This month, BrightStar Care® celebrates its 20th anniversary as a premium in-home care and medical staffing provider and has expanded its services to include residential dementia care facilities. By Elice Morgenson
This month, BrightStar Care® celebrates its 20th anniversary as a premium in-home care and medical staffing provider and has expanded its services to include residential dementia care facilities. Shelly Sun, founder and CEO, and Caroline Moore, owner of a multi-site Idaho franchise, got together to discuss the women who have propelled the brand to great heights.
Since 2002, Sun has worked carefully to improve BrightStar Care, providing award-winning medical and non-medical care. She continually recognizes all of her team members’ contributions and is inspired by the impact women have in the industry.
“We are majority women-owned at the franchisee level, with amazing franchisees, like Caroline, who create empathetic and inspiring leaders,” explained Sun. “Our industry, maybe even more so than any other, uses our natural gifts as women to care for our clients.”
Before becoming an owner, Moore had an extensive background in the franchising space as a senior account executive in media. She became aware of BrightStar Care and studied what set it apart within the homecare segment.
“What impressed me about the brand was the quality of ownership,” she said. “Owners are, in and of themselves, very successful individuals. They have been successful in another field and have made the change to have their own business or just because they fell in love with the brand as I did.” Recently, Moore piloted the residential memory care unit concept, which is now available as a franchising model for the brand.
Sun continues to welcome and enact improvements for the brand as she reflects on events and experiences that have shaped the home care industry and society. For instance, during the beginning of the pandemic, many female franchisees had to not only maintain their jobs but also wear multiple hats as mothers and caregivers at home. Sun took what she learned as a member of The Chicago Network, a women’s empowerment group, and created a support system at BrightStar Care.
“There was a need – a yearning – to be able to collaborate with other women and have that supportive mechanism. We have only had one official meeting this year, and we don’t know what it will become, but it tapped into something we were all looking for,” she explained.
Elice Morgenson