A major car accident put Shelley Wilson on the sidelines for three years. The recovery period gave her time to consider how valuable it would be to have the help and support of professional homecare services. In 1996, at only 21 years old, she founded Wilson Homecare, Hawai‘i’s largest private-duty home health care service provider. She opened Wilson Senior Living Kailua in 2013 and together, the two make up Wilson Care Group. Running a home health care business, Wilson has a unique position within the industry but says that health care is evolving across the board.
On health care tech in Hawai‘i:
Info technology is a blessing and a curse. The vast majority of our company is composed of remote employees—hundreds and hundreds of them—and we rely on technology to help manage the processes we have in place. Information technology allows for fast, efficient communication, but it also removes a portion of the human element. Things like tone of voice and facial expression are eliminated from much of our communication, and in an industry that is all about humans caring for other humans, it is challenging to ensure that our messaging reflects the spirit and intention behind our words.
I recently returned from a meeting with similar-sized home health care agency owners and CEOs from various markets across the country, where we openly shared the “inner workings” of our companies. We are absolutely on par with the rest of the nation in implementing new technologies. That’s the beauty of new technology—geography doesn’t really affect its reach.
On patient care at home:
The number-one benefit of home health care is that it allows patients to receive personal care in the privacy and comfort of their own homes. For aging and homebound individuals, in-home care helps them remain as functional and independent as possible, providing a greater sense of security and dignity. Home health care helps to reduce unavoidable readmissions to the hospital, and studies have shown that patients recuperating from illness, injury or surgical procedures heal more quickly and more successfully when recovering at home versus in a medical facility. Home care services also restores a sense of normalcy to the relationship between family and patient. While we are providing care, the family members can return to their typical roles. Even if it’s only for a few hours each day, homecare services provide much-needed respite.
