A group of people interested in changing the way homecare works in Thurston County began meeting in 2014. It took a while, but in August of 2016, the group incorporated as Capital Homecare Cooperative. CHC seeks to begin operations by January 2018. CHC is a worker-owned cooperative caregiver agency. The caregivers own the agency and make the decisions on how to provide clients with the care that they want and need. The caregivers, through cooperative ownership, also care for themselves by creating a dignified workplace with living wages.
Our Project
Capital Homecare Cooperative seeks to create a caregiving agency owned by the caregivers. This will enable the caregivers to create a high level of service for clients while also providing better wages and working conditions for the caregivers.
The cooperative model offers a solution. By owning their agency, caregivers can focus on the needs of their patients while also meeting their financial needs for the other people that they care for: their families. Capital Homecare seeks to be the third caregiver cooperative in the State of Washington. It is following the model of Circle of Life in Bellingham and Peninsula Homecare and Port Townsend. The more caregiver co-ops that get created, the more that they can work together and make the path to starting up easier for other.
The caregivers own the agency and control it through a board of directors. The board hires and supervises an administrator, sets policies for compensation and pricing, and channels the needs of those being cared for directly into the governance of the organization. The co-op will still need to meet it financial needs by earning enough to pay its expenses and pay for capital equipment, but the motive of the co-op will be to create a supportive working environment for the caregivers so that they can provide the best care for their clients.
Why It Matters
The children born during the "baby boom" of 1946-1964 are now reaching their 70's In addition, advances in healthcare have caused a record number of octogenarians and nonagenarians. This has caused homecare to become one of the fastest growing service sector industries in the country with an expected 65% growth projected for the coming years. Unfortunately, the economics of homecare do not provide to adequate profits for agency shareholders and living wage compensation for caregivers.
Caregivers don't make a lot right now. Even those caregivers who work independently earn barely above minimum wage after paying self-employment taxes and expenses. Caregivers also have little voice in how to deliver care to clients. In larger agencies, the decisions on become standardized for efficiency without considering the individual needs of the client or caregiver.
Our Budget
The co-op needs about $30,000 to get up and running. While development loan funds exist, the co-op still needs other fundraising. Just getting a license requires thousands of dollars as insurance must be pre-paid, the licensing fee is expensive, and administration staff must be hired.
The $10,000-$15,000 sought in this campaign will cover the license, insurance, and administrative costs during the early start-up phase. Once the co-op becomes operational it can access development loans for other operating capital.
Our Team
Our board of directors and members include people with extensive experience in caregiving, caregiving supervision, nursing home supervision, and marketing. In addition, we have been working with staff from the Northwest Cooperative Development Center to create strong governance models and receive training on cooperative management and planning.
Members of the CHC Board
How You Can Help
We would greatly appreciate a donation of any amount. We would also appreciate sharing our campaign on your social media accounts on a regular basis, like our Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter.