In a move to accelerate growth, Caring Senior Service has added home care veteran Jeff Bevis to its leadership team. Bevis joins the company as chief operating officer, a new position at the company.
“I see the Caring Senior Service story as kind of a best kept secret,” Bevis told Home Health Care News. “I think that we can grow it, and build awareness to really expand the network across the country and, at the end of the day, help more seniors with our services.”
The San Antonio, Texas-based home care franchise company Caring Senior Service has roughly 50 locations across nearly 20 states.
Bevis’ new role at Caring Senior Service will allow CEO Jeff Salter to focus on other aspects of the business.
“It frees me up to do some things that I haven’t maybe had the opportunity to do over the last few years, as we’ve been growing,” Salter told HHCN. “It’s a tremendous opportunity that I felt lucky to come across.”
Indeed, Bevis has a proven track record. Bevis founded FirstLight Home Care with his son, Devin, in 2009. Today, FirstLight is one of the most successful home care franchise companies in the U.S.
When FirstLight was under Bevis’ leadership, he spearheaded an initiative to convert independent home care operators into its franchise system. He was also an asset when it came to navigating the pandemic, creating innovative technology partnerships and building a bridge towards Medicare Advantage opportunities.
Bevis’ tenure as CEO of FirstLight ended in late 2020.
Looking ahead to the next chapter of Caring Senior Service, Salter is looking to lean on Bevis’ vast expertise.
“As I look at expanding our business and adding to the team, it’s rare to find someone that has the experience in both franchising and in non-medical home care that Jeff brings to the table,” Salter said.
One thing in both of their favors is the long-standing relationship — or “mutual appreciation,” as Salter puts it — that exists between Bevis and Salter.
“I’ve actually known Jeff Salter, and Ian Klaes – [Caring Senior Service’s] VP – for many years. … I’ve always had great respect for the brand and how they conducted business,” Bevis said.
In his new role, Bevis has a few key focus areas in mind. No. 1 on the list is growth.
“We’ve grown at a pretty consistent rate over the last several years. I think the growth potential can be accelerated,” he said. “Second would be leveraging our great care offering, which I think, again, is a best kept secret. It’s kind of our way of doing business, a way of providing a higher level of care.”
As the company continues to grow, Bevis is also prioritizing technology adoption across Caring Senior Service’s franchise network.
Additionally, the company has a number of projects that aim to improve the client experience, as well as the caregiver experience, this year.
More broadly, the company is battling some of the same challenges that its home care peers are also facing, such as caregiver recruitment.
“I do think with the learning management system, and technology platform here, we have some really strong tools to combat that challenge … and to be able to recruit more quality caregivers at a faster rate,” Bevis said.
As far as turnover is concerned, Caring Senior Service is checking in between 50 and 56%.
Ultimately, Bevis believes there’s a great opportunity for Caring Senior Service to improve and further enhance the profitability of the company’s franchise owners moving forward.
“We see ways that we can help coach our franchise owners, both new and existing, to achieve even higher profitability,” he said. “That’s a key additive that I see for 2023 — to really focus on our franchisees.”
HHCN Managing Editor Robert Holly contributed to this report.
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