How Compassionate Care Changes Lives: A Conversation with Diana Tucker

https://privatehomecare.com

SERVICE AREAS
St. Louis
Southern IL
Kansas City
Lee’s Summit
Chicago

9338 Olive Blvd., Suite 200 Olivette, MO 63132
[phone]

From humble beginnings in St. Louis to a multi-state operation spanning the Midwest, Private Home Care has transformed countless lives while staying true to its founding principle: providing the kind of care they'd want for their own families. Diana Tucker, the company's president, shares how personal experience with caregiving challenges sparked her determination to build a company that delivers not just assistance, but genuine peace of mind.

When overwhelmed families make that first call seeking help for aging loved ones, they're met with something increasingly rare in healthcare: unhurried compassion and clarity. The comprehensive approach begins with complimentary in-home assessments, creating personalized care plans that adapt as needs evolve. What sets this agency apart is their robust infrastructure – dedicated care managers, consistent caregiver teams, and 24/7 operational support that ensures no client is ever left without assistance.

Technology plays a fascinating supporting role in their care model. HIPAA-compliant vitals tracking and audio sensors detect everything from falls to subtle changes in health metrics, offering an extra layer of protection that's particularly reassuring for families living at a distance. Yet the company's most significant investment isn't in technology but in people – offering caregivers above-industry wages, benefits, and ongoing training. Their selection for Medicare's prestigious GUIDE Program further validates their approach, allowing them to provide no-cost respite services for those caring for loved ones with memory challenges.

Discover how Private Home Care's unique blend of compassionate caregivers, dedicated care managers, and innovative technology could provide the perfect solution for your family's caregiving needs. Connect with them today to experience the difference that truly personalized care can make.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
My name is Diana Tucker, president of Private
Home Care.
Private Home Care was foundedin 2014 with a very simple but
powerful goal to provide thekind of care we would want for
our own family.
We started here in St Louis.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
And you have many offices now.
You've grown over the years.
Congratulations on that.
And so tell us a little bitmore about some of the places
where you guys have expanded to.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
A decade later, we have expanded to Kansas City,
chicago and Southern Illinoisand we have also added virtual
care services to give peopleaccess to support no matter
where they are or what type ofcare they need.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
That's awesome and congratulations on such amazing
growth.
You guys, I see you on LinkedIn.
I see all of your folks thatwork for you hosting these
amazing stuff.
They're out there in thecommunity.
You guys are really involvedand that makes a lot of
difference to folks.
They want to know who am Itrusting my mom with, and it's

(01:08):
great to see all of your facesout there.
So when an adult child of anaging parent or a family member
calls into your office, they'reprobably overwhelmed, right and
not sure what to do, and so theycall your office.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
What are some of the things they can expect when they
make that first phone call withquestions, they can definitely
expect warmth, compassion andclarity from the very first call
.
We take the time to listen.
We take the time to understandwhat exactly they need, whether
someone needs care tomorrow orthey're just starting to explore

(01:51):
options.
We are here to help.
We don't rush people.
We educate them and every callis handled by someone who truly
understands the care process.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
That's great, and you mentioned that you guys do a
lot of listening and I thinkthat is so helpful.
Sometimes that overwhelm isjust a matter of needing to tell
your story, get it off yourchest and then start the
planning process or asking morequestions.
And when can we start all ofthose things?

(02:27):
You talked about?
What happens when you guys getstarted?
So if someone decides it's timefor us to move forward, do you
send someone out to the housefor an in-home assessment, or
how does that work?

Speaker 1 (02:40):
We would start with a complimentary in-home
assessment to understand eachclient's individual needs, their
preferences and theirenvironment.
From there, we would create apersonalized care plan and match
them with a dedicated caremanager that would build a
consistent caregiver team aconsistent caregiver team.

(03:08):
Behind the scenes, we have apowerful operations engine
available 24-7 to supportclients and caregivers alike.
Whether care is needed for justa few hours a week or around
the clock, our infrastructureensures that we can deliver
quality and consistency withoutdelay.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
It's great to know that.
One of the reasons why wealways advocate for folks to use
an agency is what you saidright there, and that is that
you all have a backup plan.
You have a whole team of peoplethat are available 24-7, and if
something comes up, caregiverhas a flat tire, they get sick

(03:47):
or whatever the case.
You need care right now.
It's great to know that you allhave all of that covered.
And when you don't use anagency, the problem is that that
caregiver is the only personyou're relying on, as opposed to
an entire team of people whoare on your side ready to help
at any time.
So thanks for mentioning that.

(04:08):
It's great to know you guyshave all that system set up in
the background.
I want to rewind for a minuteand just ask you something.
What was your reason forgetting into home care?
You built this amazing businessnow.
You've done such a great job.
Why did you get into this homecare world?

Speaker 1 (04:30):
For me it started from a very personal place.
I have seen firsthand howchallenging it can be when a
loved one needs care and howlife-changing it is when you
find the right support.
What I have always wanted forprivate home care is to provide

(04:51):
that sense of security, thatreassurance to families A
company that doesn't justprovide care but delivers a
peace of mind.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
And that's exactly what folks are looking for.
I know you've had manyconversations with families over
the years and you know thatthey're overwhelmed emotionally,
financially.
It's a hard decision to invitesomeone into your home and
that's why it's so great to talkto someone like you, who's not

(05:22):
only been doing this for areally long time, but you have
grown over the years and there'sno way you could be as
expansive and big as you arewithout doing a really good job
for people.
So tell us a little bit moreabout anything that is special
about private home care.
You've already talked about alot of special things, but I

(05:44):
know that there's probably somedifferentiators and some other
things that you'd like tomention about how you guys do
business.

