, and she was totally on board.
We just spent some time in herliving room and just I met the
(18:19):
husband, former military, and itwas just, it was nice.
So we left that she's expectingour nurse, our director of
nursing, is calling her up toschedule an assessment.
The assessment is basicallyit's a lot of Q&A, but what kind
of care is needed?
Visual checks, are there anyopen wounds, rashes, so on and
(18:39):
so forth?
And then we start care and oneof the things that our agency
does that I've done for years, Ireally enjoy it, is when care
is being started for the firsttime with a family.
What I like to do is I like togo meet the caregiver there and
introduce, let's say, betty thecaregiver to Mr Jones or Mrs
(19:04):
Jones.
And it bridges that gap becausetypically I've been there a
couple of times already and it'sthe caregiver's first time.
So if the caregiver gets lost,I can hey, where are you?
No park over here.
Let me show you what to do.
Sometimes the caregivers theydon't.
They're not understandingwhat's going on.
(19:24):
This is just a last minute call.
It's helter skelter.
I think the caregiversappreciate this as much as the
clients do and, if anything, itjust bridges a little bit of
trust.
Hey, you know what Cardinal wasthere.
They didn't forget about me,they helped me, and those are
just some of the expectations.
We typically will check in fromtime to time.
(19:45):
Sometimes I do drop byunannounced to see what the
caregivers are doing.
Sometimes I'll call the familyand say, hey, I'm going to be
over next week.
Can I come over around oneo'clock just to check in?
It's important to have thatcustomer service, but also to
understand what's going on inthe family.
Are there dynamics?
Did something happen?
Is the caregiver working out?
Speaker 2 (20:11):
or maybe they're not working out, so I'm probably an
over-involved owner, but I likeit, so it works for me.
Hey, you know what I think?
Over the years we've all talkedabout how customer service
doesn't exist much anymore.
So I think being anover-involved owner is very nice
, and I would agree that if Iwere a caregiver walking into a
home for the first time, I wouldso appreciate the fact that
(20:34):
someone else who knows thisfamily, has already been there,
talked to them and I can learncue off of what's going on when
I walk in the door.
A nice introduction is helpfulfor everybody all the way around
, not just cold walking intowhatever's going on.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
So agree, agree.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
That is a wonderful nice touch that not all home
care agencies will do.
I think that's a great customerservice attribute, so that's
great.
Don't stop doing that orsomebody.
If it's not somebody, yourdirector of nursing or whoever
making that introduction is anice touch for sure.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Yeah, and to your point, our director of nursing
sometimes does do it and shedoes a phenomenal job.
If it's an emergency clientwhere we need someone there,
like ASAP, sometimes we'll havethe caregiver meet our director
of nursing there and they gothrough things together.
That's right, that's perfect.
I love that.
But I think at the end of theday, I think the family just
(21:31):
appreciates that someone cares,right, there's compassion,
you're showing love, support,trust.
I mean it just makes a goodimpression and I know some
agencies do it, but I wish moredid it, because I think that the
difference is noticeable.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Yes, absolutely it is .
All.
This is a very emotionalbusiness to be in, with families
who are feeling veryoverwhelmed and people receiving
care who might feel a littleoverwhelmed by all of this.
So the more you can show thatyou're there for them and, of
course, putting a name in a facewith a company, I think that's
(22:10):
a huge relief to so many.
They want to know who they cancall or who the person
responsible is.
If the buck stops with you,then that's good to know.
So that's great.
And is there anything else thatpeople ask or people wonder
about that we haven't addressedor talked about with Cardinal
Home Care?
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Not that I can think of top of my head.
Every family has theirdifferent circumstances or
different things that come up.
We do a lot of work incommunities.
I had mentioned that.
A lot of directors of nursingwill reach out to us.
The biggest thing is justaccessibility, right?
People call me, they'll text me.
Hey, can you help with this?
Can you do that?
I think, if you love what youdo, I think it just shows right,
(22:54):
I don't know how else to say it.
And so you know this you can'thelp everybody.
There's things are going tohappen.
Balls get dropped from time totime, but we had a really a
rough experience about a yearago in a community with a
caregiver and it wasn't reallyher fault, but another story.
I was over there in about 20minutes.
