Business: Nurse Next Door, West Connecticut

Address: 755 Main Street, Building 1, Monroe

Owner: Allison Hulme

What is your business background? “I’ve been a nurse for 15 years this May … I took it a really strange route … I gave birth to my fifth child during my last week of nursing school. I went to nursing school when I was 37, and I got my bachelor’s degree in nursing from Sacred Heart University when I was 41 … I was in an RN to MSN program at Sacred Heart University, and I was at a turning point in my career where I felt like I wanted to grow and do something more. I had been in home health for 11 years as an RN case manager, and my choice was do I finish my masters because I had eight classes left and become a nurse practitioner … or do I go into education, or administration? And I just felt like I was drawn to stay in home health … I really love what I do and I love the one-on-one care you give as a nurse. I see caregivers everyday like CNAs, and I know that they can find joy in helping people and it can be done better … You’re limited when you work for a large hospital, or a large company, by insurance guidelines, 99% of the patients are Medicare or Medicaid. It’s a different world of making sure that you’re following the Medicare guidelines when your focus really should be on who is this person? What are they going through? How is their family dynamic dealing with this, and how can I help them have a better life? Imagine that. And that’s not what happens when you’re working for a larger nursing company or a hospital. It’s hard to do that on a larger scale. So that’s why I thought, ‘If I can find a company that focused on the whole person and really improving their lives — helping them find their joy again, as well as, of course, taking care of their medical and clinical needs, and keeping them safe at home,’ but there’s more than that … And so when I saw Nurse Next Door and I read about their culture about really trying to help people come alive again. Like, just because you’re 90 years old, doesn’t mean that you can’t have your own opinions and direct your own life and have your own choices, and do what makes you happy. Maybe you can’t do it the same way you used to, maybe we have to modify it, but let’s set some goals, and some bold dreams, and let’s make it happen. And that’s one of the things that Nurse Next Door has, these ideas of ‘make it happen, let’s make it happen.’ Why not?”

What is your business’ focus? “The focus is on helping people find [and] reclaim their joy again at any age … So when you’re thinking about a home health agency, you don’t really think about how you’re going to make that person’s life better. You’re thinking, ‘I need a nurse or a companion or a CNA, or someone to help keep my dad safe.’ But you’re really not thinking about that fact that he used to love to play dominoes, and he was the president of the dominoes club, and wouldn’t it be great if someone would actually play dominoes with him? Or gardening, or bird watching, whatever it may be that they loved.”

What is something important to you that readers should know about your business? “Nurse Next Door is not for everyone. We are private pay. We don’t accept insurance … I pay my caregivers far more than any other agency. I want my caregivers to feel that they don’t have to work three jobs in order to make a living. I want them to feel valued and appreciated, so we have bold wages for my caregivers. We are a little bit more expensive … but I really do believe that it’s because we value who we are sending to your home … I’ll also be the first person to personally refer you to another agency or a caregiver who’s private. I’m always here to help. I also can advocate on behalf of patients.”

Hours: “We’re kind of 24/7. You can reach a live person from Nurse Next Door 24/7 because our Vancouver call center staffs our care & consult intake team in three shifts of eight. So, this is not an answering service … this is an actual person who has access to my staff, who has access to my calendars, and can schedule people and can take all the information over the phone and can e-mail you personally all the details of what we can do for you. So, it’s a real actual consult … The hours in the office are limited.”

Website: nursenextdoor.com, enter zip code to work with Nurse Next Door West Connecticut

Phone: 24/7 call number 203-930-2959; office manager 203-447-8005

E-mail: allison.hulme@nursenextdoor.com