COLUMBUS, Ohio — Kara Clark has a heart for serving others.
“Health care is my passion and more importantly, people are my love,” said Clark, owner of Purple Hearts Home Health.
Inspired by the military who give their lives to serve their country and earn a purple heart, Clark’s Purple Hearts Home Health agency is all about serving others in the comfort of their homes.
“The objective is to try to keep people in their homes so they can live out their golden years at home because, you know, it changes things once you go to a nursing home, you don’t have the same rights, you don’t have the same freedom,” said Clark.
She’s worked in the health care industry for years but after being laid off by her job, she decided to open her own agency in 2020.
“I know this is my purpose. I know this proposal to do. I’m supposed to service people. And that doesn’t mean just one way. It’s a lot of different ways to service people,” said Clark.
As the owner, this mother of four dispatches home health aides to different clients across franklin county to assist them with any of their non-medical needs.
“So we send out home health aides to go and help people with maybe transportation to the store, helping them clean, maybe helping them in the shower, medication reminders,” said Clark.
Melissa Gualtieri from the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging said the need for this type of work is critical.
“The nursing shortage in Ohio is exponential, and especially in home health. Home health nurses make less money. They have to travel between homes. A lot of times they’re traveling long distances and they don’t get mileage reimbursement,” said the director of clinical innovation for the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging, Melissa Gualtieri.
And although Clark isn’t working with certified nurses, Gualtieri is happy to hear that Clark is taking initiative and starting her own business to help with the demand of help at home.
“it’s something that’s desperately needed. You know, we need to be innovative and, you know, think about how are we going to close the gaps in care,” said Gualtieri.
“I’m blessed. I have an amazing support team. I a support system of people who help me, my family, a couple of friends that help out with my kids if I need them to. My kids are very understanding of what mommy does,” said Clark.
Clark says Purple Hearts Home Health is all about accommodation and flexibility because life is different for us all especially when it comes to finances.
“I try to make the cost effective for the family. I try to do it around what they’re comfortable with because everybody can’t afford the kind of services that somebody might need,” said Clark.
To learn more about Purple Hearts Home Health, click here.
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