Two decades ago, Phyllis “Carol” Bruce of Cedar Hill and her relatives were in a tough spot.
Bruce’s mother needed in-home assistance after a stroke, but there wasn’t anything suitable locally.
When the family hired a St. Louis agency, the aides were unreliable. One would come for a couple of weeks, but suddenly not show up. The situation became untenable.
Bruce, at age 58, decided to do something about it. In 1998, having discovered an unmet need in her own community, and with her daughter, Erin, at her side, Bruce started a new business – Wilkerson Health Care, providing in-home assistance for the ill, the elderly and people with short- or long-term disabilities.
The business was named after Carol’s mother, Luvenia, whose maiden name was Wilkerson.
“My mother said, ‘This is ridiculous. I can do better than this,’” Erin Bruce said.
And so, she did.
Starting in June of that year, Carol and Erin began the process to open the business – learning the ropes, developing a business plan, preparing the necessary paperwork and filing it with the state. By August, they were ready to open.
“We took our first client and hired our first aide,” Erin said.
Carol, a registered nurse, brought those skills to the table, and Erin, who was a stay-at-home mother at the time, had a background in health aide work.
From the start, Erin took on the operational side of the business – hiring, payroll, administration, – the job she still holds today as office administrator.
Back in 1998, “I brought my daughter (then about 3 years old) to work with me,” Erin recalls.
Today, that little girl, Brandi Cromer, 24, is a full-time college student, bent on a career in medicine. She works in the family business as a home health aide, and one of Erin’s two sons works in the office.
Wilkerson Home Care (the name the business goes by, to better describe the services it provides) now has a staff of 40 to 50 employees, and will be looking to replenish its “core team” at the Jefferson County Job Fair from 3-7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23, at the Fox C-6 Service Center, 849 Jeffco Blvd., in Arnold.
The business started in Cedar Hill but eventually moved to High Ridge. Its coverage area has grown to 10 counties.
“We’re pretty proud of it,” Erin Bruce said.
Wilkerson caregivers provide services that help clients stay at home.
“They (aides) have to be able to do some lifting,” Bruce said. “(Tasks might involve) grocery shopping, cleaning, personal care and homemaker chores, running errands, whatever is needed. We work to get this person back to normal.”
Some of the agency’s employees are long-term – with 10 to 15 years’ tenure – while others are newer hires.
Ages of employees run the gamut, Bruce said.
“I have excellent aides in their early 20s and one in her 70s who is extremely reliable,” Bruce said.
With today’s competitive hiring climate, Wilkerson Home Care works hard to provide job satisfaction for its workforce, she said.
Visits to clients are worked around an aide’s availability, with a consistent schedule. And with a 10-county range, employees are assigned to clients who are closer by.
“They can work where they live and have a decent schedule – not random,” Bruce said.
Aides stick with the same clients, and along with their tasks, they provide companionship. Bonds develop, making the job extra rewarding.
“My daughter loves being in the field. Clients get used to the same, consistent aide every week, and you get a good fit,” Bruce said. “If the aide has a conflict and can’t come at the scheduled time, we get back, ‘Well, if you can’t send so-and-so, I’ll wait.”
Carol Bruce is now 79, and still stops by the office from time to time, to check how things are going at the business that was one of her best ideas ever. Erin started her journey with Wilkerson Health Care at age 32 and is now 53.
Luvenia lived long enough to be a Wilkerson Home Care client herself, passing away about four years after the business opened.
“You aren’t allowed to send family members as an aide,” Erin said, “but we were able to handpick (her caregiver).
“She (Luvenia) was an awesome person who raised seven children, losing one in the Korean War. She was working in her garden every day until her stroke.”
With the help of Wilkerson Home Care, Luvenia was able to stay home until her death at age 97.
For Carol Bruce, it was a mission accomplished.