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“You can be sure your request for staff will receive the special attention you deserve.” |
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Arcadia's largest affiliate now covers 11 Bay-area counties
Sometimes, losing a job can a blessing in disguise. Charles Symes, owner of seven Arcadia HealthCare locations in the Bay area, is living proof. After a series of business shakeouts that left him unemployed at age 30, Symes worked out of his one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco, where the kitchen doubled as his office. In 1993, he became the first startup business to affiliate with the Arcadia HealthCare network.
"After seeing a wave of acquisitions of small home-care companies here in the early 1990s, I knew this was a way I could still have my own business with support from a national company," Symes recalls.
Within a few years, Symes moved into a medical office building suite, hired a registered nurse as director of nursing, became Medicare-certified and embraced the corporate name for his growing enterprise. Acquisitions and fresh startups began in 1996, stretching his Northern California network into Sonoma, Marin, Santa Rosa, Alameda, San Mateo, Napa, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, San Joaquin and other areas. This is the largest affiliate in Arcadia's 21 states, and is certified as a Medicare provider.
This full-service agency, in the broadest sense of that phrase, provides medical, social, psychological, occupational, speech and physical therapies for clients of all ages - including home-care pediatric cases. About 1,300 nurses, therapists, aides and speech pathologists fan out each month in 11 counties, while several hundred more fill staffing gaps at hospitals, convalescent centers and similar institutions. Home-care professionals, who account for 90 percent of this affiliate's revenues, include some providing overnight or live-in services.
In addition to standard skilled care and assistance with personal needs, the Northern California affiliate provides short-term and long-term home rehabilitation services for patients recovering from catastrophic illness, accidents or workplace injuries. Clients also include the developmentally disabled, Alzheimer's patients and individuals under guardianship arrangements because they cannot care for themselves. Full-time case managers develop plans to address client needs and assure consistent care. Supervisors are on call around the clock for emergency responses.
Symes envisions adding three more offices in his 11-county region over the next few years. "Small, aggressive competitors are trying to serve the senior market and siphon off the cream in this area," he observes, "but our reputation, professional contacts and respected name will help keep us strong."
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