A Plus Health Care

By Paula J. McGarvey, for The Montana Standard - 10/21/2007

Owner and manager Kris Carlson, left, a registered nurse from Kalispell, oversees operations of the Butte branch of A Plus Health Care along with branch Director Peggy Wolstein, R.N., home care supervisor Lisa Anderson LPN, clinical scheduler Peggy Jaeger and several other staff members. Paula J. McGarvey, for The Montana Standard.

A Plus Health Care 700 E. Front St. in Butte Phone: 723-8933 Business history: Founded in 1991, A Plus Healthcare provides in-home care solutions to 10 Montana counties through seven offices located throughout the state. Owned and operated by Kris Carlson, a registered nurse of Kalispell, and locally managed by branch Director Peggy Wolstein, R.N., A Plus has been serving the Butte area for the past six years.

Products, services and specialties: “In Butte, our professional staff assists in the recovery of short-term illnesses and disabilities in our Medicare certified home health program,” Carlson said. She added that A Plus’ emphasis was on four main areas.

First and foremost is providing skilled home health care.

“We have a strong clinical expertise in disease management techniques in the home environment,” Carlson said. In addition, A Plus provides patient-centered care in the hospice setting. The medical staffing service assists local clinical facilities with meeting the demands of a competent workforce. Lastly, in-home personal care service meets the need for assistance with activities of daily living such as meal preparation, bathing and dressing, homemaking and meeting medical appointments.

“A little bit of home care can keep people at home where we all prefer to be,” Carlson said.

Carlson said A Plus is also committed to education.

“Currently we provide educational and clinical care sites for teaching with programs at MSU, U of M, FVCC, Carroll College and Montana Tech for programs in nursing and allied health care, as well as business leadership and management,” she said.

Business philosophy: “Our mission is to provide our community with a comprehensive licensed health care agency providing skilled home health, hospice, in-home care and medical staffing services,” Carlson said.

Things learned doing business: “We know that time spent in our health-care system can be intimidating and confusing,” said Carlson, noting that often decisions are made without enough patient or family participation.

“That’s not acceptable to us. We are increasing our efforts to design a more client-centered care with patient and family participation,” she said.

What makes doing business in southwest Montana unique? “Our agency’s treasure is our staff,” said Carlson, who feels local people excel at providing sensitive and compassionate care to A Plus patients and their families.

Rewards and challenges of doing business: Carlson said working with people in a field that improves their quality of life is extremely rewarding.

“Work force shortages with our low unemployment rates in Montana make recruiting compassionate, caring professional staff our challenge,” she said.

Future plans: With baby boomers entering their golden years in record number, the market for home care is consistently growing. With that in mind, A Plus Health Care plans to continue to provide quality to care to area patients in their homes and is extending an invitation to those who would like to join their care giving team.

Carlson said the company is offering flexible work schedules and free personal care attendant training with a sign-on bonus.

Call the local office to find out more.