Former Rock-and-Roll Exec Buys One of Area’s Oldest and Largest In-Home Care Providers
KNOXVILLE, TENN. – January 17, 2017 – Senior Home Assistance, one of the oldest and most successful independent in-home care providers in East Tennessee, was purchased this month by former Bandit Lites executive Richard Willis. The company, which provides short-term, intermediate and long-term in-home care for people throughout East Tennessee, is headquartered in Knoxville.
Senior Home Assistance has 160 employees who provide in-home care to senior citizens, those with physical disabilities and people recovering from injuries or surgery. For nearly two decades, the company has provided the freedom and independence of living at home to individuals who would otherwise need to be in a care facility or institution.
New to the home care industry, Willis has a long history of managing companies in a variety of dynamic markets. A native of New Zealand where he earned a law degree, Willis spent years as a senior-level executive for Knoxville-based Bandit Lites, the world’s leading lighting company for concert tours and the entertainment industry. Willis is credited with opening and spearheading Bandit Lites’ Hong Kong and London offices as well as producing and stage-managing a wide variety of high-profile concert tours, television events and special-effects lighting shows. Later, Willis owned and managed a Minneapolis-based manufacturing company that made lighting equipment for the entertainment industry.
“My biggest challenge with Senior Home Assistance will be maintaining all of the things the company does well – and it does so many things very well – while expanding into new services and markets,” Willis said. “The company is successful, so we’re not out to change it, we simply want to grow it and make it better than it has ever been in the past.”
Willis believes his “rock-and-roll background” will bring a new excitement and enthusiasm to an industry known for its quiet approach. Unlike many home care business owners, Willis is already aggressively pursuing a new brand and image for Senior Home Assistance while developing a comprehensive strategy for penetrating new markets while growing the company’s existing markets
“There are 10,000 Baby Boomers turning 55 years of age every day,” Willis said. “That means 10,000 new potential customers for this industry every day of the week, 365 days per year. In nine years, there will be 72 million of them. Although we don’t just service the elderly, it’s a big part of what we do – and that market is growing at an unbelievable pace.
“We are also committed to growing the other parts of this business that have been underserved. People with disabilities and people recovering from major surgeries need our services just as much as the elderly do. Everyone deserves the independence and freedom of being in their own home instead of a facility or institution. We give people the option of staying in their home – surrounded by comfortable and familiar things – which is always where they would prefer to be.”
The services of Senior Home Assistance are qualified under many long-term care insurance policies. The company works directly with insurance providers to make sure customers get the full benefit of their policy. Senior Home Assistance does not charge extra for weekends or holidays, requires no deposit or upfront fees, has no early cancellation policy and no service contract for customers to sign. The company is fully licensed and insured and many of its caregivers are Certified Nursing Assistants.
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