Life-changing incident leaves black woman in nursing home

Dr. Michelle Rankine’s journey to having three At home franchises which have made thousands and thousands were born out of a private tragedy. Her younger brother was in a automotive accident that left him paralyzed — forcing her family to face a situation they never imagined.

“Imagine being 21 years old and living what you thought was a normal life, getting ready to graduate from high school, and now you’re paralyzed from the waist down,” she says. BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP“It was devastating for my brother and family.”

Rankine and her mother decided to change into his caregivers, but they quickly learned that caring for a loved one can include its challenges and is not all the time something the loved one wants.

“One of the things about caring for a loved one is that there are certain boundaries,” she says. “As a paraplegic, you can’t use the bathroom or do everyday activities. There are certain boundaries about what you want your family to be involved in and what you don’t want them to be involved in.”

Rankine and her family noticed a major change in her brother’s commitment after she followed his social employee’s suggestion for home care. The implementation process, which involved providing home look after her brother, sparked her interest in helping others through what could be a difficult time for families. The owner met with the family, guided them through the method, and cared for her family with a caring attitude that left enough of an impression on them that she desired to pass it on to a different family in need.

Owning a Multi-Million Dollar Franchise Without Experience

Rankine has no medical or health care training and felt that owning a franchise was the perfect choice to enter the industry. She currently has franchises throughout Texas: Collin, Denton and Tarrant counties.

While investing in a franchise provides a roadmap for those starting their entrepreneurial journey, the trail to success still presents its own challenges. “For me, one of the challenges is the image you start to have of what you want versus the actual divine delay that has to happen,” Rankine says.

She adds that she had to vary her perspective on what it means to achieve success.

“Success (in the industry) is ‘offering a service and giving caregivers the opportunity to make sure they have the training because it’s my product and service,’” Rankine says. “You want to succeed really quickly… like a microwave effect, but it’s really a pot of boiling water. You have to really let the lessons sit and savor them.”

Rankine’s three franchises have grossed thousands and thousands of dollars in the greater than 10 years she’s been in business, and she or he’s very proud to be a Black franchisee — especially because it pertains to addressing health disparities between Black and brown communities.

Bridging the Gap for Minority Communities

Rankine goals to cut back health care inequities in minority communities by educating people about health care and helping families develop a home health care emergency plan.

One of the misconceptions she combats in these communities is that families consider they should look after their family members alone.

“Our default approach is not to go to an outside firm, but to go through the church. We will look for a church community before we actually hire someone. We have been actively reaching out to a number of churches to start the conversation about preparing for care,” he adds.

In many cases, insurance and Medicare won’t cover additional services like home health care, despite the fact that the advantages outweigh community care. Rankine said community care puts family members in danger when others at home are sick.

The average cost of a home health aide is $33 per hour. Rankine has tough conversations with people and families about financial preparedness and investing in long-term care insurance.

“The reward (for me) is providing solutions to my family,” she says. “I’ve always loved being a fixer, and I’ve always loved giving back in other ways.”