Joe Kurita
Loyola Marymount University
Lisa Daggett
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Visiting Angels has adapted its internal tools and processes to provide the best private care to senior citizens at their homes prioritizing the health and well-being of the elderly. One way they achieve such an exceptional reputation is by utilizing a software that optimizes multiple different factors to produce recommendations for the best caregivers to each individual client. By putting the clients' needs at the core of the business, they are able to promote UN SDG #3 of Good Health and Well-Being.
Kase Spears is the Owner and Executive Director of the Visiting Angels branch in Fort Worth, Texas. Using his vast experiences working for major technology conglomerates such as Dell Technologies and VMware Inc., he carried over his leadership skills to manage his own team members to carry out the mission for providing high-quality health care to senior citizens in the Texas region.
The innovative piece of the business model is their scheduling software, which allows the company to efficiently staff a caregiver with a client quickly and easily. In the back-end system, the software accounts for numerous factors and attributes for which it provides an optimized match-making list of caregivers for each client. Some of these factors and attributes include information such as proximity to the clients’ house, previous client-caregiver visit history, and other relevant details that are considered to provide the best care. This optimization allows a seamless experience for the customers.
Visiting Angels is positioned to provide services that encompass all needs for elderly women from hourly assistance to extensive 24-hour care. They understand that everyone's needs look differently and so they are equipped with the best caregivers to support all types of care such as Alzheimer's, Dementia, End-of-Life, Social, Respite, Companionship, and much more.
"Family." The one inspiration behind Kase. When asked about his purpose and motivation in managing this business, he stated "Family. I wish to provide for my family and be around to raise my children." By properly building the company that is focused on providing the best care for its clients, Kase equally strives to provide the best life for his family as well.
His older brother, also a charismatic leader, has managed a similar senior health care business in a different region. Kase was able to lean on his brother and leverage his expertise in the industry to jump start his own operation.
His long-term hope is to gradually transition into an advisory role providing guidance and support to his business to eventually enjoy the freedom of prioritizing his family's needs and well-being.
Given the nature of the business, Visiting Angels has undoubtedly impacted countless lives of people whether it’s through clients or their family and friends. What differentiates Kase’s business from other comparable companies is its quality of services and professionalism. From a client perspective, there is an immediate sense of safety when services are engaged. Pent up anxieties are relieved, especially from family and friends of the elderly client. This short-term effect further transcends into a longer-term sense of peace knowing that the clients’ needs are fully taken care of.
Through the testimonies of family members, it is evident that their services go beyond their clients. Recently, the son of a former client who passed away called Kase and his caregiving team to let them know of the seamless positive experience he encountered using their services. The son stated that his only regret was that he had not started their services sooner for his mom. This is just one of the countless lives that Visiting Angels has positively impacted.
Visiting Angels does a great job immediately creating unmeasurable short-term results which further expand into the long-term and are physically visible through the clients' and families’ expressions throughout the entire process.
From the beginning, Kase Spears has always promoted good health and well-being and has had the best interest of his clients in mind. With that same mindset, he firmly believes that to provide the best-in-class quality service, his team members must be taken care of including fair treatment and generous compensation. He is working on continually providing wages higher than the industry average, implementing and improving employee benefits such as 401Ks, retirement plans, medical insurance, paid time off, educational tuition assistance, and many more. By investing in his employees, they are not only better equipped to fulfill their responsibilities, but they also feel valued as members of the organization.
Additionally, with higher retention and headcount growth, the company is better positioned to expand its territory and market share, which increases revenue and further feeds an endless cycle of re-investing further into its employees.
Coming from renowned successful companies, Kase and his leadership team understand the importance of camaraderie. His team enforces a collaborative space that encourages innovation and communication. While this is no easy task, investments in tools and systems have been made to systematically make connectivity easier. Additional training sessions and events have taken place in person to promote personal and technical skill development.
“People.” It is people at the forefront of Visiting Angels’ business, and it is people that are being served. The business of Visiting Angels benefits people. While the main service caters to the elder, it has an unquantifiable ripple effect of impact on the surrounding lives of the clients and its community members. In simple terms, Kase Spears works tirelessly to support his employees and provide a safe and equitable working environment. This leads to the best service for their clients. Happy clients make happy families of clients. This happiness is contagious and plays a critical role in the overall health of the clients, especially at this point in their lives.
In the United States, elder abuse is widely prevalent but remains unchallenged. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 66% of nursing home staff members have committed elder abuse. The number of people above age 60 is expected to increase by over double in size to two billion people by 2050. This exponential rate coupled with the lack of healthcare workers could inadvertently lead to increased elder abuse. This type of behavior is unacceptable to Visiting Angels, and therefore it has dedicated resources to ensure the best and brightest caregivers.
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Kase Spears, Executive Director
