Our Story
Portland In-Home Care was founded by Chris Laird and Heather O’ Leary (RN, BSN). Together, they bring a combined experience of over thirty years in caregiving and health services to the Portland metro area.
Chris Laird
In 2007 my wife and I moved to Portland to attend graduate school, and the first week in town I was offered a job caring for my friend Shirley’s brother, Michael. For the next six years, I took care of Michael, who had suffered a major brain aneurysm that had left him seriously impaired, both mentally and physically. Five years later, and shortly after graduation, I was offered a position as the director of marketing with a local in-home care agency. At one point, while the owner/administrator of the agency was out of the country for a month, I was put in charge of all company operations. It was during this time that the dream for Portland In-Home Care was born, a dream for a new kind of in-home care agency. When I shared my dream with my good friend Heather O’Leary, the dream soon became a reality!
Heather O’Leary
I graduated from the University of Portland with a BSN and a BA in sociology. Most of my nursing career has been spent working with families as a coordinator of care. I view my role as the agency RN as the one who establishes and strengthens the circle of care around our clients – a “circle” consisting of family members, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. I have always been concerned with caring for the whole person and not just the stated diagnosis. Much of my life I have worked in pediatrics, and have come to the realization that many of the same issues that occur in childhood, come back around in the lives of our geriatric clients (i.e., autonomy, safety, toileting, etc.).
Our Commitment
We started this agency from a shared conviction that serving the vulnerable members of our community and their families is a profound privilege and a sacred trust. The way that we honor that trust is by providing our clients with only the best caregivers. All of our caregivers are carefully screened and vetted before they are hired. Our caregivers remain under our supervision and receive ongoing training, both by our staff as well as seminars and webinars, such as those provided by Oregon Care Partners. The caregiver we assign to your loved one must first meet our highest standard, we would entrust them with the care of our own loved one!
Our Mission and Values
At Portland In-Home Care we come alongside families who need help caring for a loved one. We engage our community as advocates for the vulnerable members of our community (the elderly and disabled). We equip our caregivers to care for our clients compassionately and skillfully. In this way, our clients are empowered to go on living in the place they love. We seek to be a resource center in our community, which is why we provide consultation services without cost or obligation. If we can help you find a sustainable solution to your family care crisis, we will have done our job!
Our Mission:
Provide our clients with high-quality in-home care services, and provide our caregivers with a rewarding career path.
Our Vision:
Build an in-home care agency run by caregivers and care teams and then grow our business one “house” at a time.
Our Pledge:
“We empower our clients to live safely and independently in the place they love and in a manner they enjoy!”
Our Values:
- Everyone at PIHC is a caregiver!
- This answer is in the team!
- Every client is unique and has their own personalized Care Plan.
- PIHC is a caregiver training and coaching center.
- We care for each other, and then we go out and care for our clients.
- We are always seeking to close the gaps between our stated and lived values.
Thank you for your interest in our agency. We look forward to hearing from you!
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