(23:15):
Issue got resolved.
I talked to the community andshe actually appreciated the
kind of us just owning up towhat we did and it was almost
like that service recovery thatshe appreciated.
That actually kept us in thatcommunity, continue working in
it, because she felt and I askedher this afterwards she felt
(23:38):
that if something went south,that we were going to take care
of it and it wasn't just ohsorry and don't hear back from
us.
So I think every situation is alittle bit different.
I think if you lead withintegrity, I think that speaks
loudly.
I said this earlier.
I'll say it again I love what Ido.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
And if we can help people, that's what we're here
for.
Well, dale, it really shows.
And thank you for telling usall about your business and who
you serve and how well you serveyour clients.
I appreciate that, thank you.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
No, thank you too, and I appreciate the opportunity
, and I hope you have awonderful day.
My name is Dale York.
I'm the owner of Cardinal HomeCare and we've been in business
a little bit over five years.
We are based in Fairfax,virginia, and our home care
agency covers all of NorthernVirginia.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
That's great, awesome , and that's a big territory in
and of itself.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
It's huge.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Tell us a little bit about the reason why you got
into this business.
What was the catalyst and wheredid you come from before home
care was in your life?
Speaker 1 (00:32):
So back in the mid-90s, after college, I got
involved in the healthcareindustry.
I was managing practices, Iworked in hospitals, and I
really got tired of that settingso I was looking for something
different.
There was an ad for an HRposition at a local home care
agency.
I had heard of home care butdidn't know anything about it,
(00:54):
so applied, got the job, and assoon as I started working in
home care, I loved it.
It was something that I justfelt it was a natural fit.
And I remember just thinking tomyself like I think this is my
future Working for a home care,something that I just felt it
was a natural fit.
And I remember just thinking tomyself like I think this is my
future Working for a home careagency, that I worked for some
different assisted livingcommunities and it really just
solidified that fact that I wantto own a home care agency.
(01:17):
Right before COVID, likeliterally like a few months
before COVID we were blessed bythe state of Virginia.
We were green light, thumbs up,let's move forward.
And then COVID hits.
Yeah, it's been a veryinteresting ride, but I have to
say I've loved every day.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
That's awesome.
Oh, you know what they say ifyou love what you do, it's
hardly work at all.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
So that's great 100% yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
And what a time to come on board the beginning of
COVID.
Even the most stealthy,long-term, been around for years
kind of home care agency had areally hard time during COVID To
be starting this up.
You hit the jackpot on hard.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
And I can tell you what happened just real quickly.
There was a family that was inArlington and they lived in a
community and, if you remember,during COVID, literally
everything was shut down, likeyou had to isolate in your rooms
, and so she lived in anassisted living and the family
had reached out and said I wantto move my actually it was their
sister into an apartmentbuilding to give her some more
(02:21):
freedom.
Could you provide a live-incaregiver?
This way she has a largerapartment and the live-in could
do things.
And it was just.
It was a better situation andthat was one of the very first
clients that we got.
She was in her late fifties,had ALS, worked for the
government, just a wonderfullady.
But yeah, that was one of thevery first clients that we got.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Wow, and that's not an easy case either.
So you have really you're like200 years old in home care years
.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Maybe it's been what a blessing it is to own a home
care agency and to help people,and maybe I should rephrase that
by saying, just by owning abusiness and being able to help
other people really like that'sa huge blessing.
I don't take that lightly atall.
So when I had the opportunityto really get someone to help me
get through the licensureprocess and the policies and the
(03:14):
procedures, everything justfell into place and it just
reconfirmed every day that thiswas where I needed to be.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Absolutely.
That's a great story andhopefully we won't have a whole
lot more of that kind of stuffgoing on in our universe.
But, having said that, thereare people who are in crisis
every single day or they feellike it's a crisis and they need
answers.
So when someone calls you, whatare some of the most typical
(03:43):
things you get asked?
When consumers call CardinalHome Care and are looking for
help, Good question, okay.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
So when a family calls us, they typically top
question is probably what kindof services do you guys offer?
And other questions would berelating to schedules.
This is what I need.
Is that something that you guyscould do?
How much does it cost?
Is this out of pocket?
Is it private pay?
