Plan Life Care with a Healthy Plan to Stay at Home for Growing Senior Population Sees Losing a Client as a Success Story
Daytona Beach, Fla. — Plan Life Care, LLC, a local health care and wellness company that got its start when the founder wanted to help his mother with her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, has been providing Volusia County seniors with creative ways to stay in their own homes through good common sense health improvement. The agency recently saw the loss of a client as a success.
There is a school of thought in this country that health improvement must involve cutting edge drugs and technology to be effective. That does play an important part in sickness care and many folks do need skilled nursing facilities upon release from a hospital. When home health care is started, another misconception is that it should continue for life.
Founder Anthony Ford says Plan Life Care’s common sense approach often enables clients to achieve such tremendous health improvement that they gain back their independence and no longer need his agency. And that’s how you lose clients “The right way,” Ford explained.
The client Plan Life Care recently lost (David S.) was confused, extremely weak and underweight when discharged from a hospital. “He was not able to function by himself – purchase, cook or prepare food – and seemed resigned to simply fade away,” Ford explained. “Our common sense approach of coaching, lending help and a caring hand made all the difference. He learned how to shop, store and prepare healthy food, gained weight and motivation to quit cigarettes and in short gained confidence and skills to carry on without home care. That’s the best way to lose a client,” Ford said.
“There’s been a lot of work and different ideas presented in ‘transitional care’ and hospitals have a strong incentive to manage this correctly. Ultimately common sense home care has a critical role within transitional care,” Ford added.
Plan Life Care LLC (PlanLifeCare.com) differs from similar non-skilled home care agencies in the area because their common sense approach – diet and nutrition training, companionship, coaching for modification of bad habits, medication routines and home adjustments by trained professionals – has proved to be more cost effective and less hassle than a scenario of in and out of hospitals, rehab and skilled nursing facilities.
Plan Life Care maintains that not all senior citizens need to enter nursing homes to continue leading healthy, active and rewarding lives, and families should have more options to make intelligent decisions based on individual needs.
Ford’s concept based on experience fosters the notion that good training and small changes can help the elderly stay at home safely and with just minimal help.
Plan Life Care conducts evaluations by highly trained medical personnel to determine specific individual needs for health and safety within the home. There is no cost for this initial service. Plan Life Care’s all-inclusive services even include assistance in obtaining VA benefits or Medicare / Medicaid. Services are moderately priced, which Ford attributes to effective employee management and cost controls.
All Plan Life Care employees and vendors are licensed and insured. The company hires according to best practices recommended by highly respected senior organizations such as AARP’s “HomeFit” and the Aging Life Care Assn.
“Home care is not just about maintaining health. It should improve health,” Ford emphasized.
A testimonial about Plan Life Care’s transitional care program can be viewed at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls37EHj0SEE&list=UUkMzPTMd8elOp0L37LUGC2Q&index=3
The need for more services that ensure a quality of life for the elderly has been acknowledged by the Volusia County-UCF Business Incubator, an award-winning community program helping innovative companies like Plan Life Care expand and reach their goals.
Ford originally got the client in the video from http://www.countyhealthcareguide.com another Volusia-UCF Business Incubator company that Ford values for its advertising and referrals.
“This company can change the lives of the massive senior population in our region,” said Incubator Site Manager Connie Bernal.
Plan Life Care is in the right place at the right time. The US population in general continues to get older. It recently reached 50 million seniors for the first time in history. Retiree-rich Florida is no exception. Nor is Volusia County, where almost one in four residents are older than 65.
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For more information, media contacts
Anthony Ford, Founder / CEO, Plan Life Care, LLC, 386-968-1920 anthony.ford@planlifecare.com
Connie Bernal, Associate Director / Site Manager Volusia County-UCF Business Incubator, 386-872-3100; connie.bernal@ucf.edu
Beth Payan or Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142, lvershelco@aol.com
About Anthony Ford and Plan Life Care
Anthony Ford, who has owned and managed several successful companies, became involved in senior health care while working as a project manager for a major corporation. When his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he took a leave of absence to develop a health care plan and he quickly learned it was a harder job than anyone anticipated. First he created his own plan for the correct level of care for his mother. He then had to evaluate dozens of everyday items that needed to be modified. Changes included building a step-in shower and raising the toilet seat, among many others. He also had to make plans for ongoing maintenance to keep a healthy and safe environment. “Fortunately, I had my planning background; experience owning rental properties; and a great list of trades people to call on,” he recalls. He helped train a care staff and made sure they and his mother were comfortable with each other. The whole process worked well and his mother settled very quickly into the new environment. She’s doing well and thriving. Ford says: “Health care is not just for maintaining health but it should also improve health. We have seen our clients improving in many areas, including mental engagement and even overall health.”
About the UCF Business Incubation Program
The University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program is a community resource that provides early-stage companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to become financially stable, high growth/impact enterprises. Since 1999, this award-winning program has helped over 390 local startup companies reach their potential faster by providing vital business development resources.
With seven facilities throughout the region, the UCF Business Incubation Program is an economic development partnership between the University of Central Florida, the Corridor, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties, and the cities of Apopka, Kissimmee, Orlando and Winter Springs. For the 2014/15 and 2015/16 fiscal years, the activities of these participating firms have helped to sustain more than 4,710 local jobs and have had a cumulative impact of over $725 million on regional GDP and over $1.3 billion on regional sales. During the same period, the program has returned $7.41 in state and local taxes for every $1.00 invested in the program. For more information, visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.