2024 Economic Impact Awards 11-20 Years in Business: Phoenix Home Care & Hospice

Phoenix Home Care & Hospice’s economic impact goes far beyond helping the company’s clients.

Phil Melugin, co-founder and CEO, says employee retention and hearing employee needs is a top priority for Phoenix.

“With the demand for quality employees, it oftentimes feels like you’ll never catch it, with the supply to care for the number of people,” he says. “That’s part of where our economic impact happens. I think we have developed a unique magnetism to Phoenix, which has allowed us to meet more needs than any of our competitors, just because of the sheer scope we’re meeting. We could never do that without a strong, retained employee base.”

Phoenix companywide now employs nearly 3,900 people, who provide in-home health and hospice care worth over 60,000 hours per week to more than 7,500 individuals. This is an increase of over 10,000 hours and 2,000 patients in just the past year.

To keep employees retained, the company has a program called PHC U-Too that incentivizes employees to take additional courses to increase their skill sets. Nearly 46% of new employees voluntarily take part in this program. At each location, the company also hosts pop-up events that include coffee and snacks to allow employees to mingle with executives.

One of the major goals for Phoenix, Melugin says, is reducing the number of hospital visits and readmissions, decreasing doctor visits and postponing or eliminating the necessity of moving clients into skilled health facilities.

“The care provided in the home is the most cost-effective Accountable Care Organization,” he says. “Whether it’s through a state program, Medicare services or an insurance plan, anything we can do to reduce the cost of health care helps everyone. It helps keep health care costs down, and that’s a positive. Hospitals, I believe, are overrun trying to keep up. We help them by mitigating some of the pressure that they have, through the home nursing setting.

“I think this partnership not only brings satisfaction to the care recipient that we get home but opens a space in a nursing home to allow individuals to have the level of care they need.”

Melugin, who co-founded Phoenix with his wife, Kim, says not only is employee retention important, but maybe the largest economic impact the company makes is helping its clients and aiding in overall health in the community, regardless of their economic standing. He said that studies have shown that 9 of 10 people who need longer term care prefer to receive it in their home.

“A large number of our clients in the community are on public assistance, but they still have access to health care,” he says. “Then, we have individuals we care for, who quite frankly, might have their name on a building somewhere, very affluent individuals. And we provide for every socioeconomic class in between the two extremes. I think that’s something that sets Phoenix apart, that as far as our care, our prioritization for all the individuals we care for is absolutely the same.”