Meet Erika Thomas of Lillie’s Helpers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika Thomas.

Hi Erika, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started in the Health field as a Respiratory Therapist in 2005. I worked at the Medical Center in Macon for 9 years and then as a Respiratory Supervisor at Houston Health Care for 8 years, In 2019, I decided to start a Home Care Agency right at the peak of Covid. I started the home care agency because of the relationship with my grandmother. Growing up my grandmother and I was very close she suffered from COPD and severe arthtitis which limited her on physical activity so I would run errands for her and take her to church every Sunday. In 2012, she was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and was given a Prognosis of 3 months to live. We brought in Hospice but Hospice did not provide 24 hour care so my mom, my aunts, and I had to work together to make sure she had 24 hour care. So we split shifts. I had the night shift because I was working 7a-7p at the hospital. Sometimes my grandmother would be up at night in pain I would be up with her and then have to go work my shift at the hospital because I still needed to provide for my household. We did that rotation until my grandmother passed Feb. 2013. With that experience of being a caregiver with my grandmother and having patients at the hospital that families were experiencing the same issue of being a caregiver but needing to still work, provide for their family,have time for themselves, and not feel guilty about needing help. I saw there was a need for home care and I decided to start Lillie’s Helpers Home Care which is named after my grandmother Lillie P. Walker.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it has not been a smooth road. I started my agency 2019 and then COVID happened. I had my son Feb. 7th 2020 and was newly married. All of this was life changing, During COVID it was hard to get employees because of PPP loans and many of the health care workers could make more money traveling. I went back to work Full time and was running my business because my business was not bringing in enough revenue to quit my job. I had to juggle all these things. However, with prayer, discipline, and consistency I was able to grow my business. First I went prn( as needed) on my job then was able to quit after revenue increased in my business. Even after that there has been many trials and tribulations to come but I am always able to overcome them. Which is why I wrote my book Faith over Fear: Journey from purpose to profit that give readers insight on the challenges I went through not only in business but personally that with faith I was able to focus on my purpose to serve which has been a blessing for my business.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Lillie’s Helpers?
Lillie’s Helpers Home Care provide in home supportive services to seniors and disabled individual wherever they call home. We are licensed in Georgia. Our Service area is Middle Georgia, Atlanta, Columbus, and Alabama. Our mission is to focus on quality of care. I think as we age we should focus on quality of life and we want our clients to age with dignity. We want the family to know they have a trusted company to care for their loved one so they can have a peace of mind. Our specialty is Dementia and Post Stroke clients. We created a neurolgy program for our caregivers that focus on caring for these clients. I am most proud that we are a small company but when I go out in the community people know who we are. We offer services 24 hours and we also can help assist clients who may not be able to afford hourly minimums with our quick care program. Someone may have good family support but may just need someone to come in and help them with a specific task each day, With us they can pay a set rate each week for us to come in just to provide that task. We accept private pay, medicaid waivers specifically the family caregiver program that allows a family caregiver to be paid for working if they meet requirements. We accept Veterans aid and attendance benefits that helps veterans and their surviving spouses.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I like most about my city is that it is small and growing. There is also a lot of talented people in our city. I like least about our city is negative things spread very quick but not the positive things. With there being so much talent in our city I think we need to encourage each other and not be ready to talk bad about each other when someone is having a difficult time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lillieshelpers.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erikathomas105/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063745183069
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erika-jones-thomas-19aa63159/