When I look back over SelectCare’s history from the beginning in 1985 to the present, I think of two things: how the hard work of my coworkers and colleagues has grown and improved our community, and how our goals remain timeless. 

In the early 1980’s, basic home care regulations and best practices were just becoming standardized. The quality of HHA training programs varied and new home care agencies sprang up overnight.  Many of these new companies were offshoots of temp agencies where secretarial and home health care assignments were managed from the same desk.

My husband and I met in 1980 while working for a national health care chain in California.  Two years later, we were offered positions with a large temporary staffing agency that hoped to branch into the home care industry in NYC.

In 1985, a group of local investors took notice of our growing business and offered an opportunity to build a freestanding home care company.  We could drop the staffing agency model and focus on what mattered most: providing the best, most consistent care for our clients.  It wasn’t the easiest or most profitable way to do business, but it was the right way.

As the Department of Health gradually enacted policies to improve accountability and standardize patient care services, SelectCare Home Care Services was regarded as an industry leader thanks to our team’s dedication to patient care experience.

The 2001 terror attacks impacted all of us deeply, but our dedication to the safety of our clients is stronger than ever.

SelectCare has provided care during incredibly challenging times. We served HIV and AIDS patients during the height of the AIDS crisis, delivered service through transit strikes, blizzards, and blackouts.  We grieved together on 9/11, but never lost sight of our duty to provide comfort and support to our caregivers and clients.

The Covid pandemic tested all of us and refueled our commitment to our clients, caregivers, and community. SelectCare’s office never closed.  Our staff arrived every day, certain only of uncertainty as we navigated supply and staffing disruptions.

I will forever be thankful for our caregivers during this time, compassionate, courageous women and men whom I am very proud to call friends and colleagues.

Storms and other weather emergencies are a fact of life in New York. SelectCare’s staff works tirelessly to provide service despite these challenges.

SelectCare Director of Nursing Kelly Takemura, MSN, RN was our rock during this period, providing  calm, thoughtful leadership when others would have given up. Kelly’s leadership was highlighted in the Home Care Association of America Magazine Summer edition 2020 page 9.

Pat and I cannot express enough our thanks to our caregivers, administrators and community partners that have allowed us to protect the independence, health and happiness of our clients.

A lot can change in thirty eight years, but the truly important things remain the same. SelectCare was founded with the conviction that every one of our clients deserves the right person in their home.  I am proud to say that to this day, we remain true to our founding principles.