Owner, 24/7 Nightingale Home Care
I met Johana while networking. She was the first to meet my “stretch my comfort zone” goal because I’d barely talked to her before I decided I wanted to interview her. She radiated, “I’m cool with whatever,” and I knew.
Johana has been in home care for over 23 years, starting as a care giver. When her boss got pregnant, the company asked her to come into the office on a part-time basis. Part-time led to full-time. Because she was in the office full-time, Johana was able to go back to school and received her licensed vocational nurse (LVN) credential.
Eventually her boss retired and sold the business to a corporation. They made Johana a Branch Manager; then in 2019, they let her go.
Initially, Johana started applying for jobs. However, she soon decided that she really wanted to start her own business. When job offers started to come in, she turned them down with great appreciation. Those organizations supported her new venture – and 24/7 Nightingale Home Care was born. In fact, the bigger home care companies are Johana’s best source of referrals because their systems are not equipped to deal with the smaller cases that are exactly what Johana is looking for.
As a brand-new business owner, COVID hit Johana hard. Suddenly, most people have a small group of safe people they interact with, and an outside care giver is not one of them. 24/7 Nightingale’s client base became people who literally had no one else. Luckily, by June of 2020 COVID restrictions eased enough that Johana and her team were on hand for the increased need.
Now that COVID is more a fact of life than a pandemic, 24/7 Nightingale is finding their stride. Johana is extremely grateful to the Concord Chamber of Commerce for the training, guidance, and sales support they have available.
Johana’s day is filled primarily with talking to people and problem solving. (Her phone is an extra appendage and she’s grateful for the ease that texting has added to her life.) Next there’s the business owner stuff – email, marketing, etc. However, her favorite task is meeting with people face-to-face. She conducts all the initial consultations and regularly checks in for changes in conditions.
While Johana has her LVN, she does not offer skilled nursing care. Her team provides minor housework, personal assistance, medication reminders, transportation, and more. Most importantly, they provide company for their clients and give families a break from the additional stresses of caring for a loved one.
