Young provides
elder care with a
cart full of heart

by Bea Fincher

Samantha Young runs Practical Care Continuum, Inc. with her heart. As owner, administrator and director, Young says, "We keep seniors independent so they don't have to enter a nursing home." Clients receive personal-not medical-help. Service might include assistance with eating, bathing, taking out the trash or driving them to the doctor. As Young sees it, "We're like a wife to them." Licensed by the state, Practical Care, serves a clientele of 80% women.

With a Bachelor's degree in nursing home administration from Texas State University, Young has built her 127-employee business in just ten years. Experienced, professional Social Workers oversee and advise the field force. They determine if a client's drinking has become a problem or if a client needs more assistance than Young's force can provide, for example. When necessary, they inform clients of the social services available and help them contact the appropriate agency.

Prospective clients' needs and personal habits are assessed to determine the services needed and ensure a good match between client and worker. Pets can make a difference to a worker allergic to cats, for example. Also, a non-smoking client may not want a smoker. By the same token, someone afraid of dogs will not be a good match for a home with several mastiffs. Commitment to quality helps formulate a custom-made, health care plan.

Young's heart is also evident in the way she treats employees. They take the Myers-Briggs Personality Test to provide insight into their personal style and to facilitate communication among employees and between employees and Young. By learning each other's work style, they understand that a detail person must be provided with all of the facts-no matter how small. The detail-oriented person, on the other hand, learns to leave out some of the facts in a presentation rather than bore big-picture colleagues.

The heart of Young's management system, however, is flexibility. As a participant in Flex Time Options, a federal program promoted by the Women's Chamber of Commerce of Texas, Young not only supports the program, she has made it policy and includes it in the employee benefits package. Most of her employees choose the days and hours of work. Schedules allow workers to pick up children at school or share a full-time job. When they work extra hours, they receive comp time. Young has no problem with an attorney or bookkeeper working at home and telecommuting. If a worker needs to stay home for a week or two due to school vacation or a child's illness, it's allowed.

Young attributes her success to the way she treats her employees-understandable for a woman whose business logo is a wheelbarrow carrying a heart. Twelve times a year, she selects an Employee of the Month, who receives a package of goodies and is featured on the company website. To celebrate the Employee of the Year Award, she treats everyone to lunch and they all receive a bonus.

Over the ten years Young has been a member of the Women's Chamber, she's enjoyed both personal and professional benefits. She has found clients at the Chamber and is so comfortable with the organization that she thinks of its members as family. It is the only meeting she attends regularly. Her feelings go to the heart of the Chamber, whose slogan is Where Women in Business Connect©.


Musers & Shakers is reprinted with permission from Austin Business District Magazine. View previous editions:

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