When entrepreneur Helen Anderson was evaluating her next move, she looked to both what she learned starting, growing and selling her first startup Milkies as well as her time as a nurse in an array of care settings.
The result is her McMinnville-based startup HelloCare, an in-home care service for those who need extra help or medical care but want to remain in their homes. Clients range from young people experiencing illness to seniors who want to age in place.
The fast-growing business started in 2019. It has a total employment of 85, of which 75 are employed as caregivers. There are five nurses on staff.
“I have done a lot of work as a nurse in different settings,” said Anderson. “Hospitals, assisted living and community based. I saw a need for highly skilled, reliable and professional care to meet the needs of seniors who stay at home and age in place. I met care providers who wanted to provide that high level of care but had patient assignments and jobs that didn’t allow that.”
Anderson's Milkies business made products for nursing parents, which is a niche market. She sold that to Bellingham-base Fairhaven Health in 2013. She wanted her next business to operate in a larger market and to offer longer relationships with customers.
“I learned a lot about how to listen and understand people’s needs,” she said of her first startup.
How HelloCare raises the bar
A key element of HelloCare is taking care of its care givers, including certified nursing assistants and unlicensed workers. Each HelloCare care giveris a W2 employee and receives benefits. The company offers free child care at its headquarters and interest-free payday loans. The company has loans cars to those who need reliable transportation.
There is also training and flexible hours.
“We focus on the care giver and we understand their pressures,” Anderson said, adding that this comes from the team’s own experience as care givers and parents. “If (a care giver) has issues with finances or transportation or their own childcare we do what we can to reduce those variables in their life.”
HelloCare looks to elevate care giving, which is typically an undervalued role in the economy.
It appears to be paying off. Turnover at HelloCare is at around 20% significantly less than the 64% turnover rate of the industry as a whole. At the same time, the company is growing quickly. The business grew 523% from the third quarter of 2021 to the third quarter of 2022, Anderson said.
The company’s focus on care givers in addition to clients helped it win the Development Stage award at this year’s Oregon Entrepreneurship Awards.
What HelloCare does
Clients range in age from children, who might be ill and need care for a few months, to over 100 years old, said Kristy Runge, director of client care. Most clients are over 45 years old.
Needs vary from companionship for those who have lost a spouse, to full care for people who are bedridden, on feeding tubes or families who need end of life care. The company’s service area ranges from Grand Ronde up to Portland and Gresham.
The company is profitable. Patients can pay directly or through long term care insurance, VA insurance or Providence ElderPlace, said Anderson. Medicare does not pay for in-home care.
While HelloCare also works with home health hospital discharge planners and skilled nursing facilities, Anderson noted personal relationships and referrals are the strongest client acquisition channels.
“This line of work, there is a lot of trust involved and relationships,” she said.
Anderson has bootstrapped the company so far. She has talked to investors and noted there may come a time when that avenue is more attractive, but it isn’t a course she is pursuing.
“We want to maintain control so we are ale to provide that great level of service for care givers and clients,” she said, adding that the company is able to invest in its employees because they control their business. “We don’t have investors or others trying to maximize the profit margin.”
Looking ahead, the company plans to increase the number of services it provides and add hospice care. The team is also evaluating locations for another office. In addition to admin, training and child care the company offers adult day services at its building.