Is it long-term care insurance?
(04:11):
So actually, let me do this.
Let me give you some examplesof some of the families that we
help and I think this will allcome together.
So we recently got a phone callfrom a family that lives in
Arlington, virginia, and he's ayoung gentleman.
He's not even 55 years old.
He had a stroke, he lives athome with his wife and he was
(04:32):
being discharged 12 pm.
When the wife comes home, wehelp him get up in the morning.
We help him get ready for theday, shower, go to the bathroom,
get dressed, whatever he needsto do to get his day started
(04:53):
meal preparation.
So that would be one example.
We have another family that wejust started helping a couple of
weeks ago.
Both mom and dad actually havedementia.
They live in Ashburn, virginia,and this family wanted to age
in place.
They've got a beautiful homeand mom and dad are independent
(05:16):
right.
They can go to the bathroom andthey can get changed.
They're not bedbound by anystretch of the imagination.
The family's main concern isfalling.
They both have a history offalling.
There's been some noncompliancewith medication.
So the idea behind helping thiscouple was could you guys come
(05:37):
in and work 8 am to 8 pm sevendays a week and just keep
everything stable at home?
Can you provide care if care isneeded bathroom or shower,
getting dressed, whatnot?
Can you make sure that themeals are prepared?
Can you make sure that if wehave questions or if we have a
concern, can you help us?
And it was an added measure ofsecurity for the family and so
(06:02):
we've been helping them now fora short period of time.
And last week we got a call.
It was for a family.
And so we've been helping themnow for a short period of time.
And last week we got a call.
It was for a family.
They actually want to round theclock care.
So their mom was just put underhospice care and the family
during this very sensitivetransitionary time.
They don't want to playcaregiver.
(06:22):
They don't want to be sittingbedside changing their mom and
giving their mom sponge baths,and so the caregiver is coming
in and they're providing thoseservices, making sure that she's
being rotated, that she'smaintaining that dignity that we
all want.
So those are just some examplesof some of the hours and some
(06:43):
of the services that we've beenable to provide recently.
With regards to insurance,long-term care insurance is
typically fine.
We have never been rejectedfrom a long-term care insurance.
Like Medicare, they're notcovering, so your commercials
are not going to cover.
But if it's a long-term careinsurance, I tell the families
double check, but typicallynever a problem.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Yeah, I think a lot of folks are confused about what
Medicare covers and what itdoesn't and unfortunately
although I know there's beensome talk about other things,
but right now, pretty much forlong-term care like this
Medicare is not going to coverthose services.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Private pay or long-term care insurance, but
what a great variety of clientsand a great variety of requests.
So someone could get short-termcare or just part-time care
during the day, and then youhave folks that go all the way
to 24-hour care, I'm sure and sothat's great that you were able
to provide such a well-roundedset of services and whatever
(07:43):
hours people need.
Basically.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yeah, you do your best and I think some of the
challenges that we've had overthe years are you've got the
right.
You got the children right, thepeople our age that are saying,
hey, my mom, my dad, whomever,they need help, and there's that
I don't need help, no one'sgoing to help me.
I've lived in this house for 47years, right, and I get it
(08:06):
right.
There's a dignity there and Ialways tell my staff make sure
you're doing everything and love, compassion and showing that
dignity, and so we have to bemindful of that.
And sometimes, if a familyreaches out and we're meeting
with them and the person thatneeds care is just, I'm not
budging, I'm not doing this.
Maybe sometimes, valerie isokay, can we compromise?
(08:29):
Can we say maybe we'll come ina couple of days a week and
we'll just come in for themorning hours.
Let's help you get your daystarted and let's just give it a
couple days next week.
Let's try it, let's see whathappens.
It's not always, but you're notgoing to get 100%.
Yes, but the family appreciatesthe fact that, okay, you're not
(08:52):
trying to do a hard sale,you're not trying to force my
mom or dad, it's.
Let's compromise on somethingand, like you and I know
sometimes just cracking the doora little bit, you've got a good
caregiver.
They're empathetic, they'rethere to help the individual.
It just opens up that door towow.
You know what?
Betty was really great with mymom and I think my mom is
(09:14):
actually a little bit morereceptive.
So maybe we can try three daysnext week.