Speaker 1 (05:52):
What makes us different is, first, we are
local, we are family owned andwe fully invest in people over
profits.
That means that more resourcesare going directly to caregiver
pay, to their training and forbetter outcomes for our clients.
We offer above-industry wages,health benefits and 401k plan,

(06:17):
which help us attract and retainthe best caregivers.
Help us attract and retain thebest caregivers.
We also are one of the fewagencies that were selected for
the Medicare Guide Program.
It is a program that offersfamilies no-cost respite care,
education and navigationservices for people with memory

(06:39):
loss.
We also assign a dedicated caremanager to each and every
client.
We also include HIPAA-complianttechnology like continuous
vitals tracking and audiosensors at no cost, and those
are not to replace care but toenhance it.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
That's wonderful, the sensors in the house.
Let's talk about that for asecond.
They can sense a fall right andsense if someone hasn't moved
in a long time.

Speaker 1 (07:12):
So they can not only sense a fall but they can sense
their respiratory rate, theirblood pressure.
Sense their respiratory rate,their blood pressure and that
helps us detect any changes intheir condition and with that we
can educate the family.

(07:32):
We can just help preventadverse outcomes for our clients
.
The sensors are there to helpus prevent and predict bad
outcomes.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
That is an excellent use of technology, I believe,
because if someone doesn't have24-hour care, that doesn't mean
that if they have the sensors inthe house, then that means that
someone knows if there's achallenge when the caregiver is
not there, and that's real peaceof mind for adult children and

(08:11):
especially those who live faraway, to be able to know if
something's going on that maybeshouldn't be going on or someone
hasn't gotten up to do thenormal things they would
normally do all day.
That's just great for you alland for the client and family.
So I love that.
I also love what you said aboutyour caregivers, your

(08:34):
caregivers, and I think that acompany that treats their
caregivers well, who pays themwell and who invests in them for
training and other things, isreally a good sign of a very
excellent quality agency,because without those caregivers
there would be no home careagency.

(08:56):
So absolutely, they're soimportant.
So thank you for telling usabout that.
I think that consumers today arevery interested.
Families really want to knowhow the caregivers are treated,
and it's great that youmentioned that, because I think
that's it's a wonderful piecethat you add to the whole pie

(09:20):
here treating your caregiverswell.
So those are some really greatdifferentiators and the guide
program.
For anybody who wants to lookthat up, it's G-U-I-D-E and it's
through Medicare and it's newand you were selected to be one
of the providers and therearen't that many across the
country.

(09:40):
That's really kudos to you allfor getting selected.
Can you tell us about that?
Again?
The guide program allows peopleon Medicare to get respite.

Speaker 1 (09:51):
So the guide program started last year, last July, so
it has been around for a yearand it is an eight-year pilot
program which allows families tohave the extra support and
allows that respite care for theunpaid family caregiver that is

(10:14):
there with their loved one 24-7.
So it is a powerful program andwe are just honored to be one
of the few chosen agencies to beable to provide those services.

Speaker 2 (10:28):
That's awesome.
Congratulations on that.
And I know that folks arealways asking does Medicare pay
for this?
And in certain circumstancesyou can say it might if you meet
certain qualifications andguidelines.
And finally, I'd like to talkabout your care managers.
Just making sure that you saidthat every client is assigned to

(10:50):
someone, a care manager.
Maybe explain to us what thecare manager's role is, so
everybody understands.

Speaker 1 (10:59):
The care managers introduce the caregivers.
They are involved with theclient from the very beginning.
They are involved with theclient from the very beginning.
They are involved with thecaregiver training, continuous
support.
And also they observe anychanges that might occur,

(11:19):
Because we can start with aclient that needs certain type
of care, but their conditionchanges.
So we are very flexible and thecare managers are the ones that
recognize those changes.
So we are very flexible and thecare managers are the ones that
recognize those changes and areable to act upon them as
quickly as possible.
That's excellent.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
So you have a whole set of layers of protection for
the seniors that you serveAbsolutely.
Yeah, that's great.
A caregiver notices somethingmight be a little off today,
they can talk to that caremanager and say I think
something, you might want totalk to the client or get
involved.
Or if they have ahospitalization for some odd
reason, care manager can helpthat, Bringing them back home

(12:05):
and arranging medications andall the things that need to be
managed when someone comes homefrom the hospital.
That's a really a great time toimplement home care, if you
haven't already too.
Because, boy, coming home aftera knee replacement or a hip
replacement is a tough few days.
Getting used to being back inyour own bed is great, but it's

(12:28):
not the same as having a nursethere 24-7.
So it's really nice that youguys are able to have a care
manager who can help coordinatea lot of this.
That's great.
I want to thank you, Diana, forbeing on the show, for telling
us all about private home care.
You have done a wonderful job.
Thank you for being here andfor serving seniors.

(12:50):
We appreciate you.
Thank you so much.