From Brooklyn to Beyond: Building a 39-Year Legacy in Home Healthcare

Ever wonder what it takes to build a healthcare company that truly cares? Stephen Sternbach, President and CEO of Star MultiCare, shares the remarkable journey that began 39 years ago with a no-money-down deal for a small Brooklyn nurse's registry.

Stephen's story isn't just about business growth – it's about understanding what makes exceptional care possible. From his early days applying systematic selling techniques learned at ADP to recognizing the shifting healthcare landscape, he transformed a single-location registry into a multi-state operation serving thousands of families across Long Island, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

What makes Star MultiCare different isn't just their geographic reach, but their philosophy. "We just can't do enough for our caregivers," Stephen explains, highlighting his company's above-market compensation and culture of respect. This approach has created extraordinary stability, with leadership teams averaging 12-13 years of service and many reaching the 20-25 year mark. As Stephen puts it, "It's nothing to do with me anymore. It's all about my employees."

The company's innovative approach includes specialized services for "snowbirds" who migrate between New York and Florida seasonally, providing seamless continuity of care across state lines. When families call – often anxious about having strangers care for loved ones – Star MultiCare "talks them off the cliff" with compassionate guidance, even arranging complimentary in-home introductions between caregivers and families. Their 24/7 staffed phone lines ensure help is always available, resulting in remarkably few complaints over four decades of operation.

Considering home care services for a loved one? Discover how Star MultiCare's approach could make all the difference in your family's experience. Reach out today to learn how their team of dedicated professionals can provide the compassionate, reliable care your family deserves.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I am Stephen Sternbach, president and CEO of
Storm MultiCare.
I have been running the companyfor 39 years.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yeah, we were just talking about that.
So 39 years.
So tell us what catapulted youinto the home health care
industry 39 years?

Speaker 1 (00:21):
I was director of sales for automatic data
processing on Long Island, ADP,and I saw this opportunity that
my accountant presented to mecalled STAR Registry for Nurses.
So Mrs STAR wanted to retire.
She was at her late 60s.
My accountant said you have tobuy this business.

(00:43):
So he worked out a no moneydown deal for $500,000, no money
down.
And I bought the company and Itook my ADP sales experience to
all the nursing homes andhospitals in Brooklyn, because
it was just a Brooklyn basedcompany and it was a nurse's
registry.
We didn't do any home care atthat point and I built up that

(01:05):
business very well and as I sawhospital payments starting to
slow down, I decided that Istart to shoot into the home
health care marketplace wherenow I'm building insurance
companies.
That became ultimately the onlybusiness that we're in and an
extremely successful business.
And now let's talk about wherewe are now.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Long Island isn't the only business that we're in,
and an extremely successfulbusiness.
And now let's talk about wherewe are now.
Long Island isn't the only gamein town.
There's a bunch more.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
So where else can we find Star MultiCare?
We have six locations LongIsland.
So we're in Melville servicingNassau, suffolk and Queens.
We are in central Ohio, rightbetween Columbus and Cleveland.
We have a very good operationthere.
We're in central Ohio, rightbetween Columbus and Cleveland.
We have a very good operationthere.
We're in South Florida,licensed at Broward, dayton,
palm Beach counties.
I spend a lot of time in thatFlorida office as well.

(01:54):
We are in all over Pennsylvania.
So we have three officesAllentown, lancaster and
Pittsburgh, and those are.
The bulk of our revenues comefrom Pennsylvania, a very
lucrative marketplace for StarMultiCare.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Very nice, and we were just talking about the
staff that works around you.
The people of Star MultiCareare pretty amazing folks and
they've been the leadership inyour company across all the
states and all the places youserve.
Have been with you for a verylong time, so they are committed

(02:32):
to this just as much as you are.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Their heart and their commitment is right here
serving folks that need in-homecare and watching the company
grow with you, having a salesbackground and a big company
sales background where I wentthrough a lot of systematic
selling techniques and marketingcustomer service, treating your
employees extremely well,giving them lucrative

(02:57):
opportunities with bonuses andcommissions and things like that
.
My staff has been with me onthe average of 12 to 13 years,
with many people here 20 and 25years in the company.
That's what Star MultiCare isreally all about Continuity of
services from people that trulycare.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
I totally agree.
Having been someone who's atleast known you guys and known
of you for a very long time, Ican tell you that the integrity
there is amazing and I thinktreating it starts from the top
down.
So you being an excellentleader helps everybody that
works with you be excellentleaders, and the caregivers also

(03:41):
benefit from that, because whenyou have excellent leadership
they're going to treat thecaregiver's goal because they
are.
They're the heartbeat of thiscompany.
If you didn't have yourcaregivers, you wouldn't be in
business anymore.

Speaker 1 (03:53):
We just can't do enough for our caregivers.
Besides paying them more thanfair market value, there's way
more to having this business andyou have to treat them
exceptionally well, with totalrespect.
It's all about respect, and myemployees totally respect all

(04:14):
the aides and nurses that workfor us.
People like working for mycompany and they leave here with
a smile on their face andthat's very important to me
because the people make thecompany.
It's nothing to do with meanymore.
It's all about my employees.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
And that's true.
This is a very high touch, verycompassionate and very much a
hand-holding type business, andthe people that are working in
this, whether they're in theoffice or they're in the home,
typically tend to be verycompassionate and very kind
people.
Their hearts are kind.