And this is a very delicateindustry.
These are seniors.
I think the average age that wehelp is mid-late 80s.
They grew up in a differenttime, a different era.
You just can't force somethingto happen.
You have to be willing to giveand take.
(09:35):
I know some agencies haveminimum hours per week.
Maybe it's 20 hours a week andthat's what we do think.
We try to take the position ofyou may need that, you may need
more, but if we can maybe meetyou halfway and show you that we
care and we're going to helpand build some trust, maybe do
(09:59):
we do a couple of weeks as aspringboard for moving forward.
So there's really no formula.
You know this, you've beendoing it for years.
It's just you do the best youcan, you try to build trust and
you go from there.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah, I think you guys are.
You're right on track.
Not everybody's ready for 24hour care day one.
It is a process of let's seehow this works, let's ease into
it.
It really does help everyoneconcerned.
Help everyone concerned,establish that trust, establish
that nothing bad is going tohappen here.
This really is helpful to meand I'm sure along the way there
(10:34):
have been families and seniorsthat have said we should have
done this 10 years ago.
We should have done this fiveyears ago, two years ago.
What a change it is now that wehave somebody that can help us
with the light laundry and themeal preparation or going to run
errands.
It's such a saving of energyand less worry for the adult
(10:55):
children who live maybe a fewtowns over.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
A hundred percent.
You're absolutely right.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Yeah, and you serve.
I know, tell me a little bitabout this.
People don't have to live in ahouse.
You serve people in independentliving, assisted living, all
over the place.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Yeah, actually that's a great point.
I would say roughly 40% or soof the clients that we help live
in communities that are likeassisted living communities,
memory care communities, andwhen I first started in this
industry, I'm like if you livein an assisted living, why in
the world would you need homecare?
Like, why would you needprivate duty?
That made no sense to me and Idid a recent video about this
(11:34):
and people don't understand thatif your mom and dad, if someone
moves into a memory carecommunity or into an assisted
living community, they check onyour mom or dad every hour, two
hours, whatever the stateregulations are, but it doesn't
mean that your mom or dad arenot going to fall.
(11:55):
It doesn't mean that thingsstill are not going to happen.
And we had a recent family thatcalled us because the wife's
husband he's 80 something yearsold has dementia.
He kept falling and thecommunity said look, this is
really a safety issue.
You need to bring in a homecare agency to provide private
(12:16):
duty so that when he gets up outof his bed or out of the chair
he's not just getting up andfalling.
And a lot of people don'trealize that there are times
that you may have your mom ordad in a community and you still
need home care, and you have tothink about that, right,
because again, it almost doesn'tmake sense, but from a safety
(12:40):
perspective, they can only do somuch, right.
Assisted living communitiesthere are so many in this area
and they're wonderful.
There are so many that are justabsolutely marvelous, but they
can only do so much, right.
Assisted living communitiesthere are so many in this area
and they're wonderful.
There are so many that are justabsolutely marvelous, but they
can only do so much.
And so sometimes you get afamily that's a little
discouraged and they call andlook, my mom's been falling a
lot and they just need thatextra help.
So, yes, we do that and yeah,it's unfortunate, right, it's
(13:03):
like you move into a communityand but anyway.
So yes, we do that.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
And I think that for especially for independent
living communities, the longeryou want your loved one to be
able to stay there and thecommunity wants them to stay, so
sometimes having a little extraprivate duty help is really
what extends the ability forthem to stay there for as long
as possible.
Because, you're right, theydon't.
(13:28):
They're not staffed to beemergently checking on people
every hour or maybe every hourthey are.
There's big gaps of time therebecause they're supposed to be
independent or maybe assistedliving.
So I get it and that is a greatpoint to let people know that
you don't have to live in yourown home to get home care.
You might be in already or youmight just need somebody to be
(13:57):
around in memory care, forinstance, to assist a little bit
more where they're not.
Their staff is busy with lotsof folks in memory care and
maybe your person needs a littlebit more one-on-one time.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Yeah, you're absolutely correct, and I think
an important thing to understandabout home care, at least with
our home care agency, is so youcan get it for a short amount of
time and it's not somethingthat is necessarily required to
be ongoing.
So we have a lady gosh.
