With locations across the nation, Right at Home is an in-home senior care provider that offers a range of services to fit an individual's needs. From companion care to personal care, nursing services and specialty care, their mission is to improve the quality of life for those they serve.
Brent and Andrea Morgan, owners/franchisees, are bringing Right at Home to the Queen Creek, San Tan Valley, Gilbert and surrounding areas. Located at 4844 S. Val Vista Drive, their grand opening will take place Monday, May 15. Everyone is invited to come out to meet them, have some snacks, drinks and partake in fun giveaways. They’ll be there to answer questions to see if their services could potentially be a good fit for you or a loved one.
As a brand new franchise, their service options will include personal and companion care. After the one year mark, Right at Home will look into the location as a potential site to add nursing and specialty care. They’ve purchased 12 ZIP codes to service seniors, including all of Queen Creek, San Tan Valley, east Gilbert, Apache Junction, Casa Grande and other areas south and east of these cities.
Companion Care can include everything from light housekeeping to meal preparation, wellness support, socialization, transportation and health reminders. With their personal care services, you’ll get help with the day-to-day activities that may have become harder. Whether that’s walking/wheelchair assistance, paraplegia/quadriplegia care, transferring and safety supervision or hygiene and feeding help, your caregiver will be there to support you.
Prior to gearing up to open this brand new location, Brent had worked for another franchisee of Right at Home.
“I’ve honestly loved it. People joke about getting their calling in life, but I’ll be 45 this year and I’ve finally found it,” he said.
Both Brent and Andrea have always wanted to operate a small business. Six months after they found Right at Home they knew they wanted to open their own.
“It’s not just any small business, it’s an opportunity to really give back and provide something beneficial to the community,” said Brent. “We wanted an opportunity to help people that are in actual need and to provide care that a family may not be able to provide. I’ve really found my calling in this and feel like all the previous companies I’ve worked for have helped me come to this point.”
With five kids Andrea’s main role has been being a mom, but she’s always found time in her schedule to work part time doing different things. Over the last couple of years she’s started and grown her own housekeeping company. Although she doesn’t have the Right at Home experience yet, she has experience teaching fitness classes to the senior community, as well as going into the homes of seniors to help clean their homes, one of the arms of their company.
“I have a child who had some birth defects so I’ve had in-home care aides come in to help me out with his health needs,” said Andrea. “I want to be able to help the community in that way. I want to make sure we get the right caregiver with the right client.”
Brent found his passion for in-home care when he helped out a friend. Their friend, a longtime client of Andrea’s, was vacationing in Florida with her husband when he suffered a stroke. They had to take an emergency flight back home and when he was released from the hospital she didn’t know what to do. He was shaky on his feet and she was worried she wouldn’t be able to watch over him alone. She called Andrea and asked if Brent could spend a couple nights there to help get him in and out of bed, to and from the restroom, etc.
“That was my real first experience caring for a senior full time. I was only there for a couple of nights, but the importance of this work really hit me by how grateful she was,” said Brent. “It was super easy for me to do, but invaluable for her.”
Five-step approach to care
Right at Home gave the couple an opportunity to engage with community partners that are as passionate about caring for seniors as they are. When signing up for their services, you’ll follow the five-step approach to care they’ve developed.
Step one is developing a client care profile. They’ll start by asking questions, learning more about you and setting up an in-home visit to see how they can best assist you.
Step two is creating a person-centered care plan. This involves making sure everything is tailored to your needs and incorporates both you and your loved one’s history and routines. They’ll go over everything with you in detail so you know exactly what to expect and can voice any concerns or modifications.
Step three is identifying the best caregiver or health care professional for you. Right at Home knows it can be scary allowing a stranger to come into your home. There needs to be a sense of trust. Numerous factors go into choosing the right fit for you, including your interests, personality and in-home medical support services needed. Every caregiver and health care professional goes through a screening that includes reference and background checks.
Step four is delivering extraordinary care. Right at Home does everything they can to fulfill their mission of improving quality of life for the people they serve. They know that social connections and interactions are an integral part of being happy, which is why they work to ensure you have the right caregiver.
Lastly, step five is to provide ongoing support. Every time your caregiver comes in they’ll take note of any health changes and decide if anything needs to be adjusted in your care. Additionally, supervisory staff will make periodic visits to the home to make sure everything is up to Right at Home’s standards.
“I can see every single day, multiple times a day, that the mission was being fulfilled. Whether it’s visiting a client whose life had improved because of the caregiver’s care, or a caregiver whose life improved because of the work that they give,” explained Brent. “It’s the sense of purpose to their life that Right at Home has given them.”
There’s a lot of different options from nursing homes to assisted living facilities, but Right at Home is special in that it allows you to stay home as long as possible.
“In-home they have the freedom to do life as normal and we try to keep it as normal as possible. We’re hopeful that some sense of normalcy still remains while giving them the care that they need,” said Brent. “Having to put them in an independent or assisted living facility causes them to lose some of that independence.”
“I think it's important, especially for someone who’s elderly, to allow them to stay in their own home as long as they can. That’s where they’re comfortable, that’s where they raised their family and where all their things are that are important to them,” added Andrea. “Our goal as a company is to make sure that we can send caregivers in to help the seniors stay in their home longer and feel comfortable in their home knowing they are still safe.”
The reason they choose this location is because it’s one of the fastest growing markets for those 65 and over. With a lot of their demographic growing there, there’s a need for this kind of service.
“In the long run we want to be seen. We want to be able to give back to the community, but also be seen as a company that’s caring, professional, reliable and honest. That’s our goal as a company, to have that culture of trustworthiness so they can see us as a company that is there to help and serve,” said Andrea.
“We hope to bring that to the families of the Gilbert and Queen Creek area,” added Brent.
For more information on Right at Home and the services they provide, visit rightathome.net/gilbert.
