Successful Tampa Bay Home Health Agency Shares Their Secret
May 16, 2013 — From its humble beginnings in 1986 Bayshore Home Care has become an industry leader in senior home care due in no small part to a few key principles the Atkinson family says are their secret to 27 successful years and multiple business awards.
The brother-sister ownership team is made up of Todd Atkinson and Suzanne Johnson. Their home care agency services Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties and employs over 200 individuals in their workforce. Their agency provides seniors and those with chronic illness or disabilities with personal in-home caregivers. The particular challenge this agency faces and what makes Bayshore Home Care’s success such an anomaly is that the services this agency provides are almost never covered by traditional health insurance. Therefore, nearly all of Bayshore’s clients pay for their in-home care out-of-pocket. Their secret to success is not offering the lowest prices or having the flashiest sales tactics.
Todd and Suzanne believe in one simple concept and they put it into practice in every aspect of their business. “We believe in helping”, said Suzanne Johnson, C.O.O., when asked what keeps their company going. Todd shared, “We believe in helping our employees by giving them opportunities to make a life for themselves, to take pride in their work and provide for their families. Those that take pride in what they do, do it because they share our vision for helping others.” Barbara Culnen, Scheduling Coordinator, explained why she works for the agency, “We actually help people, I love that.” Johnson concluded by saying, “Our patients need to feel that not only do we care, but we actually helped make a positive difference in their day. To sum up the reason why we are in this business is — we help people; our employees, our patients and their families.”
The Atkinson’s simplistic model has proved itself even in a tough economy. Their agency is the largest family-owned private duty home care agency in the Bay Area.