Her husband, I think, has ALSand she is maybe like 50.
(14:29):
The wife still works, so whenshe travels for business she'll
call us and get a live-incaregiver for three or four days
.
So it's just a little bit ofthat bridge like a respite.
You don't necessarily have tohave somebody for ever, six
months or whatever it is, it canjust be.
Can you tide me over from thispoint in time to that point in
(14:51):
time?
And then we're good, we've donecare for a weekend.
A good friend of mine works atan assisted living and she said
hey, I need help, family isgoing out of town.
I think the dad was moving in,like on a Monday.
So can you just help for theweekend?
And we did it.
So it's important to understandthat every home care agency
(15:13):
operates differently, but youcan use it from a respite
standpoint for a short amount oftime.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Yeah, and I do.
I've known of folks who have.
You know they have electivesurgeries, so they have a knee
replacement and a lot of timesunless there's a fall a knee
replacement something that youplan when you're going to have
the surgery and you can havesomeone.
I think transitioning fromhospital to home is a great time
(15:39):
to have some temporary homecare and help you get over the
hump, especially if there's nota lot of family around to help
you pick up the medications andmake sure you have a meal, and
you know you're not able to getaround right away when you have
a knee surgery or a hip surgery,so it's nice to have somebody
there who can do all thehousehold stuff for you, and
(15:59):
that is sometimes a plannedevent.
So planning ahead for ahospitalization that's an
elective surgery is a nicecalling, and setting up that
care for the day you come homeis a wonderful way to get
through that without having alot of challenges and being
readmitted.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
And I tell you something actually funny To your
point we got a call maybe it'slike a few months ago a lady was
having a mommy makeover with alocal plastic surgeon and I mean
, we hadn't done one of those inyears, but it was so nice.
She reached out to us and shewas super happy.
But yeah, it's just like again,like these little short things
that sometimes you might notthink about, but she just she
(16:40):
couldn't bend over, she couldn't, she was so sore, and so anyway
, yes, I agree with your point ahundred percent.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Yeah, it's rough when you especially as we even at 55
, having a surgery is a lotharder on on a 55 year old than
it is on a 25 year old.
I got to say oh, it is nice tohave somebody help you out.
When people call and they talkto you and you're able to answer
their questions and that, andthey want to start services give
(17:08):
us sort of a hint at what theprocess looks like.
They call, they say we needsome care, and then what happens
from there?
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Our agency is very transparent.
One of the things that we dojust off the bat whether they're
inquiring for services and thenwhat happens from there.
Our agency is very transparent.
One of the things that we dojust off the bat whether they're
inquiring for services or theydefinitely say no, we need
services, we'll always send themthe new client service
agreement.
So obviously, if they want tostart ASAP, they need to look it
over.
But there's families thatsometimes reach out because
(17:36):
they're planning ahead.
We'll email them the new clientservice agreement.
Look, read through it.
Any questions, call me, I cancome over, we can talk about it,
whatever.
So I think having thatimmediate transparency I think
puts people at ease.
Typically after that I like toschedule a home meeting where I
can meet with the family.
(17:56):
A lady had contacted me over theweekend and she was looking for
care.
She plays tennis and she wantedsomeone to be with her husband
while she's playing tennis twicea week.
So I said you know what I saidlet me come over.
She lives here in Fairfax andlet's just let's talk about this
, let me meet your husband andlet's just let's have some Q and
A, and she was totally on board.
We just spent some time in herliving room and just I met the
(18:19):
husband, former military, and itwas just, it was nice.
So we left that she's expectingour nurse, our director of
nursing, is calling her up toschedule an assessment.
The assessment is basicallyit's a lot of Q&A, but what kind
of care is needed?
Visual checks, are there anyopen wounds, rashes, so on and
(18:39):
so forth?
And then we start care and oneof the things that our agency
does that I've done for years, Ireally enjoy it, is when care
is being started for the firsttime with a family.
What I like to do is I like togo meet the caregiver there and
introduce, let's say, betty thecaregiver to Mr Jones or Mrs
(19:04):
Jones.
And it bridges that gap becausetypically I've been there a
couple of times already and it'sthe caregiver's first time.
So if the caregiver gets lost,I can hey, where are you?
