Campbell Express: Campbell family runs in-home care business

Campbell Express, June 20, 2018

Family Matters In-Home Care LLC cut the red ribbon with Campbell’s Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, June 14 to open their headquarters in Campbell. This licensed home care agency employs over 200 dedicated caregivers to provide South Bay Area families with physical and emotional support.

Family Matters In-Home Care LLC offers a spectrum of services: caring companionship, recovery care, Alzheimer’s and dementia care, personal care, wheelchair transfers, transportation, and housekeeping. “We serve about 120 clients out of the Campbell office. Most of them are elderly and desire assistance to be able to age in peace in their own homes. We also have a smaller program in which we provide personal assistants to enable employees with special physical needs to function to their highest potential in their workplaces,” shared Jacob Laffen, President, CEO, and Co-Owner of Family Matters In-Home Care LLC.

As President and CEO, Jacob Laffen is involved in every aspect of this business, taking care of daily operations based on the values his family has put in place. Jacob makes himself available to provide guidance to his staff on any variety of issues, and takes the lead in the business’ marketing efforts.

“I’ve had an entrepreneurial spirit since running a lawn mowing business at a young age. When I was eight or nine years old, my grandmother, a real estate broker, took me along on sales calls and my dad, also a small business owner, took me to sales meeting and functions,” remembers Laffen. “I enjoy the independence of working for myself and running a business the way I think it should be run, learning from things I have observed in other jobs. There are four of us owners – my mom, myself, and two of my brothers. Fortunately, being part of the same family and background, we share the same values in how Family Matters is run.”

Family Matters is a proving to be a success because of a strong family at its core. Laffen’s mother, Carol Spears, is not only a coowner, but the founder of Family Matters. Spears has worked in the healthcare field for forty years. As a Certified Nursing Assistant, Spears worked for El Camino Hospital in the cardiac unit, Los Gatos Community Hospital, and several home health and hospice agencies before founding Family Matters. She maintains regular face-to-face interaction with her own set of clients, mostly in Santa Cruz County.

Spears is proud to have all three of her sons, Jacob, Marcus, and James Laffen, involved in the business she founded in 2013, as co-owners.

Marcus Laffen is also the Director of Family Matters with more than ten years of experience in the home-care field, including hands-on experience as a home care aide. Marcus is closely involved with the internal scheduling and operations at Family Matters, and remains the point of contact for a select group of clients.

Before joining Family Matter’s as Client Care Manager, James Laffen has worked twelve years in El Camino Hospital’s emergency department. As Client Care Manager, James maintains regular face-to-face contact with clients, as well as promoting the business by engaging with non-profit and for-profit referral sources in the local community.

Spear’s daughter-in-law and sister-in-law are contributing to Family Matters as well. Carrie Laffen, James’ wife, works in the business as a marketing specialist. And Linda Pardue, Spear’s sisterin-law, is one of two key members running our operation in Family Matter’s San Diego office.

Family Matters In-Home Care LLC has offices in Campbell, Pleasanton, and San Mateo sharing services and resources. “We also have an office in San Diego County, also run by a family member – which has been open since early 2017,” reports Jacob Laffen. “While Campbell is by far our largest location, we’ve provided services to well over 200 clients already in 2018.”

“Working with family can be challenging at times, but as long as you have respect for each other, are patient and, most importantly, treat all of your employees like family, you will do well,” continues Jacob Laffen.

When asked about his mother, Jacob boasts, “I get kind of speechless when I reflect on what a caring person my mom Carol is, and some of the challenges she’s overcome.”

As a business owner, Jacob Laffen has many goals for this business, and they all begin with serving as many of the elderly as possible in our community with high-quality care with a personal touch. “I’m also proud of the fact that we are providing employment for so many people – many of them are full-time, benefits-eligible jobs – and a good, safe, non-exploitative working environment. The fact that our success so far has enabled us to continue to work together as a family has been a huge plus,” reports Jacob Laffen.

Jacob Laffen also forsees economic challenges for his business due to the cost of living in the Bay Area, and the fact that their caregivers, along with teachers, firefighters and others are being forced out of the area. “Our game plan to overcome (this challenge) is to pay people better than the minimum wage, to offer benefits like medical, dental, vision and a 401K plan, and to be a friendlier, better place to work than our competitors.”

Family Matters partners with Aging Life Care Experts who provide many kinds of services for their clients, and who know they can come to Family Matters to provide reliable caregivers who will be compatible with their clients’ needs. They do not have a relationship with In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), a federal, state, and locally funded program to provide assistance to those eligible aged, blind, and disabled individuals who, without care, would be unable to remain safely in their homes. “While we don’t work with IHSS, we do have relationships with several longterm care insurance companies. If the insurance companies’ practices allow for it, we’ve been able to obtain reimbursements for family members taking care of their own loved ones,” states Jacob Laffen.

“There’s definitely hard work in succeeding as a small business. In a business that provides such a crucial service, you have to be prepared to receive phone calls at 3am. Great partners and supporters when you are getting started are essential, and a little good luck never hurts either,” concludes Jacob Laffen.

Contact Family Matters by telephone at 408-831-6304, online at www.familymattershc. com, or by visiting their Campbell office at 2155 S. Bascom Avenue, Suite 116.

Sources:

• http://www.campbellexpress.com/download/view%20all%20campbell%20express%20archives%20/2018_campbell_express_archives/06_-_june_2018/20180620.pdf
• https://familymattershc.com/wp-content/uploads/campbell-express-june-20-2018.pdf