(Fort Worth, TX…) Fort Worth-based Caregiver, Inc.’s steep growth trajectory during the past two years has been fueled by multi-million-dollar investments in people, processes, systems and technology, all demanding a myriad of operational changes.
To meet the challenges, Caregiver CEO Mark Lashley asked his executive team to design, formalize and launch a mechanism to support and sustain effective change management. The resulting mechanism is Caregiver’s Project Management Group (PMG).
PMG’s mission is to find innovative ways of helping operational changes happen seamlessly and effectively, while creating operational efficiencies. By creating operational efficiencies, Caregiver can reinvest those cost savings back to the individuals served. The company’s 4000 employees serve over 2800 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in four states. To operate efficiently within a highly competitive environment, Caregiver must control budgets without compromising quality of care or safety.
“In an industry that’s under-resourced, we must be innovative and forward-thinking to be a leader in IDD services,” emphasizes PMG founding member Amanda Corrigan, left, President of Caregiver’s Texas Operations.
Corrigan and her PMG colleague Alex Sturges, Caregiver’s Vice President Operations Strategy, are driving operational innovation by departing from familiar norms. Working closely and collaboratively with Caregiver’s regional and area directors, PMG collaborates with front line leaders to understand current state of existing operations so they can identify opportunities and create a plan of action.
“On-site visits help make sure we understand existing practices and needs,” explained Sturges, right. “We want to be sure that the plan of action we develop will fit the individuals living in the homes and advance both safety and well-being.”
Once goals have been identified by each home, the team creates a plan of action and necessary processes to implement the plan and achieve objectives. The group’s first initiative aimed to help operators minimize administrative activities and spend more time caring for individuals. Called Caregiver Labor Management Platform™ (CLMP), the company designed its own proprietary, customized, industry-leading dashboard for tracking labor hours and scheduling. This tech tool minimizes administrative activities and maximizes time for caring for individuals, according to the company.
Operators receive hands-on direction in how to use the CLMP program. Through mentoring and step-by-step training, Sturges found staff had a greater willingness to get to know and use technology to replace antiquated paper systems that required printing, filing, retrieving, and refiling repeatedly. CLMP is now active throughout Caregiver’s Texas and Tennessee group homes, yielding a six percent reduction in labor expense where implemented. Sturges and Corrigan also noted healthier work life environments for professional teams and elevated quality of life for individuals. PMG has validated annualized savings in Texas alone of around $3 million to date, according to Caregiver, which the company reinvested back into technology, fleet, and facilities. PMG visits in Ohio and Indiana will begin during the fourth quarter of 2019, anticipating success there, too.
“Group home leaders gain significant insights by quickly accessing data,” said Sturges. “Best practices soon spread from area to area, making teamwork proceed smoothly and comfortably. Training and mentoring increase financial and operational transparency and foster leadership development.”
Many provider organizations that serve people with IDD are experiencing an exodus of leaders due to retirement, Corrigan added. She said that the IDD industry has had historically low growth and stagnant markets, with few systems in place to develop a next generation of leaders.
“PMG is changing that,” she stressed. “Departments share how they conduct their work and relate to one another. That yields successful implementation of changes and unleashes leadership potential.”
Lashley, left, concurs.
“PMG is a training ground, a great place from which to grow,” he said. “Amanda Corrigan, formerly Vice President for Operations, was recently promoted to President of Texas Operations.”
Through her work with PMG, Corrigan, whose background is not in IDD, gained an opportunity to understand each market in Texas and learn about challenges leaders are facing.
“Building, managing, and leveraging relationships based on trust, respect, and a mutual appreciation of each other’s value is fundamental to enabling the flow of value for the long-term,” she said.
Currently working on developing another dashboard to measure success against goals and to identify areas of opportunity, Caregiver’s Project Management Group encapsulates what the company is trying to accomplish across all service areas.
“We are successfully implementing operational innovations,” Corrigan concludes. “We focus our efforts and concentrate on those that will have the greatest impact on strategic goals. I am passionately committed to finding and exploiting opportunities for even greater operational innovation.”
ABOUT CAREGIVER, INC.
Caregiver, Inc., is a privately held company with 4000 employees within the headquarters support group in Fort Worth and branded affiliate organizations in four states. The affiliates provide intermediate, home and community care services to nearly 2800 individuals who qualify as developmentally or intellectually disabled or are impacted by related conditions. Caregiver, Inc. was formed in 2015 and now includes these affiliates: Unified Care Group, Southern Concepts, River Gardens, Daybreak Community Services Inc., St. Giles Living Centers, DSA of Indiana, CG-HHC, All Care Services, T/R Residential, and Omni Support Services of Tennessee, and S&K in Ohio. All have similar service offerings and strong reputations in their local communities. Caregiver services include supported home living, family protective services, case coordination, nursing services, respite services, day habilitation, psychology services, dental treatment, specialized therapies, adaptive aids, minor home modifications, and supported employment. Caregiver president and CEO is Mark Lashley.
Company headquarters are located at 4800 Overton Plaza, Suite 440, in Fort Worth, Texas, 76109.
Phone is (800) 299-5161. They are on the web at cg-idd.com.
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