Jim Hammond came out of retirement six years ago to open a Comfort Keepers senior care franchise in Redlands with his wife, Denise, whose father had recently died.

Since then, the business has grown an average of 30% a year. With that success, the couple opened a second location in Yucaipa last year.

"Most of my staff and I lived in Yucaipa and worked in Redlands," Denise Hammond said. "We had the clientele here, we just didn't have the office, so it seemed like a good idea to open an office here."

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Photo By Dan Elliott

Denise Hammond is co-owner of Comfort Keepers.

Dayton, Ohio-based Comfort Keepers is a non-medical, in-home senior care provider.

The Hammonds started out with four workers when they opened the Redlands location nearly six years ago. Today, they employ a total of 35 people at both locations.

"She's come a long way," said Lori Wormser, Comfort Keepers administrative assistant and a former caregiver. "I've been with her for more than five years and the business has been growing by leaps and bounds."

"I started out as a caregiver and they moved me into the office," said Kathy Barr, Comfort Keepers care manager. "People have the opportunity to move up in the company and keep growing with Denise."

The Hammonds decided to enter the senior care business after their daughter cued them into the idea.

"My daughter got me thinking about it," Jim Hammond said. "She was working with a similar company and she was enjoying it. We started researching the company she was working with, but they didn't have any territories, and then we found Comfort Keepers."

The Hammonds invested $50,000 to open the business. Natives of Arkansas, the couple moved to the Inland Empire after Jim was transferred to Palm Desert to manage a Wal-Mart. Jim managed stores for the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer for years before he retired. Denise, a banker by trade, wanted to carry on her father's legacy and help senior citizens.

"My father worked with seniors and he passed away sooner than he should have," she said. "He passed away right before I started the business, so doing this is like carrying on his legacy."

Comfort Keepers' in-home caregivers provide seniors companionship, meal preparation, light housekeeping, grocery shopping, transportation for errands and appointments, laundry services and recreational activities, as well as hospice care.

"It's great to go through a franchise because they have human resources support, a nurse on staff and a support system for any questions that can come up," Hammond said. "Anyone can do this if they have the heart for it."

The cost for caregiver services ranges from $17 to $20 an hour. The Hammonds employ about 30 full- and part-time caregivers and pay workers' compensation fees and dental and medical benefits.

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"You have to find the right type of person for this type of work," Hammond said. "It takes a caring heart and we're picky about who we hire. It was a challenge learning how to find and hire the people who have the heart to do this. People will tell you what you want to hear in an interview so you have to be careful who you hire. Hiring the right people is 99% of this business. If you hire the wrong people it's 99% of your business' problems."

Comfort Keepers advertises in newspapers, yellow pages, with brochures at hospitals and senior centers as well as by word-of-mouth.

As president, Jim Hammond handles human resources and accounting for the business. Vice President Denise Hammond runs the day-to-day operations.

The Hammonds have two sons and a daughter. They have lived in the Yucaipa area for about 12 years.

Denise splits her time between the Yucaipa and Redlands offices. She works more than 50 hours a week managing the business.

"It was hard at first," she said. "This type of in-home care was just starting to take off, so I had to educate people about what we did."

Looking ahead

Americans will spend more than $90 billion on home health care services by 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. That means more business and demand for in-home care.

"I could have grown faster if I didn't want to keep a personal touch on the business," Hammond said. "I didn't want to not be doing this right. It's a fine balance. I still want to know the names of my clients and who they are. I would lose that if I grew too fast."

Hammond envisions another office in the Highland area perhaps in 10 years. For now, she plans to focus on the two locations.

"Am I going to get rich doing this? Probably not, but I do love doing this," Hammond said.

CK Franchising, Inc., the international franchisor that offers companionship and other non-medical services primarily for seniors under the Comfort Keepers brand, was recently named a Top 50 franchisor in a survey conducted by Franchise Business Review.