Home Caregivers Home Health and Personal Care Agency is owned and operated by Terri Holland and Lyndal Cole. Faced with a need to re-enter the workforce after raising our kids, friends, Terri and Lyndal decided to open a personal care agency as a way to “give back” to the community that had provided us with a wonderful place to live and raise our families while providing us with a living. The mountains and landscape, the friends and people in Utah are like no other place on earth and we wanted to do something meaningful with our time and effort.
Since Lyndal had been a hospice volunteer for more than ten years and since Terri had a business background owning and running a successful music store, they decided to open a personal care agency in 2001. It was exciting and challenging. With their strong work ethic, their unwillingness to disappoint their patients and a hectic work life they were burned out in two and a half years. Desperate for a change and relief, they sold the personal care agency in 2003. It didn’t take long though for stories from their patients and employees to get back to them – their pleas made them re-consider their decision, and when the business came up for sale about a year later – THEY BOUGHT IT BACK. They love Home Caregivers and it is a joy to come to work each day.
Since they bought it back in 2004, the personal care agency grew more than 20% per year – and after a couple years, they also added home health to their roster of personal care services. Deciding early on not to discriminate against people based on their ability to pay or their insurance including Medicaid, they have served every population in Utah. Their pediatric population is a joy and a constant reminder of how precious life is – watching as their dedicated nurses care for seriously ill children led them in 2007 to launch their Home Comforters Quilting Club – which brings expert Utah quilters together with families to make one of a kind heirloom quilts for these children and their families.
In 2008, in cooperation with the Arts in Caring Council, Home Caregivers sponsored a visit to Utah by Patch Adams, the real person behind the hit movie Patch Adams, starring Robin Williams. Patch delivered his presentation Living a Life of Joy. Patch is both a medical doctor and a clown, and he is also a social activist who has devoted 30 years to changing America’s healthcare system. He believes that laughter, joy and creativity are an integral part of the healing process and therefore true health care must incorporate these aspects of life. Patch explores the relationship between humor and therapy using his unique blend of knowledge, showmanship and hands on teaching techniques.
Says Patch, “I interpret my experience in life as being happy. I want, as a doctor, to say it does matter to your health to be happy. It may be the most important health factor in your life.” His deep commitment to living a life of joy, and his emphasis on healthcare that is collaborative, compassionate and imaginative informs their agency every day.
As the number one provider for Salt Lake County Aging Services, they have the privilege of caring for some of the most poor and vulnerable elderly friends and neighbors in Utah. Each year during the holidays they make it a habit to hand deliver a gift to each of these residents.
They are also in their tenth year of their Thousand Coats for Christmas Drive benefiting the Road Home. There is nothing more rewarding than bringing warmth and hope to a displaced family.
Finally, in 2010 we received a prestigious Health Insight Quality Assurance Award and passed our state survey with zero deficiencies. For those outside the field, this is a great accomplishment and one we are proud to claim. Our staff is caring and fun – committed to high standards of care and compassion. Working in a profit driven industry is challenging as we deal everyday with the disparities in the system that leave many disenfranchised while others enrich themselves with high margins and low quality care. We are proud of the work we do each day and consider it an honor to serve our community. We hope you will contact us if we can be of service to you or your loved one with either personal care services or home health needs. We promise to treat you and your loved one as if you were members of our own family – because, you are.