“Imagine being in a position as a senior where there is seemingly no other option for you than a nursing home or assisted living, requiring you to give up your home of 40 years.This notion is what keeps us going at FirstLight; we provide solutions to keep people at home for as long as we can.” ~Phil Smith, FirstLight HomeCare of Chardon
Allowing an aging family member to stay in their own home for as long as possible is something all of us want for those we love. But what oftentimes begins as a little extra time over at Grandma’s turns into hours added to our already full schedule. Did she take her medicine? Will she be able to climb the stairs today? Did she leave the stove on? How can I be in two places at once!
You can’t. But what if you had a trusted friend who was more than willing to help out? A friend who would care for your grandmother as you would, with her best interest in mind? You’d probably jump on that!
Annette Smith felt strongly about keeping our elderly community safe while they age or are bound to their homes. So strongly, in fact, that she became a partner with FirstLight HomeCare (FLHC) in 2011 and began searching for others she could employ who shared her passion. And now, after three years, her husband Phil has joined her as Director of Business Development, adding his own passion for providing superior in-home care to those in need.
Enriching Lives of Real People
Phil has spent many years in the business world coaching and developing leaders. “It occurred to me over time that I could certainly continue to utilize my skills to help a board of directors or a group of owners succeed in business,” he says. “Or, I could use my talents to develop my own high performing teams that will focus on enriching lives of real people with real challenges in a way that is free of bureaucracy and detours.”
As opportunities and needs arose for Annette to serve more folks through FLHC in the community, she struggled to keep up with the demand. Her commitment to only hire exceptional caregivers who shared her passion along with managing administrative responsibilities took its toll. That’s when Phil decided it was time to step in.
Goal: Be the Best, Not the Biggest
The enthusiasm Phil brings to the company as the new director is infectious! The opportunity he now has to directly impact the quality of life of those he serves energizes him. “Our charter is to be the best and not the biggest,” he says when asked about the goals he has. “Being the best is hard work, and it is not something you can simply talk about or practice some of the time. Interestingly, the short and long term goals at FLHC are uniquely aligned and include continuing to surround ourselves with the absolute best caregivers that allow us to deliver care in a way that nobody else can; hence, building “raving fans” in the process.”
Phil views his role as easy. “It is to promote and protect a wonderful brand of home care that is built on a foundation of strong core values of integrity, humility, trust, empathy, and self awareness. The reason I say it is easy is because the hard work is actually done by the folks we surround ourselves with, starting with our extraordinary caregivers as well as our trusted partners. The hardest part of my job is finding resources with values that are aligned to ours!”
Surprises and Priorities
As we all know, things aren’t always what we perceive them to be. Once on the inside, Phil had a bit of a revelation. “I have been amazed by how little is known about what non-medical care actually is. When people think “home care,” they automatically think about nursing – and sometimes that is appropriate. But oftentimes it is not. Our business is built on delivering service excellence to those who don’t necessarily need medical care at home. But if it comes to that, we’ll be able to refer them to one of our trusted partners to offer a total solution.”
Though it hasn’t been long since he made the switch to FLHC, Phil is not wasting time – he’s already prioritizing and has several areas he’s concentrating on. “My top three focus areas for the business are to introduce myself to my current partners and clients and share my energy; get a gage on which sources need us most and which ones we’ve yet to acknowledge; and finally, to continue to establish a short list of trusted partners, e.g., skilled nursing, hospice, assisted living, elder law, county agencies, etc.”
High Tech Meets Human Touch
FirstLight HomeCare was designed by senior care industry professionals to be a completely new approach to high-quality, in-home care. Its customized services has set them apart as leaders in compassionate care and is why Annette chose to partner with them in the first place. The brilliant minds that founded this company wanted to provide an all encompassing approach which embodied today’s best technology yet still offered an extraordinary level of personal care by holding to a high standard of employing only the best caregivers.
“This involves value propositions that include a strong technology platform for clients to see the status of their loved ones no matter where they might be in the world as well as a myriad of options for telehealth,” explains Phil. “We are also built on a foundation of continuous improvement that is backed up by the fact that we submit ourselves to an independent quality control evaluation administered by HomeCare Pulse®. This is a nationally recognized company that only does quality evaluations for home care, and we have been the proud recipient of the ‘Best in Homecare’ award three years running.” For a company only four years old, that’s pretty impressive!
FirstLight will grow. People want genuine care for those they love. But is it possible for a company to continue to provide personal and customized care AND grow at the same time? Phil already had thought about that! “As I mentioned above, we have no desire to be the biggest. As companies grow, the first thing to go is the personal attention that consumers have grown accustomed to, i.e., the very thing that earned you the business in the first place. It is critically important to us to run this business with our core values always intact, and we will never put the growth of the business ahead of the high quality of care that we are quickly becoming known for.
“Everything we do is customer-centric. The mark of a great company isn’t that they don’t make mistakes; rather, it’s what they learn from those mistakes moving forward. Because our business is a very personal one, it is extremely difficult to be everything to everyone even though that is the expectation that many people have. It’s not nearly enough for us to believe that we are the best, we need to be great listeners and be open to constructive criticism of all kinds and, most importantly, act on the information. Abraham Lincoln said, ‘Whatever you are, be a good one,’ words that certainly help define the direction we are headed in our journey toward excellence.”
Investing in People
I hope you get the opportunity to meet Phil. He’s an optimist. He’s highly intelligent. He’s goal-oriented and he has a background that confirms he can accomplish what he sets out to achieve. Most notable though is his love for people. His new position at FirstLight HomeCare allows him to use the business experience he has acquired and invest it in making a real difference in the lives of individuals, improving their quality of life and helping them to fulfill their own desire – to remain at home.
Phil is committed to building a reputation of excellence for FirstLight. As the months pass, you will hear people say,
“What a personable company of great integrity, with extraordinary people that make a real difference in the quality of life for those they serve.”
Visit the FirstLight HomeCare website to learn more about their home health aide services or call them at 440-286-1342.
