Helping Seniors Stay Home: Rockland Native Expands Local Business

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — A Rockland native is returning home to expand a family business helping seniors in Orange and Rockland counties age safely in their homes.

Vishal and Leia Patel opened their first Right at Home territory serving Highland Falls after the start of the COVID pandemic. When they found out that the owner of the Right at Home franchise in Rockland and Orange counties was looking to sell the adjacent territory, Patel jumped at the opportunity to not only expand his business but serve the community he grew up in.

"We’re looking to help as many people as we can, from transportation to live-in services," he told Patch.

Staying in your own home as you get older is called "aging in place." However, according to the National Institute on Aging, many older adults and their families have concerns about safety, getting around, or other daily activities. Living at home as you age requires careful consideration and planning, the NIA said.

Their clients are dedicated to staying home, Patel said, specially since the pandemic. "With all that happened in the nursing homes, everybody knows, nobody wants to go to those facilities," he said.

That's one reason they've grown Highland Falls' Right at Home revenues from about $200 a week to $15,000 a week in under two years. He expects to replicate that success in their newly acquired territory.

Patel grew up in New Hempstead and attended St. Augustine’s School in New City. He went to work in the family business, which is the hotel industry. He spent years in Indiana before moving back in 2017, settling in Highland Falls.

"I still work in hospitality with family owned hotels," he said.

My wife was ready to get back into the workforce as our children were getting older," he said. So they looked for an investment opportunity and Right at Home fit the bill.

He and his wife complement each other's skills, he said.

"What she likes is helping other people," he explained. "When I turned 40 I recognized my strengths are in HR: finding people, leading people."

And managing personnel is one of the biggest challenges in the senior-care industry.

"One of the biggest challenges is attracting and retaining caregivers," he said. "Our main qualification for our caregivers is that they’re in this for the right reasons. We want to be able to look in their eyes and see that."

Sometimes they recruit a good candidate and take them through the four-hour orientation, but a case doesn't materialize.

"I have to tell them 'I don’t want to hold you back if you have another opportunity' but we stay connected," he said. "Then if a case comes through we connect if they’re still available."

Sometimes they've had good caregivers leave and come back. For example, nursing students often take on health-care companion work during breaks from school, Patel said. "We keep the relationship up. Part of it is team building."

Some cases are just companion care, and others are a little more intense. Client needs run from transportation, to help with errands and activities of daily life, to live-in services.

"We’re looking for great caregivers and we’re looking to help as many people as we can," he said.

They found themselves proud to know that their service is needed. "We still need to profit — and the only way we can do it is by caring," he said.