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FirstLight HomeCare provides service to area seniors
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Michael Senchak (left) and Dave Stewart are two of the owners of FirstLight HomeCare, which has been open for about a year. The third owner is Michael's dad, Mike Senchak.
By TIM CLEVELAND
Since FirstLight HomeCare opened on Aug. 1, 2013, the business has grown rapidly.
FirstLight HomeCare, located at 5437 Mahoning Ave., Suite 1, now employs 55 caregivers under owners Michael Senchak, Dave Stewart and Michael’s father Mike Senchak. The trio is seeking to add another 10 employees in the next month.
“We’ve grown at a much faster rate than we anticipated,” Michael Senchak said. “We’re currently at 55 employees, so we’ve been able to provide a lot of jobs in the Valley. We’re actually hiring right now for another full-time position in the office and more caregivers.”
FirstLight HomeCare is based in Cincinnati and has 150 franchises around the country. The Senchaks and Stewart have the Mahoning Valley territory. The company provides non-medical home care. It goes through a rigorous screening process for home health aides and caregivers. Once prospective employees are screened, the company uses a process which includes a personality assessment to match caregivers with clients. Clients may have specific needs, like help around the house, meal preparation, light housekeeping, or they may need assistance with bathing and activities with daily living. Caregivers go into the homes and meet the needs of their clients.
“My dad and I always wanted to start a business together,” Michael Senchak said of about how the idea to start the company came about. “He had already done a lot of his own things. Him and I had talked about doing a business together at some point. That was always a dream of mine and his. Dave had his own business for 15 years.
“We wanted to do something as far as business. We came across this and we saw the need in the Valley because of our own personal family experiences. My dad had started a nonprofit hospital [Mahoning Valley Hospital] and ran that for nine years. He also had the connection to health care. The three of us decided that we wanted to provide some benefit to the Mahoning Valley.”
Michael said his family was struggling to find good care for his grandmother, while Stewart said he was having issues with several family members.
“Both of my parents are in their 80s and they’re trying to stay in their home,” Stewart said. “My mother-in-law after 10 years of being on her own after my father-in-law passed, she decided she didn’t want to be alone, so she moved in with my wife and I. I had an aunt that I took care of until she passed last November and she had a disabled daughter that I’m still looking after. In trying to take care of my family members and the different needs they had, I kind of struggled sometimes in finding the resources in the Valley and finding the good care I would trust with my loved ones.”
Michael and Stewart met while Michael was studying project management at Youngstown State. Stewart was his instructor in the class.
“I was an adjunct faculty member at YSU and that’s where I met Michael,” Stewart said. “I hired him at my last company and we worked there together for about a year and became good friends. We decided to look into businesses. We looked at different options and then because of the need we saw in the area, that’s why we went into this particular area.”
The trio won the Fast Start Office Award for Spring 2014 in recognition for its quick growth.
While FirstLight HomeCare has been serving clients in Trumbull County since its beginning, the company doesn’t have an office there yet. The Senchaks and Stewart plan to change that in early 2015. They have yet to select a site but are looking at several options.
Stewart said what sets FirstLight HomeCare apart from other similar businesses is its commitment to providing personal care.
“I think one of the things that differentiates us from some of the other companies that are out there is we focus on hiring the best caregivers that we provide great service to our clients and we also are very particular about our follow-up,” he said. “We never send a caregiver out to a home and just knock on the door and say hi. Michael or I will personally introduce every caregiver the first time they go out to a client. It doesn’t matter if it’s a 11 o’clock at night shift or a 7 a.m. shift. We make sure they know that’s the person that’s supposed to be in their home and it’s clear what kind of services they’re to provide. We also follow-up with our clients on a regular basis to make sure they’re getting the care they deserve to get.”
Anyone seeking FirstLight HomeCare’s services can call 330-318-3234.