Community Highlights: Meet Nadine Johnson of Care One Franchise Inc (COFI)

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadine Johnson.

Hi Nadine, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
As the youngest child of a single mother, growing up in Jamaica was a special blend of inspiring and difficult. I was always determined to become a lawyer, but life definitely had other plans. I became a mother at 19 years old, got married at 23 and settled into a career in Business Strategy. While I was doing well in my career being a Regional Acquisition Specialist of oil marketing companies, Jamaica had become an environment my husband and I felt would not allow our children to thrive safely. This began our journey to the U.S and being that my family needed all the support possible, I got a job working in a warehouse passing out cable equipment.

During that time, I was introduced to someone that operated a personal care home (PCH) for seniors, and one weekend she experienced a crisis and needed assistance. Having no background or training, I went anyway as it was just supposed to be for the weekend. However, after that weekend she started requesting me to work more and more, and so I took my first job as a caregiver. As an islander who immigrated here with her three children, no job and almost nowhere to live, I didn’t have much choice. Despite my apprehension, after 2.5 years of working for this company and watching the transformation and improved quality of life in the seniors that we cared for, my passion for that smile was ignited.

That desire became a light and in September 2012, with my husband’s help, I was able to open my very first PCH in Dekalb County. In under 12 months of operating, we had a waitlist for our beds which was a direct result of word of mouth from families we were currently serving and families we had served before. This demand was the driving force behind our second location which became a reality in late 2013. As the demand for my services grew, so did my knowledge and expertise at identifying, developing, and implementing effective policies and procedures for not only opening but operating a successful PCH, with unique employee training that places emphasis on teaching our staff how to CARE for our geriatric population.

Eventually, I grew to four locations in both Dekalb and Cobb County; however, I found that I couldn’t be everywhere at once and the demand had become slightly overwhelming. Having met other professionals in the healthcare industry who were just as passionate about providing high-quality care to seniors as I was, Care One Franchise Inc. (COFI) was born. Which allowed me to continue to provide the same standard of care with increased oversight from the home providers who operate each location. COFI now serves our community from eight different locations across three counties. As we continue to grow, COFI will continue to redefine what it truly means to care for the geriatric population.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, the road to was definitely not easy. Getting started there is very little guidance and support from other persons in the industry.

Finances were limited and funding was difficult to seek.

Navigating and understanding the possible resources for seniors.

Franchising.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
COFI is a franchise group of Personal Care Homes. At a COFI location, the CARE our seniors receive is wholistic; we tailor the CARE needs of not just the resident in the location but to their entire support system as well. A senior will experience the best quality of aging if the entire unit operates as a whole, Home Provider, direct care staff, biological family and the household environment. Once an individual becomes part of the COFI family, it’s as if the entire family is adopted and like all true families we cry together, we laugh together, we play together and we thrive together.

We remain small, with the family style model as that aide in a senior transitioning from their own residence. COFI homes are specifically modified to match the needs of our seniors whilst providing 24/7 individualized care. We are known for our ability to provide CARE from the HEART.

We are state licensed to provide services in the following counties: Cobb, Dekalb and Gwinnett.

Some of the services we offer:
– Medication Management
– Diabetes Management
– In-home medical visits
– 24-hour supervision/assistance
– Nutrition Management
– Respite Care
– Hospice Care
– Alzheimer’s/Dementia

What matters most to you?
Educating individuals about the process of aging.

This is very lacking and whilst no one person, persons or group can provide a complete roadmap to this process, my desire is to be part of a movement that does more to educate and bring awareness to aging. It is important that families start having the discussions, planning, researching and implementing tools that will be needed as they age so that they are able to provide written guidelines and express their desires to a next of kin.

When a sudden illness or the change in one’s ability to care for self is thrust upon a family, navigating blindly can be debilitating. An event like this can turn a family’s entire life upside down without the proper resources such as finances, insurance, or desire of the individual.

“A caregivers job is not to cure but to care, caregiving is guided by the heart and done out of love.”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cofione.com
• Instagram: cofi_atl
• Facebook: Care One Franchise, Inc