How a home health care business weathered the pandemic

Nicole Laborde believes that there is a solution for every problem. Though the pandemic tested her, she held fast to her truth.

For Laborde, a registered nurse, founder and CEO of Ideal Home Healthcare Services and the Ideal School of Allied Healthcare in Hauppauge, the hurdles were personal and professional. She and her husband got COVID. His case was more severe than hers. Thankfully they are both OK.

Through it all she had two businesses to run. COVID hit her industry, home health care especially hard as many people feared having anyone other than members of their household in their homes, and many schools of all types shut down, temporarily or for an extended period.

While Laborde's school, which provides training for a variety of health care workers, closed from mid-March through mid-June in 2020, not only has she since remained open, but she also managed to grow enrollment 30% during the pandemic and to keep 80% of her home health care staff.

Laborde shares how she found answers to the challenges posed by the pandemic.

What was your strategy for being able to keep your home health aides?

Everybody was afraid, but they braved it through the storm. We got them essential PPE. We had an app that every morning before they went to work, they had to do the self-assessment screening. If they answered yes to having a fever, cough, tiredness or other symptoms, they couldn’t work. A nurse would get in touch with them. We called our workers to encourage them. We changed how we do some things, like using the same staff person in a household, not switching, not bringing in new people which could expose an older, invalid or sick person to a greater COVID risk. This required effort but was necessary for safety and stability.

How did you grow enrollment at the school?

A lot of students were worried that we wouldn’t reopen. My staff reached out to students a few times a week to check in on them and to let them know we were committed to coming back. They kept their faith in us, and they all returned. We grew as we increased our advertising on social media, Facebook and Instagram. It also became clear from media accounts that health care workers were in great demand and with new appreciation for these workers there was increased interest in the field. Some people who were laid off from their jobs began looking for opportunities to shift careers.

Despite your success during the crisis, what challenges remain?

It’s a struggle to find qualified RNs to train my students, especially hard to find RNs who also speak Spanish. I need more funding to continue an increased level of advertising. I’m also competing with government unemployment; some people are choosing to stay out of the work force. Then when it comes to office workers that I need to hire, people want to work remotely, which isn’t ideal for us, so yes, there are challenges.

You faced a lot personally and professionally — what kept you going?

My faith. There’s where my strength came from during the fire. I don’t know where I would have been without my faith in God. I know that for every problem there is a solution. I rest on the fact that things will get better.

What lessons did the pandemic teach you?

Life is very short. Enjoy every moment. The pandemic showed the importance of and the need for well-trained health care staff. Our eyes are now open. The health care system needs to be better for patients and health care providers.