It was like planting a mustard seed… three friends gathered 19 years ago to talk about what they would do when retirement day would come. Many ideas came up but what helped us in our decision that time were our personal and professional experiences. Two of us are nurses and one is a business graduate; we finally zeroed in on a home health services which was not existing in the City (and I think not even in our country at that time).
We envisioned an agency which would provide caregivers (nurses, midwives, trained personnel) to families in their homes and similar settings during their time of need.
After several brainstorming sessions, a feasibility study on establishing a home health care agency (conducted then by students of the SU College of Nursing), and introducing our business plan to doctors and nurses in the three hospitals in the community, as well as praying for God’s guidance, we finally implemented our plans.
Business permits from the Mayor’s office and other government offices were obtained, we chose a name for the agency, cleared it with the Department of Trade & Industry, designed the logo, read up about home health care in the US, purchased durable hospital equipment (like beds, wheelchairs, crutches, oxygen gauges, portable oxygen tanks, suction apparatus), interviewed applicants for the staff and personnel, and invited family and friends here and abroad to buy stocks.
We also delineated the boundaries in the north, south, east and west parts of our City. If our caregiver will have to cross the sea, or go out of the designated boundaries, she would have to be on her own.
Our legal counsel drafted a contract with clients, and our accountant handled our finances and books. After many delays, we finally inaugurated SureCare Home Health Services on Nov. 28, 1998 at the Tayko compound along Rovira Road in barangay Bantayan. It was attended by Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo and prominent members of the community. The affair was televised; we also had flyers inserted in newspapers, and brochures distributed in hospitals and hotels. We, the members of the Board, took turns managing SureCare.
Our first client was a lady who was admitted in a hospital. I did the preliminary assessment, formulated a nursing care plan for her, and assigned her a caregiver. The positive feedback we got from her family made us feel proud of what we were doing.
Our clients span the whole lifespan, with varied health conditions and challenges for the disabled, the chronically-ill, the elderly. We’ve had our share of ups and down in the healthcare business in the last 19 years but through God’s grace, we have been able to surmount them.
We must have done something good for our community – providing jobs, easing caregiver burden, allowing the patient to recover in the comfort and security of his home and to have more independence, helping the family financially (as homecare is less expensive), and ensuring safety.
We thank God, our patients, and their families for trusting on SureCare to help others.
SureCare Home Health Services is now at the JC & I Bldg. (across Senior Citizens Center), Ipil St., Daro. Open on weekdays, 8am-5pm. On-call 24/7: 225-8515; 422-0181; 0926-593-8668.
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Author’s email: ntayko@yahoo.com