No park over here.
Let me show you what to do.
Sometimes the caregivers theydon't.
They're not understandingwhat's going on.
(19:24):
This is just a last minute call.
It's helter skelter.
I think the caregiversappreciate this as much as the
clients do and, if anything, itjust bridges a little bit of
trust.
Hey, you know what Cardinal wasthere.
They didn't forget about me,they helped me, and those are
just some of the expectations.
We typically will check in fromtime to time.
(19:45):
Sometimes I do drop byunannounced to see what the
caregivers are doing.
Sometimes I'll call the familyand say, hey, I'm going to be
over next week.
Can I come over around oneo'clock just to check in?
It's important to have thatcustomer service, but also to
understand what's going on inthe family.
Are there dynamics?
Did something happen?
Is the caregiver working out?
Speaker 2 (20:11):
or maybe they're not working out, so I'm probably an
over-involved owner, but I likeit, so it works for me.
Hey, you know what I think?
Over the years we've all talkedabout how customer service
doesn't exist much anymore.
So I think being anover-involved owner is very nice
, and I would agree that if Iwere a caregiver walking into a
home for the first time, I wouldso appreciate the fact that
(20:34):
someone else who knows thisfamily, has already been there,
talked to them and I can learncue off of what's going on when
I walk in the door.
A nice introduction is helpfulfor everybody all the way around
, not just cold walking intowhatever's going on.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
So agree, agree.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
That is a wonderful nice touch that not all home
care agencies will do.
I think that's a great customerservice attribute, so that's
great.
Don't stop doing that orsomebody.
If it's not somebody, yourdirector of nursing or whoever
making that introduction is anice touch for sure.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Yeah, and to your point, our director of nursing
sometimes does do it and shedoes a phenomenal job.
If it's an emergency clientwhere we need someone there,
like ASAP, sometimes we'll havethe caregiver meet our director
of nursing there and they gothrough things together.
That's right, that's perfect.
I love that.
But I think at the end of theday, I think the family just
(21:31):
appreciates that someone cares,right, there's compassion,
you're showing love, support,trust.
I mean it just makes a goodimpression and I know some
agencies do it, but I wish moredid it, because I think that the
difference is noticeable.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Yes, absolutely it is .
All.
This is a very emotionalbusiness to be in, with families
who are feeling veryoverwhelmed and people receiving
care who might feel a littleoverwhelmed by all of this.
So the more you can show thatyou're there for them and, of
course, putting a name in a facewith a company, I think that's
(22:10):
a huge relief to so many.
They want to know who they cancall or who the person
responsible is.
If the buck stops with you,then that's good to know.
So that's great.
And is there anything else thatpeople ask or people wonder
about that we haven't addressedor talked about with Cardinal
Home Care?
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Not that I can think of top of my head.
Every family has theirdifferent circumstances or
different things that come up.
We do a lot of work incommunities.
I had mentioned that.
A lot of directors of nursingwill reach out to us.
The biggest thing is justaccessibility, right?
People call me, they'll text me.
Hey, can you help with this?
Can you do that?
I think, if you love what youdo, I think it just shows right,
(22:54):
I don't know how else to say it.
And so you know this you can'thelp everybody.
There's things are going tohappen.
Balls get dropped from time totime, but we had a really a
rough experience about a yearago in a community with a
caregiver and it wasn't reallyher fault, but another story.
I was over there in about 20minutes.
(23:15):
Issue got resolved.
I talked to the community andshe actually appreciated the
kind of us just owning up towhat we did and it was almost
like that service recovery thatshe appreciated.
That actually kept us in thatcommunity, continue working in
it, because she felt and I askedher this afterwards she felt
(23:38):
that if something went south,that we were going to take care
of it and it wasn't just ohsorry and don't hear back from
us.
So I think every situation is alittle bit different.
I think if you lead withintegrity, I think that speaks
loudly.
I said this earlier.
I'll say it again I love what Ido.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
And if we can help people, that's what we're here
for.
Well, dale, it really shows.
And thank you for telling usall about your business and who
you serve and how well you serveyour clients.
I appreciate that, thank you.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
No, thank you too, and I appreciate the opportunity
, and I hope you have awonderful day.
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