GEM HEALTH CARE SERVICES STEPS IN TO MEET NEEDS OF GROWING SENIOR’S DEMOGRAPHIC
CO-SPRING 2010
Author :
Ian Howarth
While Canada’s population grows at a modest five percent, according to a Statistics Canada 2006 report, it’s 65-plus and baby boomer population continues to become a dominant demographic. There are more than 4.3 million Canadians over the age of 65 and the baby boomer population (those born between 1946-1965), represent a 28 percent growth rate, presenting health care agencies with a pressing challenge in the coming years.
GEM Health Care Services, Canada’s largest independent health care agency, has jumped into the breach to fill the needs of seniors providing the highest quality and compassionate health care to private, government and institutional clients.
CEO, president and founder of GEM Healthcare Services, Gaye Moffett, has been providing health care needs assessments, personalized home health care service, nurses and other specialists in both the private and public sector since 1994. Operating out of Ottawa’s Head Office and a corporate office in Kingston, GEM has just recently got into franchising itself in December of ‘08 with an Oakville location and more recently in March of ’09 with one more in Newmarket, Ontario.
GEM’s Moffett comes with some serious credentials as a RN, a Bachelors Degree in Nursing Sciences and a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Ottawa. In 2001 GEM Health Care Services received the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year Award and in 2004 was nominated for the Canadian Women Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (Innovation Category). Most recently, in 2008, she was one of the three finalists for Business Woman of the Year Award in the entrepreneur category.
Moffett’s success as GEM CEO is inspiration for Sue Bauer, CEO, president and owner of the Newmarket GEM franchise. She was an entrepreneur for 21 years and the driving force behind some not-for-profit fundraising for health care organizations in Ontario. She now heads up a team of 35 registered nurses (RNs), registered practical nurses (RPNs) and 45 personal support workers. Her nurses take care of clients in private and public institutions well as in the home, covering everything from managing medication to bereavement counseling services. “Our nurses will even go into seniors homes and teach CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) courses to their personnel,” said Bauer. “We’re also part of the Veteran’s Independence Program,” a program designed to support veterans in their homes. “Being innovative and staying ahead of the competition is important,” she added. “We’ll celebrate our first anniversary in March and after some initial pavement-pounding, our reputation has increased rapidly.”
Bauer and the Newmarket GEM franchise were rewarded with the GEM Franchise of the Year Award for 2009. Bauer is a busy woman. She is on-call almost 24/7 taking calls at night and weekends dealing with the sometimes-unpredictable variables of the health care business. At 44 and mother to three children, she said she is in for the long haul to provide the best health care possible. GEM Newmarket’s aim is to take care of the client, keeping them at home for as long s possible. Or meeting patients prior to being discharged form the hospital to make sure after care will be in place. Or dealing directly with the client’s insurance company to help with budgeting for health care. “We want to make everybody’s life, including the client and their family, a little happier under sometimes difficult circumstances,” said Bauer. In fact, Bauer is a hands-on CEO, doing personal homecare assessment herself, along with her nursing supervisor. “It’s most rewarding to provide the best health care possible,” she said. “I think we’re headed up the ladder without so far missing a step.”
GEM Health Care Services, Canada’s largest independent health care agency, has jumped into the breach to fill the needs of seniors providing the highest quality and compassionate health care to private, government and institutional clients.
CEO, president and founder of GEM Healthcare Services, Gaye Moffett, has been providing health care needs assessments, personalized home health care service, nurses and other specialists in both the private and public sector since 1994. Operating out of Ottawa’s Head Office and a corporate office in Kingston, GEM has just recently got into franchising itself in December of ‘08 with an Oakville location and more recently in March of ’09 with one more in Newmarket, Ontario.
GEM’s Moffett comes with some serious credentials as a RN, a Bachelors Degree in Nursing Sciences and a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Ottawa. In 2001 GEM Health Care Services received the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year Award and in 2004 was nominated for the Canadian Women Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (Innovation Category). Most recently, in 2008, she was one of the three finalists for Business Woman of the Year Award in the entrepreneur category.
Moffett’s success as GEM CEO is inspiration for Sue Bauer, CEO, president and owner of the Newmarket GEM franchise. She was an entrepreneur for 21 years and the driving force behind some not-for-profit fundraising for health care organizations in Ontario. She now heads up a team of 35 registered nurses (RNs), registered practical nurses (RPNs) and 45 personal support workers. Her nurses take care of clients in private and public institutions well as in the home, covering everything from managing medication to bereavement counseling services. “Our nurses will even go into seniors homes and teach CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) courses to their personnel,” said Bauer. “We’re also part of the Veteran’s Independence Program,” a program designed to support veterans in their homes. “Being innovative and staying ahead of the competition is important,” she added. “We’ll celebrate our first anniversary in March and after some initial pavement-pounding, our reputation has increased rapidly.”
Bauer and the Newmarket GEM franchise were rewarded with the GEM Franchise of the Year Award for 2009. Bauer is a busy woman. She is on-call almost 24/7 taking calls at night and weekends dealing with the sometimes-unpredictable variables of the health care business. At 44 and mother to three children, she said she is in for the long haul to provide the best health care possible. GEM Newmarket’s aim is to take care of the client, keeping them at home for as long s possible. Or meeting patients prior to being discharged form the hospital to make sure after care will be in place. Or dealing directly with the client’s insurance company to help with budgeting for health care. “We want to make everybody’s life, including the client and their family, a little happier under sometimes difficult circumstances,” said Bauer. In fact, Bauer is a hands-on CEO, doing personal homecare assessment herself, along with her nursing supervisor. “It’s most rewarding to provide the best health care possible,” she said. “I think we’re headed up the ladder without so far missing a step.”