Each week on “Caring for Seniors,” our hosts sit down with those who are hard at work in the community, making sure our elders are properly cared for. This week, David Stieglitz and Adrienne Houghton talk to Daniel Cano from Her Heart Assisted Living.
Her Heart Assisted Living is a family owned and operatesd, two-facility assisted living home, in Jacksonville- Autumn Village and Fort Caroline Gardens.
To learn more, visit http://herheartalf.com.
Short Company Description: We are a family that owns and operates two assisted living facilities in Jacksonville- Autumn Village and Fort Caroline Gardens. Our Mission is to provide a loving home and exceptional care to our family of residents. We provide a wide range of care for our residents, including memory care and limited mental health services. We also provide Adult Daytime Care. We are flexible with payer sources, including private pay, Long Term Care Insurance, Medicaid Waiver, and VA aid and attendance. We work hard to ensure that our residents are able to age in place, partnering with onsite Primary Care and pharmacy, home health services and hospice so that our residents needs can be met in our home. We have the best staff, best managers, and best administrative team in NE Florida. Our loving staff works hard to ensure that we are a home where your family becomes our family.
What makes your company unique?: Our family approach to business puts residents before profit. We strive to make all our decision making go through the filter of “what is best for the resident?” We also are one of the largest privately owned and operated ALFs in Northeast Florida. Our staff loves our residents more than anyone else out there.
How did you get your start in the industry?: Our founder and my mom started in the industry by caring for residents in our own home over 40 years ago. She learned early on that she had a passion and a gift to care for the elderly. So our upbringing was shared with both residents being in our home or us being in the residents’ home. Mornings were spent picking up residents for appointments on the way to school, afternoons were spent at the homes doing homework, practicing piano, sneaking some canned peaches out of the pantry, and entertaining ourselves any way we could. And evenings were often spent waiting on mom to finish her grocery shopping. Mom’s business is not something we appreciated when we were kids and sadly it was not something we were proud of. We didn’t understand the sacrifices she was making to provide a better life for us and for others. So as adults none of us immediately gravitated towards senior care. What I hope I did inherit from mom is her heart to love and serve others. My education and background is actually in church ministry. It wasn’t until around 9 years ago that I realized my heart for ministry could better be utilized in administration than in the pulpit. So I stepped in almost a decade ago to help mom run this large business that she had built… and we have continued to build upon the foundation and dream that she has passed on to us.
How is your business handling the COVID situation?: By balancing both the need for strict precautions with the quality of life that our residents deserve.
What advice would you give to someone just getting their start in the industry?: Make sure your heart is in the right place. There are easier and less stressful ways to make money. If you are considering doing this because you love people, then give us a call. There aren’t enough good places in Jacksonville and we would be happy to help anyone that wants to serve the elderly.
What’s your favorite way to get involved in the community?: First of all I genuinely try to keep my eyes open for opportunities to serve and love. I think that’s what give me life and fulfills my purpose. On top of that, my wife and I have 4 active kids that keep us busy and involved. I’m also a part of a great community of believers at River City Church, a network of business owners in a group called C12, and an awesome group of Crossfitters at CrossFit Jax Beach. My friends and I at all these places lean on each other and build each other up.
