Past Winner Stories
Alliance Home Health and Adult Day Services
www.alliance-center.com
An aging population has created plenty of business opportunities in the elder care market, but it takes dedication and determination to succeed in the field and become a resource for geriatric education, wellness and rehabilitation. That's exactly what Jan Roberts has done with Alliance Home Health and Adult Day Services.
With a goal of providing quality, client-centered services in a safe, professional caring manner, Roberts bought Alliance out of bankruptcy in 1991. Though established in 1987 as a small home care company with only five employees, the company has not only expanded services but also taken on the daunting task of adhering to federal, state and local regulations governing care, clinical records and billing procedures.
As the elderly population grew, so did Alliance. In 1996, Roberts and her business partner knew they would have to move from their small, storefront office in order to fulfill a new Alliance goal - a daytime center for adults that provided a caring, safe, supervised, homelike environment. The company took on the challenge of purchasing a 13,000 square-foot building, and after being turned down by several banks, the company secured a Small Business Administration loan to buy and totally remodel its current location at 96th Street and College Avenue, which houses offices and the day center.
As the Adult Day Center grew into the largest medical-model day center in the state, the home health care field faced numerous challenges. The national nursing shortage began and large institutions were able to pay nurses more than home care could afford. It became increasingly difficult to provide nurses to manage the company's clients and supervise field employees. At the same time, the entire Medicare system changed to a prospective pay system that required more management and a complete policy change.
During this time, Roberts pointed out, “half the home health companies in Indiana either stopped taking Medicare clients or went out of business totally".
Alliance decided it needed to provide a complete care package for its clients, even if it proved tough.
"We decided that we would make the new system work" she said, "and continue to provide all the government payer sources along with private pay".
At the same time, Alliance faced changes in management. Roberts' partner, an RN responsible for the clinical aspects of the business, was moving out of state, and Roberts, as CEO, was now faced with running both the financial and operational sides of the business. She decided to focus on her original goal: helping older adults live life to the fullest, either independently in their own home or with help from the adult day center.
With this goal in mind, Roberts and a dedicated staff of more than 250 employees-who share her vision-have watched Alliance grow to the sixth-largest Indianapolis-area woman-owned business. The home care company provides a full range of services, from light housekeeping and errands to personal care to skilled nursing and therapy.
In addition to providing care in individual homes, Alliance has partnered with several assisted-living and retirement communities to provide hands-on care for their facilities. And Adult Day Services provides programs ranging from social to medical. The concept of providing respite care for families trying to keep loved ones at home while still needing to work, themselves has proven so successful that Alliance plans to open several more locations in Indianapolis and surrounding areas.
In 1999, seeing a need in medication management, Alliance began an institutional pharmacy. “Through special packaging and customer service, we filled a niche servicing independently living seniors as well as those in assisted-living facilities," said Roberts, who noted that a national company recently purchased this division and plans a national rollout of the concept.
As the aging population grows and the cost of nursing homes increases, Alliance is poised for continued success by helping to keep elderly and functionally impaired adults at home with loved ones.
With a goal of providing quality, client-centered services in a safe, professional caring manner, Roberts bought Alliance out of bankruptcy in 1991. Though established in 1987 as a small home care company with only five employees, the company has not only expanded services but also taken on the daunting task of adhering to federal, state and local regulations governing care, clinical records and billing procedures.
As the elderly population grew, so did Alliance. In 1996, Roberts and her business partner knew they would have to move from their small, storefront office in order to fulfill a new Alliance goal - a daytime center for adults that provided a caring, safe, supervised, homelike environment. The company took on the challenge of purchasing a 13,000 square-foot building, and after being turned down by several banks, the company secured a Small Business Administration loan to buy and totally remodel its current location at 96th Street and College Avenue, which houses offices and the day center.
As the Adult Day Center grew into the largest medical-model day center in the state, the home health care field faced numerous challenges. The national nursing shortage began and large institutions were able to pay nurses more than home care could afford. It became increasingly difficult to provide nurses to manage the company's clients and supervise field employees. At the same time, the entire Medicare system changed to a prospective pay system that required more management and a complete policy change.
During this time, Roberts pointed out, “half the home health companies in Indiana either stopped taking Medicare clients or went out of business totally".
Alliance decided it needed to provide a complete care package for its clients, even if it proved tough.
"We decided that we would make the new system work" she said, "and continue to provide all the government payer sources along with private pay".
At the same time, Alliance faced changes in management. Roberts' partner, an RN responsible for the clinical aspects of the business, was moving out of state, and Roberts, as CEO, was now faced with running both the financial and operational sides of the business. She decided to focus on her original goal: helping older adults live life to the fullest, either independently in their own home or with help from the adult day center.
With this goal in mind, Roberts and a dedicated staff of more than 250 employees-who share her vision-have watched Alliance grow to the sixth-largest Indianapolis-area woman-owned business. The home care company provides a full range of services, from light housekeeping and errands to personal care to skilled nursing and therapy.
In addition to providing care in individual homes, Alliance has partnered with several assisted-living and retirement communities to provide hands-on care for their facilities. And Adult Day Services provides programs ranging from social to medical. The concept of providing respite care for families trying to keep loved ones at home while still needing to work, themselves has proven so successful that Alliance plans to open several more locations in Indianapolis and surrounding areas.
In 1999, seeing a need in medication management, Alliance began an institutional pharmacy. “Through special packaging and customer service, we filled a niche servicing independently living seniors as well as those in assisted-living facilities," said Roberts, who noted that a national company recently purchased this division and plans a national rollout of the concept.
As the aging population grows and the cost of nursing homes increases, Alliance is poised for continued success by helping to keep elderly and functionally impaired adults at home with loved ones.