SYNERGY Homecare Fortifies Its Presence in Northwestern Oregon
September 18, 2024 // Franchising.com // Tempe, Ariz. – SYNERGY® HomeCare has announced its newest franchise located in northwestern Oregon, SYNERGY HomeCare of Salem.
The company is owned and operated by Viki Fort and Jennifer Giese, both of whom have a background in caregiving as well as working in upper-level management. After experiencing quick success working together in previous roles, the pair decided to combine their passions and skillsets to open a caregiving business of their own.
Headquartered at 3855 River Road North in Keizer, the company is situated just outside of Salem and will serve the city as well as Benton, Lincoln, Marion, Polk, and Yamhill counties. Fort, Giese, and their team of professional caregivers will provide these communities with a wide variety of non-medical, in-home care options including companion care, personal care, and respite care. Giese also has experience working with retired veterans and is happy to lend specialized assistance to those who served.
Giese has spent her entire life giving back to the older adults in her community. Dating back to her days in middle school, she volunteered at assisted living facilities during the holidays, which then inspired her to go on to spend 25 years in the healthcare industry. During this time, she obtained her CNA certification, worked as an ER technician, and was the office manager and administrator of a surgery center. Giese then went back to her roots working with older adults, as she took on the mantle of Operations Manager at an in-home care agency, where she realized she had the tools and capabilities to open a home care agency of her own.
Joining Giese in ownership is Fort, who also has caregiving roots dating back to her teenage years. As a child, Fort worked alongside her grandmother in a state-run facility that cared for people of all ages with developmental disabilities. After spending her early adult life working in real estate, Giese helped reignite Fort’s passion for caring for at-risk demographics. Fort joined Giese in working at an in-home care agency, where the duo excelled in client management and helped the business take off. This experience gave the duo the confidence to venture into entrepreneurship, while also proving that caregiving was the industry meant for them.
“I can’t imagine working in any other field besides caregiving,” said Fort. “I loved working alongside Jenn and watching our previous business grow, but it was the calls from clients talking about the impact that we made that meant the most to me. We both understand how stressful dealing with disabilities or the aging process can be, but together, we know we have the strength and knowledge to be a source of support for people, no matter how difficult their circumstances may be.”
Based on their previous experience working at an in-home care agency, Fort and Giese have three main principles that they believe should guide any successful caregiving business: accountability, authenticity, and responsiveness. Clients of SYNERGY HomeCare of Salem will never deal with an automated response or cookie-cutter care plan, instead, there will always be a human voice on the other end of the line, talking through each issue and creating fully personalized care plans to keep people in their homes for as long as possible. Upon arrival, Fort and Giese also promise to deliver caring, capable and invested caregivers, who truly want to do good for the family bringing them into their home.
“I spent a lot of my career interacting with people who simply needed companionship in their time of need,” said Giese. “Nursing homes, hospitals, and other medical facilities can be lonely and depressing, which is what kept me motivated to be the light for the people there. Fortunately, Viki and I have backgrounds that allow us to help prevent people from being admitted to these places for as long as possible. We want to bring love into people’s homes and make a positive difference in families' everyday lives.”
Salem’s significant senior population often needs to rely on caregivers for additional assistance cooking, shopping, running errands, doing light housekeeping, or going for walks. Some even require personal care, such as help with bathing, dressing, or using the toilet.
“Jenn and I will never shy away from an ask, no matter how big or small,” said Viki. “We want to normalize relying on outside help for care, and more importantly, we want to provide that care without sacrificing a client’s dignity or independence.”
SOURCE SYNERGY HomeCare
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