Right At Home Franchisee, A Former C E O, Shifts To Senior Care With Darien Franchise

As parents of baby boomers choose to age in their own homes, children are serious about providing mom and dad the best support and care. One businessman, with an aging mother in mind, has even taken on a senior care franchise to ensure only qualified caregivers are hired.

David Babcock, an Old Greenwich native, didn't trust just any caregiver to take care of his aging mother. After he resigned as the CEO of his father's company in 2012, he bought Right At Home, a senior care franchise in Darien. The decision allowed him to vet candidates himself and hire who he considers to be the most qualified and experienced caregivers. Babcock said since buying the franchise, employment has increased by 20 percent. Babcock declined to say how many employees currently work for him.

Babcock became the owner of his father's industrial construction business, Five Star Products Inc. in Fairfield, after his father passed away of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases several years ago. Since then, his 88-year-old mother has been receiving in-home assistance for her illness. After having difficulty finding the right caregiver, he decided to get involved in the health care industry in his hometown. Matching aging moms and dads to the most qualified caregivers became his new passion.

"The decision to jump over to senior care from industrial construction work happened several years ago when my mom was pretty ill and my family tried to take care of her," Babcock said. "I got a bit of exposure to being a caregiver and that was when I had the "aha" moment. Realizing it was a hard job to do, I wanted to find her the right caregiver." The same year that Babcock resigned at his father's company in 2012, he met Luc Deslauriers, a business consultant with FranNet, a company that focuses on connecting prospective owners with franchising opportunities. Deslauriers handles the Connecticut market and has crisscrossed the state to give seminars on franchises.

He sat down with Babcock to discuss what his lifestyle and income goals were and helped him find this business opportunity last year when the franchisee of Right At Home was looking to sell her business after operating in Darien for five years.

FranNet vets companies that are looking for new franchisees before putting them on its inventory list. It covers a wide range of sectors, including health care. It operates 276 offices in the U.S. with 50 offices internationally. It has five offices in Connecticut.

In Fairfield County, many competing senior care agencies and services are vying for a share of the senior market, Babcock said. Despite the competition in his own backyard, he said the quality of training, services, technology and employee benefits distinguish his company from the rest. The company is focusing on hiring long-term caregivers who have the right skills and training to meet the various home care needs of its customers.

As senior care trends upward with baby boomers getting ready to retire in the next few years, Right At Home has positioned itself to capture the Fairfield County market, Babcock said.

"We are planning to expand, but we haven't decided exactly how we're going to expand yet," Babcock said. "We're still developing our long-term strategic plans."

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