The business of caring

Comfort Keepers franchies helps families care for elderly or sick relatives at home

By: Gwen McNamara
   HAMILTON — For many, caring for an elderly relative can be an expensive, stressful and emotionally draining experience.
   With full-time jobs and busy schedules, it can be tough for grown children to care for aging parents themselves — and even harder to move a parent from the comfort of home to a nursing or continuing care facility.
   But now there’s a new business that offers a safe and affordable solution for seniors to stay at home longer.
   Stephanie Howe, a registered nurse, recently opened a Comfort Keepers franchise in Hamilton — serving the Princetons, Hamilton, Lawrence, West Windsor, East Windsor, Robbinsville and Plainsboro.
   Comfort Keepers, with 462 locations in the U.S. and Canada, provides non-medical assistance for seniors — tasks like grocery shopping, running errands, light housekeeping, incidental transportation and companionship.
   "We provide what the home-care nurse can’t provide," said Ms. Howe, who also works as a nurse at the University Medical Center at Princeton. "It’s a nice bridge. Everyone wants to stay in their own home. We help keep them home as long as possible in a safe and comfortable environment."
   She knows from personal experience how difficult transition can be and how a service like Comfort Keepers can make a significant difference.
   "My father has chronic progressive multiple sclerosis and has been in a nursing home since he was 41," Ms. Howe said. "With this kind of service, he probably could have been kept at home a lot longer.
   "My mother-in-law also recently moved home with my family," she continued. "She’s recovering from cancer and I have a person come in to help her three days a week when I work."
   Ms. Howe has a staff of 12 people. In the near future, she hopes to hire another registered nurse like herself.
   "All of my employees are hand-selected," she said. "I do perform background checks, and we are bonded and insured."
   In about six months, Ms. Howe expects to be able to offer personal care — services like grooming, bathing and incontinence care.
   Ms. Howe, a nurse for more than 10 years, has worked in most of the area’s hospitals and managed several area medical offices.
   A Robbinsville resident, she decided to start a Comfort Keepers franchise after "getting bit by the business bug," she said.
   "I’ve done all kinds of nursing and was looking for something different," Ms. Howe said. "After having twins — my husband and I have six children — I was at home. I went back to the hospital, but prior to that, my husband and I owned our own business, which we sold, and ever since then I guess I got the business bug."
   She contemplated starting a new business on her own, but with six children and a busy life, decided to pursue the franchise route instead.
   She purchased a large book on franchises, and it seemed she just kept turning to the page with Comfort Keepers.
   "When one of my twins started coloring on the page, that was it," Ms. Howe said. "I called them up, and from the first introduction, they were extremely professional and followed through on everything."
   Based in Ohio, Comfort Keepers was founded in 1998 by a registered home healthcare nurse and her husband. It offers non-medical services for, mainly, aging adults, but also can help new mothers and others needing assistance.
   Comfort Keepers is available on an hourly, daily or weekly basis, with tailored packages customized to fit an individual’s needs.
   "We are pretty flexible and have so many options available for people," Ms. Howe said. "Usually, our services are not covered by insurance, but we can create a plan for whatever your needs."
   For example, having someone come by a parent’s home for two hours a week can cost less than $50 a week, Ms. Howe said.
   "We can do as little a phone call, or as much as live-in care. It’s up to the client," she said.

   

To contact Comfort Keepers, call (609) 890-2888. For more information, visit www.comfortkeepers.com.