When Adam Loomis’ grandmother neared the end of her life, his family made the difficult decision to move her into an assisted living home.

“She’d lived in her home for more than 50 years,” said Loomis. “If my family would have had the resources to have her at her house, or the means or ability to have a caretaker there, they would have. Unfortunately, they couldn’t.”

Loomis noticed a little bit of life in his grandmother’s eyes faded the day she had to move out of her home.

“My grandma was one of the most amazing people in the world,” he said. “She wouldn’t complain, but I knew it hurt her. It was very sad. It really impacted me.”

A decade later, with the memory of his grandmother still tugging at his heart, Loomis underwent a surgery that left him out of commission for more than four months.

“It made me realize what it is to be in a position where you can’t take care of yourself,” he said.

His wife, Shana Duncan, had to assist Loomis with his day-to-day activities, like getting dressed or making meals. Luckily, she had 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry to help make life a little easier for her husband.

It got the couple thinking about their careers and how they could make life better for others in situations like Loomis or his late grandmother by providing in-home care.

“We started researching significantly,” said Loomis. “We looked at several franchises—some of the national big name brands.”

Loomis and Duncan took immediately to the Right at Home franchise’s business model.

“This company believes in what they’re doing and they’re doing it for the right reasons. They want to help people,” said Loomis.

Right at Home offers in-home companionship, personal care and assistance for seniors and disabled adults who want to continue living independently. But buying into the franchise wasn’t as easy as signing some papers.

“I assumed because we were wanting to buy a franchise, they’d be like, ‘Here you go,’ and then they flipped the script and were interviewing us,” said Duncan. “They were doing research to make sure we were doing it for the right reasons. It’s a great feeling to know they’re actually checking in with people they’re working with. We wanted to align ourselves with this company because they really do care.”

Right at Home has more than 500 franchise locations in the U.S. and seven other countries. There are franchises in Seattle, but Loomis and Duncan are the first in the southeast part of Washington. Their territory covers Walla Walla to Grandview.

“We’re in the process of getting our home care license for the state of Washington and going through policies and procedures right now,” said Duncan.

Right at Home will provide services for as little as an hour a day to around-the-clock care, depending on a client’s needs. Caregivers will be vetted through a strict process that includes background checks and training. They are also bonded and insured before entering clients’ homes. The couple expects to hire about a dozen caregivers initially, both part-time and full-time positions. Fees for service are per hour dependent on the type of services being requested, said Duncan.

After the initial phone call with clients, Loomis or Duncan will do in-home consultations to learn more about the clients and their needs. And to help them match the proper caregiver to the client.

“If they’re looking for a companion, we’re going to look at the caregivers in our system who know how to play bridge,” said Duncan. “Or maybe they need someone who has an expertise in Alzheimer and dementia care. Through custom-care plans, we’ll carefully match our caregivers with clients.”

Medicare does not reimburse for Right at Home services, however, Medicaid will provide a waiver to cover services.

“But the majority of our clients are going to be private pay, veterans or long-term care insurance or estate planning,” she said.

There are other in-home care agencies in the region that provide similar services, but the couple feels that Right at Home is unique with its custom care plans that help provide that next level of care, including helping with the transition from hospitals or healthcare facility to home, also known as Care Transitions.

Often patients are readmitted because they’ve received new medication and they can’t keep track of what they’re taking, said Duncan, adding that one out of five is readmitted within 30 days of leaving the hospital.

“They’ve been in the hospital with help, and then they’re released and it’s a lot to take care of. Multiply that with cognitive difficulty and it would be scary,” said Duncan. “We can help them with transportation, medication and meal preparation. And it’s been proven that we can help avoid those readmissions.”

For more information about Right at Home, visit rightathome.net. Right at Home is at 8382 Gage Blvd., Kennewick.