Husband and wife duo open senior-care franchise in Syracuse

DeWITT –– Gair and Tom Adams recently started their Home Instead Senior Care franchise business, serving Onondaga County’s growing needs for companion care for senior citizens.

Home Instead, Inc. (dba, Home Instead Senior Care), a Nebraska–based company that provides non-medical senior-care services, was founded in 1994 by Paul and Lori Hogan. The independently owned and operated company has 886 franchisees worldwide, including locations in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, according to a profile of Home Instead at entrepreneur.com.

Home Instead franchisees help seniors with meal preparation, laundry, light housekeeping, transportation to and from a doctors’ appointments, reminders to take medication, errands, and shopping that can help seniors remain independent. The caregivers also offer companionship.

Syracuse franchise

The local franchise, called Home Instead Senior Care Syracuse, opened Jan. 30 and is located at 6443 Ridings Road, Suite 123 in the town of DeWitt. It is Home Instead’s 766th franchise in the United States.

Gair Adams, co-owner of Home Instead Syracuse, says she and her husband Tom were inspired to start the Syracuse–area franchise because of the region’s growing older population, which will need more services as it ages.

“There’s a huge elderly population and there are a lot of people who need care ... ” she says. “Things become difficult as we age. It’s hard to make your bed if you’re 92.”

Prior to opening their Home Instead Syracuse franchise, Gair Adams says she worked as a pharmaceutical representative and as an elementary school educator, while Tom was a small-business owner and high-school guidance counselor. Gair says personal experience prompted them to join the senior-care industry.

“We’ve helped care for different elderly people,” she says. “We have a lot of elderly family members, friends, and relatives. And we’ve seen what it’s like when people age  and the amount of care that they need.”

The couple first learned about the Home Instead franchise opportunity from their friends, Dr. James Holler and his wife Teresa Holler, who own and operate a Home Instead franchise in the Binghamton area.

“They’ve owned the company [franchise] for eight years, and said it’s one of the most rewarding things you can do,” says Gair Adams. “They kept telling us for eight years that we would be good at this business because we have the background for it.”

Gair and Tom Adams contacted Home Instead, Inc. after they realized there was a franchise available in the Syracuse area.

“We went to Omaha, Nebraska for repeated interviews, and they put us through the ‘wringer,’ ” Gair Adams quips. “So we had to provide six references to them, each of us, both my husband and myself; we had to interview with probably about six people and eventually we were offered the agency [franchise],” she adds.

She says the couple signed a 10-year franchise agreement, which started Jan. 23. The Syracuse franchise’s startup costs and ongoing royalty fees are similar to those of other Home Instead Senior Care franchises, says Adams, declining to provide specific numbers, nor disclose her source for financing or the franchise’s revenue goals.

Home Instead franchisees are required to pay a $39,000 franchise fee, along with a 5-percent ongoing royalty fee, and franchise agreements are for 10 years and can be renewed, according to the profile at entrepreneur.com. Franchise owners are expected to make a total investment of $50,550 to $63,550. 

Caregivers

Home Instead franchises have to be highly selective when hiring caregivers, says Adams. Applicants must go through a criminal-background check, a Department of Motor Vehicles driving-record check, a drug and alcohol screening, and must submit at least six references, she adds. In addition, employees have to complete a series of mandatory training programs including basic safety training, and basic caregiver training, before they start a placement in a senior citizen’s residence.

“Our franchiser requires us to do that ... we follow all their protocols,” Adams says. “We would do it anyway. We would not put any caregiver in a senior citizen’s home that we would not think would do an excellent job caring for our parents.”

Besides the mandatory training programs, Home Instead Senior Care also offers free web seminars that employees can attend. Additional training such as Alzheimer’s, dementia training, and advanced caregiver training are also available for its staff.

Adams says most of Home Instead Syracuse’s 10 employees have prior experience as caregivers with the elderly.

“We’ve got retired nurses. We have someone that we want to hire that’s got a master degree in social work,” she says. “A lot of people that are interviewing with us are certified medical assistants ... Obviously, the Syracuse area has people that are very well-educated with great backgrounds.”

The franchise also provides clients with respite care for families that may already be giving care for a senior citizen, and transitional care for those coming from a hospital or nursing home and need transitional care.

Off to an optimistic start

The Syracuse franchise has been seeing early success, and is looking forward to a long-term relationship with Home Instead, Inc., says Adams.

“So far, I’ve been very happy with the activity that we’ve seen so far ... both with the number of caregivers that have inquired about working for us, and the number of clients that have contacted us in just [the first few] weeks,” she says. “Our phone has been ringing off the hook.”

Adams says the franchise’s staff will grow depending on its need, and she is expecting to launch a second training class for about five or six caregivers in the next few weeks.

“Obviously, we are expanding,” she says. “The more clients we get, the more people we will hire.”

Home Instead Senior Care Syracuse is now hiring part-time caregivers who will work 20 to 25 hours per week. It also has an opening for a full-time office manager.

