Hazleton Area Business Citizen July 2014 | Page 10

Hazleton Area Business Citizen

Pennsylvania that helps us to help those particular clients.
Most people think of Comfort Keepers as only senior
care. They’re thinking of people in their eighties and above
who may be frail and getting over an ailment or trying
to stay in their homes as long as possible, and that is the
majority. The average client that we have, we see twenty
hours a week. That’s our average.
HABC: What is the range of time in care which
Comfort Keepers provides?
Marlin Duncan: Anywhere from four hours a week
minimum all the way up to twenty-four hours a day.
HABC: What do you see as a major challenge in
your industry?
Marlin Duncan: The issue of coordinated in-home care is
a challenging model, and that’s the reason most home care
agencies do not choose this model. They choose a model
that is much more centered on “you tell me what I need to
do, and I will do it for you.” Whereas, we’re in a situation
where “here’s your situation, this is what we recommend,”
and we will orchestrate that and follow up. That’s a
very challenging model, and that’s why most people in
this industry don’t do it. Today there are very, very few
interactive care coordinators. Actually, I was the one who
coined the term “coordinated in-home care.” Currently, we
have about fifty offices in the Comfort Keepers franchise
system following what we’ve designed here in Hazleton.

develop systems. What you find in a lot of smaller home
care agencies is that the owner of the business gets sucked
into the day-to-day operations and they’re actually doing it.
In fact, in many cases, they’re going out and doing the care,
too. And when you go out and you’re doing the care, you
don’t have time to make sure things are being done properly,
because, in this industry, there is doing things right and
there is doing the right things. You’ve got to have a m