Jerome Philips Awarded Franchisee of the Year by IFA

Jerome Philips IFA Franchisee of the Year

The International Franchise Association (IFA) named Jerome Philips of A Place At Home – South Portland as Franchisee of the Year. Philips was honored at IFA’s 62nd Annual Convention in San Diego, California, for being an outstanding franchise establishment owner-operator.

“Franchisee of the Year Awards are the highest honors presented to individual franchisees,” said Matthew Haller, President and CEO of the International Franchise Association. “These local business owners, like Jerome, represent some of the best entrepreneurs in the country. We are proud to recognize his contributions to his community, his employees, and all those he serves.” 

The Franchisee of the Year Award recognizes leading franchisees who exemplify at least one of IFA’s “Open for Opportunity” core pillars: Community, Workforce, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Veterans. 

Philips Committed to Change

Philips is passionate about keeping seniors in their homes longer, with a better quality of life. That mission means providing his clients with safe and effective care and ensuring that his caregivers have a safe and inclusive environment with which to provide that service. 

Over the years, Portland has struggled with racial and cultural disparity within its local healthcare system. This has made providing safe and quality care difficult. In the past, clients and other customers have had the option to say they don’t want care provided by someone with an accent or from a particular ethnic background. And healthcare agencies have had the option of accommodating those requests. 

Jerome’s stance on these issues goes beyond how he operates A Place At Home. He’s committed to seeing a change from a higher level. He partnered with the Oregon Healthcare Association (OHCA). Together, they’ve advocated for their caregivers. They’ve had discussions with legislators at a state-level expressing their concerns. “We’re talking to them and giving them very real stories. They really don’t understand what it’s like for our employees.” He is working to break down roadblocks and navigate barriers to lift up the people in his community. Read the complete story here.

Beyond advocating for inclusion, Jerome is the first owner to add an additional office strictly for training his caregivers. His commitment to providing compassionate care with passionate professionals won him Home Care Pulse’s Top Client and Top Caregiver Satisfaction awards. He is passionate about improving his community, building his caregivers up, and creating long-term, quality relationships. On winning the award, Jerome said, “It has been an incredible journey, and couldn’t imagine a better team to guide the ride with. This award is shared with every A Place At Home location, new and old, as they have all provided the mentorship and guidance to improve our processes on a daily basis.”

Franchising Opportunities

A recent IFA study showed that franchising helped lead U.S. economic recovery in 2021, with exceptional job and business growth across all franchising sectors. The industry on average provides higher wages, better benefits, and more leave than non-franchised businesses, as well as greater opportunities to underserved communities and aspiring entrepreneurs, according to Oxford Economics research. Franchisee of the Year recipients are examples of change-makers in the franchising world. If you are interested in learning more about an A Place At Home Franchise opportunity, complete our inquiry form.

First A Place At Home Franchisees Hit CARE Pro Status

A Place At Home CARE Pro

A Place At Home created CARE Track, a 5-step senior-focused development program, to provide franchisees with the education and tools to grow and develop their A Place At Home franchise. The final stage of CARE Track is Step 5: CARE Pro.

New candidates enter CARE Track the minute they inquire about owning a franchise to determine Step 1: Are you CARE? Potential owners begin discussions with Jerod Evanich, President of A Place At Home. They take a free psychographic assessment to discover if they can measure up to A Place At Home’s top performers. 

“We want to find owners that can keep up with the extraordinary franchisees we already have but more importantly, we want to make sure the candidate’s values align with our “We are CARE” philosophy,” said Jerod Evanich, President of A Place At Home.

After a franchise is awarded, Step 2: CARE Launch begins. From there Step 3: CARE Coaching rolls out. After some time, once their business is operating, they begin to shine in Step 4: We are CARE. The final stage of CARE Track is Step 5: CARE Pro.

Becoming a CARE Pro

A Place At Home was established in 2012 and began franchising its successful business model in 2017. After 3 years, A Place At Home is happy to announce its first official CARE Pro’s: Alex Caudill of A Place At Home – Scottsdale, Sun City, and Chandler and George and Grace Bradley of A Place At Home – South Denver.

These franchisees have qualified as CARE Pro’s because they have been in business for a full year offering a continuum of care services. Also, their revenues have exceeded $500,000 annually, they’ve grown to at least three office employees, and have excellent customer and employee satisfaction scores. They even won Best of Home Care Provider of Choice and/or Best of Home Care Employer of Choice by Home Care Pulse. 

Dustin Distefano, CEO of A Place At Home, shared, “Owners that hit the CARE Pro milestone are in this for the long-term. They will become leaders in their market and will be positioned to build momentum over the next year.”

Alex and the Bradley’s will now begin working directly with Dustin on taking their business to the next level. They will have one-on-one access weekly to develop special projects such as developing staffing contracts, increasing additional service lines, and developing new payer sources. Dustin will also be on the ground with them during this time of growth. He will help ensure their infrastructure is strong to support the growth they are after in this next year. The goal is to triple their revenue by the end of their first CARE Pro year.

A Place At Home – Scottsdale, Sun City, and Chandler

After ten years as a sergeant in the Marine Corps, one of A Place At Home’s first CARE Pros, Alex Caudill, saw an opportunity to make a difference in the health sector. His military-taught values of duty, service, and self-sacrifice found new meaning when he became a franchisee of A Place At Home in 2018. 

Alex understood how crucial the first 90-180 days were and how they could define the route his business took. Alex said, “Those first months were the hardest. I was on my own trying to get those first clients. It’s important to have a plan, execute on it, and always push forward. I never got content because being content breeds complacency. If you’re always moving forward and pushing towards your goals you’ll move past any hurdles.”

Alex said he didn’t anticipate owning a multi-million dollar business with over 100 employees within 15 months of being open. He said, “it’s a reflection of my team. This shows me the wheels are turning as they’re supposed to be. Our client and satisfaction scores are good because we’re providing good care. We follow through on what we say we’ll do, and if there’s an issue we fix things in a timely manner.”

A Place At Home – South Denver

About thirteen hours northeast of Alex’s location is the first A Place At Home franchise in South Denver. Owners, George and Grace Bradley were the first franchisees taking the leap with A Place At Home in 2017, and it’s paid off as they’ve now hit CARE Pro status.

The Bradleys started looking for different franchises that serve the senior population. They reviewed 5 or 6 different FDD’s and were ready to schedule a discovery day with another franchise but spoke with Jerod at A Place At Home. “Jerod chatted away with me about what A Place At Home had to offer. There were several things that I really liked but thought the different sources of income were a great idea. There are 4 other ways to make money not just in-home care.”

George said, “It’s an honor to hit CARE Pro status. We pride ourselves in the quality of care we provide AND the quality of caregivers we provide. Our customer and client satisfaction scores are extremely important to us and we work hard to keep communication open. Becoming a CARE Pro is validation that everything we’ve been doing is working.”

Do you measure up to our top performers?

Ideal franchise owners are tenacious business builders, goal-oriented, and have a deep commitment to success. Our unique, scalable, and proven senior-focused development program allows owners to hit the ground running. Do you think you have what it takes to be a CARE Pro? See how you measure up and take our psychographic assessment online.