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Business & Tech

Home Instead Senior Care Opens in Merrick

Former Wall Street trader and his wife run new business to provide personal quality care for seniors ages 80 and up.

We all have that adored grandma or favorite uncle we enjoy spending time with, but what happens when that loved one can no longer do the simple things, such as shopping, cooking and driving; and you can't be there to help?

In comes Home Instead Senior Care, which recently opened at 1817 Merrick Ave.

"I was only going to buy the business if my wife did it with me," said Mark Labib, who owns Home Instead with his wife, Nicole. "She agreed to do it with us—we do it together—so we bought the business in December of last year and quite honestly it's the best achievement I've ever made."

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Home Instead Senior Care is a non-medical provider of companionship, meal-preparation, light house-keeping, transportation, shopping, errands and personal care, according to Labib.

"It's for that senior that is still independent, doesn't want to leave their home, but needs assistance in the house," Labib said.

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Labib, a former hedge fund trader on Wall Street from Syosset, said he was never enthralled or satisfied with his career until this opportunity came along.

"I always had my eye on the exit," he said of working on Wall Street. "I always knew that this wasn't a sustainable career for me—it was just way too much physically to handle emotionally."

When his father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2009, more emotions knocked him over and caused him to crack, resulting in Labib quitting his job and looking for something less stressful.

"It wasn't easy [to quit my job], it was a very nerve-wracking decision, but I was 34-years-old and I felt like I was on the brink of a nervous breakdown," Labib said.

For a guy who always "wears his heart on his sleeve," caring for the elderly was a perfect fit for someone with heavy sentiment.

Labib's wife, Nicole Labib, a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) who used to work for a non-profit adoption agency, takes on the role of networking and marketing for Home Instead.

"She goes to the hospitals and the rehabs in the nursing homes and meets with the case managers and the discharge planners and the social workers," Mark Labib said.

Mark Labib's niche is going to the seniors' homes, meeting with them and their family and assessing which CAREGiver to use, he said.

Great candidates for Home Instead Senior Care are typically over the age of 80, living alone or with a significant other or whose family cannot be there every day, Labib said.

Services can be arranged for as little as four hours per week, or as much as 24-hour care for $20 an hour. A CAREGiver can live in the seniors' home if necessary for a cost of $200 a day.

"Our 24-hour care is about $72,000 a year—and that's all private pay—where nursing homes can be up to $150,000 a year, so it's half the expense," Labib said. "It's not a cheap service, but at the end of the day, if mom or dad needs that help, there's nothing you can do."

Services include:

  • Companionship: Seniors are often alone and detached from reality, which can result in depression. CAREGivers provide a stimulating friendship.
  • Meal Preparation: CAREGivers make breakfast, lunch or dinner and clear up afterwards. They can take seniors food shopping, too.
  • Driving: Some seniors don't have the ability to drive anymore, so a CAREGiver steps in to make running errands easier and more enjoyable.
  • Medication Reminder:  Seniors tend to be over-medicated or under-medicated. The CAREGiver does not administer the senior, but reminds them responsibly.
  • Personal Care Assistance: CAREGivers help seniors to shower, get dressed, groomed, etc. Seniors can struggle with the simplest tasks.

All Home Instead CAREGivers are highly trained and educated and selectively chosen by the owners, Labib said.

"We have mandatory training every quarter," he said. "Last quarter we had Alzheimer's dementia training…right now we have the Red Cross coming in and next quarter we're having recreational specialists come in to talk about activities to do with the seniors."

Home Instead Senior Care is the world's largest franchise that offers non-medical care for seniors citizens. There are 650 independently owned franchises in the United States and 200 overseas.            

And now there's one right here in Merrick.

"This whole thing is tied into what happened to my dad and it really makes it personal for me," Labib said. "I like to believe I'm a little bit different than the competition as far as our real commitment to providing a quality service."

For more information on Home Instead Senior Care, visit www.homeinstead.com/236

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