DeWITT –– Gair and Tom Adams recently started their Home Instead Senior Care franchise business, serving Onondaga County’s growing needs for companion care for senior citizens.

Home Instead, Inc. (dba, Home Instead Senior Care), a Nebraska–based company that provides non-medical senior-care services, was founded in 1994 by Paul and Lori Hogan. The independently owned and operated company has 886 franchisees worldwide, including locations in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, according to a profile of Home Instead at entrepreneur.com.

Home Instead franchisees help seniors with meal preparation, laundry, light housekeeping, transportation to and from a doctors’ appointments, reminders to take medication, errands, and shopping that can help seniors remain independent. The caregivers also offer companionship.

Syracuse franchise

The local franchise, called Home Instead Senior Care Syracuse, opened Jan. 30 and is located at 6443 Ridings Road, Suite 123 in the town of DeWitt. It is Home Instead’s 766th franchise in the United States.

Gair Adams, co-owner of Home Instead Syracuse, says she and her husband Tom were inspired to start the Syracuse–area franchise because of the region’s growing older population, which will need more services as it ages.

“There’s a huge elderly population and there are a lot of people who need care ... ” she says. “Things become difficult as we age. It’s hard to make your bed if you’re 92.”

Prior to opening their Home Instead Syracuse franchise, Gair Adams says she worked as a pharmaceutical representative and as an elementary school educator, while Tom was a small-business owner and high-school guidance counselor. Gair says personal experience prompted them to join the senior-care industry.

“We’ve helped care for different elderly people,” she says. “We have a lot of elderly family members, friends, and relatives. And we’ve seen what it’s like when people age  and the amount of care that they need.”

The couple first learned about the Home Instead franchise opportunity from their friends, Dr. James Holler and his wife Teresa Holler, who own and operate a Home Instead franchise in the Binghamton area.

“They’ve owned the company [franchise] for eight years, and said it’s one of the most rewarding things you can do,” says Gair Adams. “They kept telling us for eight years that we would be good at this business because we have the background for it.”

Gair and Tom Adams contacted Home Instead, Inc. after they realized there was a franchise available in the Syracuse area.

“We went to Omaha, Nebraska for repeated interviews, and they put us through the ‘wringer,’ ” Gair Adams quips. “So we had to provide six references to them, each of us, both my husband and myself; we had to interview with probably about six people and eventually we were offered the agency [franchise],” she adds.

She says the couple signed a 10-year franchise agreement, which started Jan. 23. The Syracuse franchise’s startup costs and ongoing royalty fees are similar to those of other Home Instead Senior Care franchises, says Adams, declining to provide specific numbers, nor disclose her source for financing or the franchise’s revenue goals.

Home Instead franchisees are required to pay a $39,000 franchise fee, along with a 5-percent ongoing royalty fee, and franchise agreements are for 10 years and can be renewed, according to the profile at entrepreneur.com. Franchise owners are expected to make a total investment of $50,550 to $63,550. 

Caregivers

Home Instead franchises have to be highly selective when hiring caregivers, says Adams. Applicants must go through a criminal-background check, a Department of Motor Vehicles driving-record check, a drug and alcohol screening, and must submit at least six references, she adds. In addition, employees have to complete a series of mandatory training programs including basic safety training, and basic caregiver training, before they start a placement in a senior citizen’s residence.

“Our franchiser requires us to do that ... we follow all their protocols,” Adams says. “We would do it anyway. We would not put any caregiver in a senior citizen’s home that we would not think would do an excellent job caring for our parents.”

Besides the mandatory training programs, Home Instead Senior Care also offers free web seminars that employees can attend. Additional training such as Alzheimer’s, dementia training, and advanced caregiver training are also available for its staff.

Adams says most of Home Instead Syracuse’s 10 employees have prior experience as caregivers with the elderly.

“We’ve got retired nurses. We have someone that we want to hire that’s got a master degree in social work,” she says. “A lot of people that are interviewing with us are certified medical assistants ... Obviously, the Syracuse area has people that are very well-educated with great backgrounds.”

The franchise also provides clients with respite care for families that may already be giving care for a senior citizen, and transitional care for those coming from a hospital or nursing home and need transitional care.

Off to an optimistic start

The Syracuse franchise has been seeing early success, and is looking forward to a long-term relationship with Home Instead, Inc., says Adams.

“So far, I’ve been very happy with the activity that we’ve seen so far ... both with the number of caregivers that have inquired about working for us, and the number of clients that have contacted us in just [the first few] weeks,” she says. “Our phone has been ringing off the hook.”

Adams says the franchise’s staff will grow depending on its need, and she is expecting to launch a second training class for about five or six caregivers in the next few weeks.

“Obviously, we are expanding,” she says. “The more clients we get, the more people we will hire.”

Home Instead Senior Care Syracuse is now hiring part-time caregivers who will work 20 to 25 hours per week. It also has an opening for a full-time office manager.