Senior care has been changing significantly over the years. As the population is aging, around 1.5 million older adults are in assisted living facilities throughout the United States.
Some of these assisted living and retirement facilities have been around for years. North Carolina is home to a number of promising communities, such as HealthKeeperz.
Howard Brooks founded HealthKeeperz in 1966. In those 50-plus years, HealthKeeperz has striven to serve the health care needs of the residents of North Carolina.
It all began when Brooks established the first community-based drugstore in Pembroke, North Carolina, the Pembroke Drug Center, to serve the community as well as surrounding areas.
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“HealthKeeperz has truly evolved over the years,” HealthKeeperz President Tim Brooks told IdeaMensch. “Howard Brooks (my dad) started a community pharmacy in Pembroke, North Carolina, and expanded the services over the years. He essentially sought to meet the needs of the community and provide for his family. Thankfully, the community responded quite well and we have since been able to expand our services beyond the pharmacy.” Taking calculated risks, Brooks expanded the service, becoming Medicare Certified Home Health, dispatching nurses, physical therapists, and other health care providers into the homes of patients who need it. It is a great senior care facility for people in the area.
The company has continually looked for ways to expand its services. Fast forward to today, and HealthKeeperz offers four primary services. They are hospice, home health, home medical equipment, and Community Alternatives Program (CAP) Case Management.
HealthKeeperz Case Management
CAP Case Management is a great program changing healthcare. The idea behind CAP is that it offers patients choices. If a patient qualifies to be in a skilled nursing facility, and they meet the requirements of well-being, health, and safety, then they have the option of receiving care at home.
As the company continues to grow, the vision of the future is bright. Since CAP Case Management began, HealthKeeperz has expanded its service offerings throughout southeastern North Carolina.
HealthKeeperz typically serves people aged 65 and older who have Medicare. Often, these persons need procedures like hip or knee replacement. Other times, they may suffer from one or more chronic conditions requiring ongoing and extensive care.
There is also a smaller number of HealthKeeperz patients who have Medicaid.
Health at Home
Brooks says, “Our goal is to help ensure that people can be healthy at home. Our job is to oversee their care and make sure health care services are being provided and that there is some sense of well-being for those people we care for.”
Like founder Howard Brooks, Tim Brooks is always innovating, thinking up ways to leverage a network of case managers and using them in other settings.
For example, Brooks says, “Often, patients have a combination of issues such as heart disease and mental health issues. With CAP, these conditions are not treated separately, but addressed in a way that allows health care providers to communicate with each other with the goal of helping the patient in the best way possible.”
Faith plays a prominent role in HealthKeeperz’s foundation. At the same time, no one associated with HealthKeeperz is expected or required to hold any particular faith. Faith is simply the guiding force that informs the mission and decisions that the company makes.
The Barnabas Award
In keeping with that principle, HealthKeeperz gives the Barnabas Award to employees who reflect the values of its namesake, Barnabas, a disciple of Jesus whose name means “son of encouragement.”