(04:52):
They want to do somethingbetter for folks who are out
there needing services.
Your caregivers are always iftheir heart's in it.
They're amazing caregivers outthere.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
We agree, we try and get the best and keep the best.

Speaker 2 (05:05):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthe relationship between Florida
and New York.
So Florida and New York there'sI don't know if it's still the
right terminology, but we usedto call our folks snowbirds, who
would go from New York toFlorida and back during certain
times of the year because it'smuch more fun in Florida in the

(05:26):
winter.
So you guys offer a lot ofcompatible services between New
York and Florida.
I know in the past we've triedto make sure everybody knows
that there's continuity of careall the way across the United
States.

Speaker 1 (05:39):
Exactly, snowbirds is still a term that we still use
and, being in the South Floridamarketplace, being in Palm Beach
, boca Raton, fort Lauderdaleand Miami, we get a lot of Long
Island and Queens people that goback and forth and we don't
lose them.
We're able to supply home careservices right there out of the

(06:00):
Florida office and when theycome back it picks up where they
started back and it's verysimilar to me because I worked
seven months of the year now inthe Fort Lauderdale offices, so
I'm a snowbird.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah, that's great it works out very well.

Speaker 1 (06:14):
It's a nice additional feature of our
business.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
It really is.
We're talking about continuityof care.
People request in Florida,request even sometimes travel
companions going back and forth.
I don't know if it happens alot, but people need that extra
help and I've been at theairport during migration time.
I've been at the airport duringmigration time and I can see

(06:38):
caregivers and seniors at theairport getting on those planes
going down to South Florida orcoming back.

Speaker 1 (06:43):
So that is working for us.

Speaker 2 (06:47):
It's been working for us for over 20 years.
That's a unique piece.
That I think people often don'trealize is that there are
people all the way down to SouthFlorida and back.
Absolutely so.
That's great.
All right, tell us a little bitmore about some of the services
that are, I guess, one of thethings that people ask often
when they call the office.

(07:08):
If an adult child of an agingparent calls the office and
they're worried about their momor dad, a lot of times they're
wondering if I call the office,what is supposed to happen next?
What happens when I call?
Do I get to talk to somebody,or what's the process there?

Speaker 1 (07:26):
So let's say I get a call because somebody just knows
me, which happens quitefrequently, I bet I immediately
put them over to theadministrator in the right
office.
So if it's someone is theirmother is sick and they're in
Florida or they're in Ohio orAllentown, I turn that over to
the right administrator.
I call them myself.

(07:48):
Listen, I have a friend.
Here's her phone number.
Please give her a callimmediately, which we call
immediately, immediately, whichwe call immediately.
And then from the minute theyget that phone call we talk them
off the cliff because theydon't know what home care is.
They really don't understandwhat our limitations are or not

(08:08):
and what can we do for them.
And we try and make them verycomfortable from phone call one,
and many times it's more thanone phone call.
We get multiple calls becausepeople are scared having someone
in their home for the firsttime taking care of their mother
or their father.
So we work through that processwith compassion and skill and

(08:32):
we get the family to trust usjust by saying and doing the
right things and then we delivera compassionate caregiver that
many times they're so happy andexcited.
It works out very well for thefamilies.

Speaker 2 (08:51):
That's great, and that's what happens every day,
yeah, all day long.
That's why I think people whonever had this experience before
are genuinely worried aboutwhat they're diving into,
because it's somebody who'sgoing to take care of their
mother or their father, and wedon't want that to go wrong.
So the fact that you have folksthat will listen and make sure

(09:14):
that the right services are setup and help walk that family
through the next steps isamazing.

Speaker 1 (09:20):
And many times, val, we'll take it to another step.
They want to meet the caregiver, so we'll send the caregiver
with one of my nurses, myadministrator.
We'll make a house call, nocharge.
We'll make a house call, makean introduction.
That usually makes the familyfeel very comfortable, above and

(09:42):
beyond our competition, thatnormally if this is a phone call
transaction it's not you got totake it when necessary to the
next level.
We do that every day of theweek and that usually creates
the comfort level that thefamily and the patient needs.

Speaker 2 (10:02):
Yeah, absolutely.
There's no way that you guyscould be in business this long
and be this successful if youweren't being compassionate and
helpful and taking those extrasteps that some other agencies
just will not do or don't havethe staff to do.
That is what sets you guysapart is going the extra mile to

(10:23):
make sure everyone's okay andcomfortable, and I know your
administrators are so dedicatedand I know that there's always
somebody on call.
If anybody needs help, there'sa hundred percent alive person
on call, on call.

Speaker 1 (10:35):
If anybody needs help , there's 100% a live person on
call.
Our phones are manned 24-7.
And I know all the people thattake the calls.
They've been with the companyfor years so they know what to
do.
They know who to turn the phonecall over to.
We handle it.
I don't get very manycomplaints over my 40 years.
Very few.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
It all starts from the top and if you, being the
leader that you are, that helpseveryone else understand the
expectation and how to really bea great home care service
company.
I agree, thank you very muchfor that, and what we'll do is
make sure that everybody who'swatching this knows where all
the offices are located and howto get a hold of folks if they

(11:15):
need to.
So thank you very much.

Speaker 1 (11:18):
Val, thank you.
It's been a pleasure to have anice conversation with you and
get to talk about STAR and allthe great things that we do for
our companies.