A family owned and operated Midwest home care agency has thrived locally for nearly two decades. Its next step is hiring and strategizing for growth.
Senior1Care recently announced the promotion of Jane Francis to executive vice president of business development. Francis’ background in health care and business management positions her to drive the organization’s growth and enhance its mission of providing dependable, compassionate care to individuals seeking to maintain independent living.
Francis worked as a post-anesthesia care unit nurse for over 17 years, followed by a tenure as the director of a surgical center. She took a break from health care and transitioned into a corporate setting, where she led a sales team of a retail company based in Dallas. Francis’ passion for helping others brought her back to health care with a focus on senior living.
“My heart is full being around the older generation,” Francis told Home Health Care News. “ The more I became involved with seniors, the more I realized it gave me purpose. Now I’m on the business side, still passionate about knowing why we’re doing what we’re doing.”
A family-owned and operated agency with an eye toward growth
Senior1Care is a home care agency based in South Bend, Indiana, specializing in non-medical services for seniors. Founded in 2006 by Carl Bossung and his three sons, the company has earned recognition for its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for seniors in South Bend, Elkhart, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and Angola.
Many of the company’s services are modeled after the care needed for Carl’s mother, who passed at the age of 95 while living independently in her home. During the final stages of her life, she required the services of a home care agency, but the Bossungs could not find a reliable agency to meet their needs.
Unlike many non-medical agencies, most of Senior1Care’s caregivers are registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, home health aides or certified nursing aides (CNAs) trained through the company’s CNA school, Legacy Medical Academy in Mishawaka, Indiana.
Francis said that one of the great things about hiring Legacy Academy students is that it allows the company to train the students in their models of success.
“I believe in hiring people with a passion for the industry,” she said. “We can train them to do the rest. Most people who walk in for an interview are naturally great caregivers but don’t believe in themselves. I love that we can change that and get them to become the best version of themselves that they can be. Hiring from the Academy benefits us because we’re all on the same page culturally. We have the same mission and core values.”
Francis said she believes Senior1Care will become a larger entity in the Indiana home care industry in the near future.
“I envision strong business partnerships with key entities to help us to align with like-minded people,” she said. “We will create and develop strong alliances and partnerships to make care more consumer-centric.”
One of the more significant projects Francis is excited about moving into 2025 is creating client and caregiver experience timelines.
“We want to practice servant leadership,” she said. “We want to make sure we serve our caregivers well and that they serve our clients well. We’ve got to create an experience for the caregiver that will retain them, and we want to do the same thing for our clients.”
Francis said this type of leadership has to go beyond words into action. These timelines will clarify everyone’s path in the organization so they can visualize the touchpoints required to provide the highest-quality care.
“Most of our clients want to age in place and stay home until the very end. We will do everything possible to create all the necessary resources for that,” she said.
