Gloria Glenn, left, is Innovative Nurses & Sitters’ office manager, and Susan Davis is the owner. James Nielsen Chronicle
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Aging, the number of older Americans — those 65 and above — is expected to reach 71.5 million by 2030, or roughly double the number in 2000. To meet their needs, entrepreneurs are devising products and services geared to an aging population. Included in the mix is an industry known as “personal assistance agencies.”
Unlike home health-care agencies, which provide medical care for the elderly or invalid, personal assistance agencies provide mostly nonmedical services, such as help with meals, assistance with laundry or simply keeping the client company.
Susan Davis, owner of the Houston firm Innovative Nurses & Sitters, said her personal assistance business grew 50 percent midway through this decade alone.
“When it comes right down to it, we’re a matchmaking service,” Davis said. “We find the right people to care for our elderly clients. More than anything, they have to be compatible with the person taking care of them.”
Personal experience
For Davis, the idea to open a personal assistance staffing agency struck in the early ’90s, when she faced the prospect of caring for her elderly mother. When her mother neared 80, Davis encouraged her to move from her home in New Orleans to Houston. Afterward, Davis realized she’d have to find someone to care for her mother when she arrived.
“She ended up going into a wonderful nursing home, but it really made me stop and think about people who live out of state,” Davis said. “What do they do if they want to make sure their parents are taken care of?”
Davis’ company provides everything from “sitters,” who usually have no formal training but come with hands-on experience as caregivers; to Certified Nurse’s Aides, or CNAs, who perform light health care, such as assisting with medical dressings; to registered nurses, although Davis’ firm no longer is licensed to provide medical care.
Davis said she opted out of the home health care market during the health care reform movement of the late ’90s, when reimbursement from the federal government dwindled.
‘Sensing and adapting’
“What this small-business owner did was adapt her company to a changing need,” said Vikas Mittal, the J. Hugh Liedtke professor of management and marketing at Rice University. “We call it ‘sensing and adapting.’ She sensed what changes were coming in her industry, then she adapted to those changes.”
Davis estimates that today her firm books between 800 and 1,000 client hours each week. That means a part-time staff of 35 to 40 people. According to Davis, though, caregivers call her daily seeking jobs.
“I go to these conferences and people from other parts of the country talk about how hard it is to find good, qualified people,” Davis said. “Here in Houston we don’t have that problem. Maybe it’s because of the Texas Medical Center, but I get calls constantly for people who want to do this kind of work.”
Roundabout route
Davis came to the personal services staffing industry in a roundabout way. Originally a travel agent in New Orleans, she was recruited by a friend to help publicize a business that placed doctors aboard ships entering the port.
From there, Davis made the transition to providing radiologists for outpatient radiology centers, and ultimately — beginning in the early ’90s — caregivers for the elderly and infirm.
“All along it looks like this business owner stayed in the service industry, so she’s never veered too far from her core competency,” Mittal said. “The trick is to be flexible enough to change your business but still stay within your core mission.”
Another niche
Today, Innovative Nurses & Sitters grosses just shy of $900,000 annually, Davis said, with the bulk of business coming from families with elderly parents. A new niche Davis recently entered involves plastic surgery patients who need help following their operations.
“It seems like Houston is the plastic surgery center of the world,” Davis said. “Once they leave the recovery room, they’re on their own. But sometimes they’re in an ‘anesthesia fog,’ which isn’t always safe.”
Personal assistance firms, like Davis’, are regulated by the Texas Department of Disability and Aging Services. That agency was launched in 2004 to oversee those caring for the elderly and disabled.
For people seeking caregivers, Davis recommended that they check an agency’s history first. High turnover remains a big problem in her industry, Davis said, and she cautions that potential clients do their homework.
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
May 9, 2009
USA: Assistance service a helping hand for elderly
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HOUSTON, Texas / The Houston Chronicle / May 9, 2009
Agency matches caregivers with elderly who need help
By Sandra Bretting
Gloria Glenn, left, is Innovative Nurses & Sitters’ office manager, and Susan Davis is the owner. James Nielsen Chronicle
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Aging, the number of older Americans — those 65 and above — is expected to reach 71.5 million by 2030, or roughly double the number in 2000. To meet their needs, entrepreneurs are devising products and services geared to an aging population. Included in the mix is an industry known as “personal assistance agencies.”
Unlike home health-care agencies, which provide medical care for the elderly or invalid, personal assistance agencies provide mostly nonmedical services, such as help with meals, assistance with laundry or simply keeping the client company.
Susan Davis, owner of the Houston firm Innovative Nurses & Sitters, said her personal assistance business grew 50 percent midway through this decade alone.
“When it comes right down to it, we’re a matchmaking service,” Davis said. “We find the right people to care for our elderly clients. More than anything, they have to be compatible with the person taking care of them.”
Personal experience
For Davis, the idea to open a personal assistance staffing agency struck in the early ’90s, when she faced the prospect of caring for her elderly mother. When her mother neared 80, Davis encouraged her to move from her home in New Orleans to Houston. Afterward, Davis realized she’d have to find someone to care for her mother when she arrived.
“She ended up going into a wonderful nursing home, but it really made me stop and think about people who live out of state,” Davis said. “What do they do if they want to make sure their parents are taken care of?”
Davis’ company provides everything from “sitters,” who usually have no formal training but come with hands-on experience as caregivers; to Certified Nurse’s Aides, or CNAs, who perform light health care, such as assisting with medical dressings; to registered nurses, although Davis’ firm no longer is licensed to provide medical care.
Davis said she opted out of the home health care market during the health care reform movement of the late ’90s, when reimbursement from the federal government dwindled.
