Gloria Elayadathusseril and Margaret Jetelina,
Canadian Immigrant Magazine, 22/10/09

Alnawaz Ladha: Retire-At-Home

Not all franchises are about food. There are many popular franchise options in service industries, too — everything from postal services, like UPS, to hair salons, like Great Clips. One industry that has been seeing more and more franchise options is health and wellness, particularly for seniors. Alnawaz Ladha, an Ismaili immigrant from Nairobi, Kenya, recognized this growing trend and opened a Retire-At-Home Services office in the Vancouver area.

“We assist people in their homes who have difficulties with daily life events, for example, people who are physically challenged or seniors who need some help in their houses,” says Ladha, describing the Retire-At-Home concept. “Today, a lot of people are choosing to live in their own homes [instead of nursing homes]. They have lived in their homes all their lives, seen their families grow up there, are familiar with the area, created so many memories and don’t choose to leave. All they require is some assistance and support in order to live independently.”

That support could mean anything from a little housework to personal care like help with bathing or grooming, to 24-hour care.

Before Ladha decided to join Retire-At-Home, he was a busy HR and management professional — until an accident changed his life forever. His wife slipped and fell, suffering various injuries. Initially, he was not aware that private care was available, and quickly became frustrated with the caregiver support available to them through the health care system. “We were not receiving consistent care,” he says, explaining that they had to explain their needs over and over again to a parade of different caregivers. Eventually, he left his job and became his wife’s full-time caregiver, but thought there had to be a better way. That’s when he discovered Retire-At-Home. Ladha liked the concept so much that he decided to become a franchisee.

“All our services at Retire-At-Home are professionally managed. We actually go into the houses initially to do an assessment with the client and the family,” he explains. “We sit down with the children, the family and listen to their needs and concerns. We take all that information back and create a comprehensive care plan and care goals for them, which incorporates all the information about personal care preferences, prescriptions, allergies, doctor’s wishes, the senior’s likes and dislikes, and what services they would like.” That way, when the caregiver shows up, daily or weekly, she or he knows exactly what that client needs and doesn’t have to depend on the client to tell them what is required for them to do.”

As the executive director, Ladha manages a team of nurses and caregivers who attend to clients throughout the Lower Mainland. He says his business and management skills have been pivotal in managing his business. But, number 1, he says you must have a passion for helping others. As an Ismaili, Ladha comes from a long tradition of community service and he finds he can combine his business skills and charitable efforts in his work with Retire-At-Home. “You have to be compassionate and understand what your clients are going through. You can’t do this for the money; it will never work for you,” he says.

“Once you have that compassionate part, now you also have to manage the system. You’ve got to have some kind of management and HR skills, because you’re also dealing with hiring caregivers. And business development skills to go out there and promote it.”

The fact that Retire-At-Home is an established franchise made the decision to become an entrepreneur all the easier for Ladha. “There’s a ton of things that you need to do when providing home support and it all has to be structured. If you do this on your own, you might think you could hire a couple of caregivers and they’ll go in and that’s that. But we wanted to go with a company that has been doing this for many years, and doing the right thing.”

He says the head company provides franchise partners with tons of information. “We didn’t have the technique and experience that they bring to the table, which is why we didn’t start a business on our own,” he says. “They provide the necessary tools we need to be successful in this industry.”

A 2010 report from the Alzheimer Society released to mark Alzheimer Awareness Month unveiled shocking new statistics about the projected economic and social costs of dementia in Canada. Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society says that if nothing changes, the prevalence of dementia will more than double in 30 years, with the costs increasing exponentially.

“Today, someone in Canada develops dementia every five minutes. In 30 years, there will be one new case every two minutes,” says David Harvey, Principal Spokesperson for the Rising Tide project. “If nothing changes, this sharp increase in the number of people living with dementia will mean that by 2038, the total costs associated with dementia will reach $153 billion a year. This amounts to a massive cumulative total of $872 billion over this 30-year period.”

Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society also reports on dementia’s burden on families: the hours of care delivered by unpaid family members are expected to more than triple, increasing from 231 million hours in 2008, to 756 million hours by 2038. Coming to terms with the urgency of dementia, the new report outlines a series of potential interventions that could help lessen the impact of the disease. Backed by current evidence, these interventions would address:

• The benefits of physical activity on reducing the risk of developing dementia

• The benefits of a combination of risk reduction strategies, or the development of new treatments, in delaying the onset of dementia

• The importance of supporting family caregivers, who are struggling with the consuming emotional and financial hardships of providing care, as well as easing further pressure on the health care system

• The importance of a “system navigator” to help families find the right services at the right time.

“Hope lies in making changes today that will lessen dementia’s crippling effect on Canadian families, the health care system and the economy,” says Richard Nakoneczny, Chair of the Alzheimer Society of Canada. “More than ever, research is a critical contributor to this change. With an increased investment in research, we will learn more about prevention, possibly even discover a treatment to delay the onset of the disease and reduce its impact substantially.”

The Alzheimer Society is the leading, nationwide health organization for people affected by dementia in Canada. The Society is a principle funder of Alzheimer research and training; provides enhanced care and support to people with the disease, their families and their caregivers; and is a prominent voice within all levels of government

Originally posted on our newsletter here.