FirstLight Home Care Expands Franchise Support Center Team

FirstLight Home Care
Published: June 23rd, 2023

New team additions, moves and promotions

June 23, 2023 // Franchising.com // CINCINNATI, OHIO – FirstLight Home Care announces several moves and new additions to its franchise support team.

Changes to the Operations Team

• Mark Vanase has been named Chief Operating Officer. Previously, he was Executive Vice President of Business Development and Field Operations. Vanase manages the company’s daily operations and continues to provide leadership and support to the business development team.
• Kevin Samov moved into the Director of Organizational Training & Development role. Previously Samov was Business Development Director for FirstLight’s Central Region, working directly with franchisees to help them grow. Samov now plans, organizes and leads internal training programs for franchise owners and their teams, and develops consistent educational curricula across the FirstLight network.
• Tanya Duncan joins the team as Business Development Director for the West Region. She supports and coaches franchisees to help drive sales, enforce brand standards and maximize success. Most recently, Duncan was the administrator and operations officer for a home care agency in Austin, TX. She is a Certified Dementia Practitioner and a Certified Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Care Trainer.
• Mandi Zook-Stewart, who was part of the FirstLight team from 2018 to 2019, has returned to the company and succeeds Kevin as the Central Region Business Development Director. She brings 14 years of experience in health care.
• Jane Yousey, OTR/L, DCCT, CDP, CCFP, joins the training and development team as Culture of Caring Coach. Her role is to enhance the competence and confidence of FirstLight franchise owners in caring for clients. Yousey is a registered, licensed occupational therapist and a Certified Dementia Practitioner with a proven track record of developing and leading memory care programs.

New Additions

• As Executive Director of Compliance and Clinical Services, Kathleen Spooner, R.N. assists in providing guidance and required documentation for regulatory, skilled and accreditation requirements. She also supports the ongoing advancement of FirstLight’s Healthcare Solutions program. Spooner has more than 30 years of experience in medical home care, private duty nursing and health care technology.
• FirstLight has hired Lucy Modzelewski as Senior Brand Manager. Modzelewski assists in developing a cohesive and engaging voice through carefully chosen strategies and tactics that express the FirstLight Culture of Care and also helps franchisees with their local marketing strategies. She has a background in franchise marketing and experience managing a variety of large and small brands.
• Eric Medecke has joined the Technology team as Executive Director of Information Technology/Franchise Systems. He leads the tactical and operational aspects of the company’s technology platforms, infrastructure, franchise owner support and services. Medecke has more than 30 years of technical experience in the Enterprise and Industrial Networking/Internet industry.
• As Senior Accountant & Human Resources Coordinator, Steve Mann manages payroll and accounts payable responsibilities and provides Quickbooks support to franchise owners. Mann has more than 12 years of accounting and audit experience. Before joining FirstLight, he was the finance coordinator for a healthcare system in hospital accounting.

“It’s not just about expanding our team,” said FirstLight President and CEO, Glee McAnanly. “It’s about enhancing our team to ensure we have the right people in the right roles. Everything we do centers around our franchisee-first commitment and creating a team that can utilize their strengths and expertise to provide exceptional support to our franchise network.”

SOURCE FirstLight Home Care