‘Sensing and adapting’
“What this small-business owner did was adapt her company to a changing need,” said Vikas Mittal, the J. Hugh Liedtke professor of management and marketing at Rice University. “We call it ‘sensing and adapting.’ She sensed what changes were coming in her industry, then she adapted to those changes.”
Davis estimates that today her firm books between 800 and 1,000 client hours each week. That means a part-time staff of 35 to 40 people. According to Davis, though, caregivers call her daily seeking jobs.
“I go to these conferences and people from other parts of the country talk about how hard it is to find good, qualified people,” Davis said. “Here in Houston we don’t have that problem. Maybe it’s because of the Texas Medical Center, but I get calls constantly for people who want to do this kind of work.”
Roundabout route
Davis came to the personal services staffing industry in a roundabout way. Originally a travel agent in New Orleans, she was recruited by a friend to help publicize a business that placed doctors aboard ships entering the port.
From there, Davis made the transition to providing radiologists for outpatient radiology centers, and ultimately — beginning in the early ’90s — caregivers for the elderly and infirm.
“All along it looks like this business owner stayed in the service industry, so she’s never veered too far from her core competency,” Mittal said. “The trick is to be flexible enough to change your business but still stay within your core mission.”
Another niche
Today, Innovative Nurses & Sitters grosses just shy of $900,000 annually, Davis said, with the bulk of business coming from families with elderly parents. A new niche Davis recently entered involves plastic surgery patients who need help following their operations.
“It seems like Houston is the plastic surgery center of the world,” Davis said. “Once they leave the recovery room, they’re on their own. But sometimes they’re in an ‘anesthesia fog,’ which isn’t always safe.”
Personal assistance firms, like Davis’, are regulated by the Texas Department of Disability and Aging Services. That agency was launched in 2004 to oversee those caring for the elderly and disabled.
For people seeking caregivers, Davis recommended that they check an agency’s history first. High turnover remains a big problem in her industry, Davis said, and she cautions that potential clients do their homework.
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Gloria Glenn, left, is Innovative Nurses & Sitters’ office manager, and Susan Davis is the owner. James Nielsen Chronicle
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Aging, the number of older Americans — those 65 and above — is expected to reach 71.5 million by 2030, or roughly double the number in 2000. To meet their needs, entrepreneurs are devising products and services geared to an aging population. Included in the mix is an industry known as “personal assistance agencies.”
Unlike home health-care agencies, which provide medical care for the elderly or invalid, personal assistance agencies provide mostly nonmedical services, such as help with meals, assistance with laundry or simply keeping the client company.
Susan Davis, owner of the Houston firm Innovative Nurses & Sitters, said her personal assistance business grew 50 percent midway through this decade alone.
“When it comes right down to it, we’re a matchmaking service,” Davis said. “We find the right people to care for our elderly clients. More than anything, they have to be compatible with the person taking care of them.”
Personal experience
For Davis, the idea to open a personal assistance staffing agency struck in the early ’90s, when she faced the prospect of caring for her elderly mother. When her mother neared 80, Davis encouraged her to move from her home in New Orleans to Houston. Afterward, Davis realized she’d have to find someone to care for her mother when she arrived.
“She ended up going into a wonderful nursing home, but it really made me stop and think about people who live out of state,” Davis said. “What do they do if they want to make sure their parents are taken care of?”
Davis’ company provides everything from “sitters,” who usually have no formal training but come with hands-on experience as caregivers; to Certified Nurse’s Aides, or CNAs, who perform light health care, such as assisting with medical dressings; to registered nurses, although Davis’ firm no longer is licensed to provide medical care.
Davis said she opted out of the home health care market during the health care reform movement of the late ’90s, when reimbursement from the federal government dwindled.
‘Sensing and adapting’
“What this small-business owner did was adapt her company to a changing need,” said Vikas Mittal, the J. Hugh Liedtke professor of management and marketing at Rice University. “We call it ‘sensing and adapting.’ She sensed what changes were coming in her industry, then she adapted to those changes.”
Davis estimates that today her firm books between 800 and 1,000 client hours each week. That means a part-time staff of 35 to 40 people. According to Davis, though, caregivers call her daily seeking jobs.
“I go to these conferences and people from other parts of the country talk about how hard it is to find good, qualified people,” Davis said. “Here in Houston we don’t have that problem. Maybe it’s because of the Texas Medical Center, but I get calls constantly for people who want to do this kind of work.”
Roundabout route
Davis came to the personal services staffing industry in a roundabout way. Originally a travel agent in New Orleans, she was recruited by a friend to help publicize a business that placed doctors aboard ships entering the port.
From there, Davis made the transition to providing radiologists for outpatient radiology centers, and ultimately — beginning in the early ’90s — caregivers for the elderly and infirm.
“All along it looks like this business owner stayed in the service industry, so she’s never veered too far from her core competency,” Mittal said. “The trick is to be flexible enough to change your business but still stay within your core mission.”
Another niche
Today, Innovative Nurses & Sitters grosses just shy of $900,000 annually, Davis said, with the bulk of business coming from families with elderly parents. A new niche Davis recently entered involves plastic surgery patients who need help following their operations.
“It seems like Houston is the plastic surgery center of the world,” Davis said. “Once they leave the recovery room, they’re on their own. But sometimes they’re in an ‘anesthesia fog,’ which isn’t always safe.”
Personal assistance firms, like Davis’, are regulated by the Texas Department of Disability and Aging Services. That agency was launched in 2004 to oversee those caring for the elderly and disabled.
For people seeking caregivers, Davis recommended that they check an agency’s history first. High turnover remains a big problem in her industry, Davis said, and she cautions that potential clients do their homework.
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
