Naomi Cotrone, who grew up in Warwick and worked at an international hotel chain, made a life-changing decision in 2008 to enter the in-home care service after caring for her grandmother.

“When I started taking care of my grandmother, I noticed a lot of people weren’t getting the care you’d want for your loved one. I have a real passion when it comes to caring for people and wanted to reach out to a larger community to give people the care I know I’d want my own loved ones to receive,” she said in a recent interview.

Cotrone knew she wanted to be a part of a franchise but found many were only concerned with the money that could be made, not the difference that could be made.

Then Cotrone and her brother, Asher Fink, a veteran, noticed an advertisement for Right at Home in an airplane magazine. The two decided to look further into it. They held a phone interview and were invited to a “Discovery Day” where they could tour facilities in Omaha, Nebraska and speak with various representatives.

“That first phone call it felt like talking to an old family friend. They were asking us about ourselves and our family and then Discovery Day was like visiting those friends,” Cotrone said. “The welcome we received was amazing. We knew right away they shared the same passion as us.”

Last October, with a $40,000 initial investment and over six years of experience in the field, Cotrone opened Right at Home in-home care service in Warwick with her brother. As part of the franchise, Cotrone gets rights to the name and international reputation, as well as having a support system in place through Right at Home headquarters. It is the first franchise in Rhode Island, although Right at Home would like to see several other locations open.

She said, “Right at Home Rhode Island home care services are built around your specific needs. We develop individualized care plans and monitor and adjust through frequent home visits to ensure services provided by caregivers continue to match their client’s changing needs.”

Right at Home is an international in-home senior care industry based out of Omaha. It is the first in-home care company to move into China and South America and have nearly 450 locations worldwide. It provides in-home care or “companion care” to seniors as well as permanently disabled adults to help them remain relatively independent at home. Services include light housework, cooking, transportation, support, as well as hospital recovery assistance among various other things.

It began in 1995 by Allen Hager, who spent most of his career working in health care as a hospital administrator. Hager worked closely with families and previous patients for five years before beginning to expand his concept with a franchise. This is believed to be a big part of what makes Right at Home apart from other in home care providers.

Tom King, Franchise Development Director for Right at Home, who worked closely with Cotrone, said, “In the homecare business, we are a thoroughbred. Right at Home didn’t begin from a bunch of investors trying to get into the business at a good time. We were started by people really passionate about the field, and we continue to work with extremely passionate people.”

As mentioned, this is also what drew Cotrone to the franchise in the first place.

She said, “We want to do anything and everything to improve the quality of life for those in the community and provide them with an experience. We are focused on relationships with our clients. It’s like you’re working with your neighbor, your grandmother, your mother, not just another client. ”

Luc Deslauriers, a FranNet consultant, has worked with Right at Home for eight years. FranNet is a franchise brokerage company that represents Right at Home. Although he did not work directly with Cotrone, in a phone interview he did speak about Right at Home’s method of choosing franchisees.

“Right at Home doesn’t want the type of people who are in it just to make money; they want people who want to make a difference”

King believes that Cotrone is a “natural” and cites her passion and experience in hospitality as something that will help her be “wildly successful” within the next couple of years.

According to both Deslauriers and King, Cotrone also entered in to the franchise at a perfect time.

“When you look into the future there is what we call a silver tsunami coming,” King said.

Although Rhode Island already has a large elderly population, Deslauriers and King said that as the “Baby Boomer” generation is starting to come to the age where they may need in home care and that creates a huge customer base.

Deslauriers, said, “The baby boomer generation is expected to peak in 2020, but life statistics say that if they live to be 65 there is an 80 percent chance they will make it to 84. Seniors are living longer and they are going to need the care Right at Home can provide. ”

King said that the average customer for Right at Home is about 75 and by setting herself up now Cotrone is securing customers and building a rapport within the community, so that when the “silver tsunami” comes she will be ready.

Despite, the obvious opportunity for growth, Cotrone’s main focus is seeing her passion come to fruition and helping out the community she grew up in and loves.

She said, “This is a huge deal to me. I’ve been involved in care giving. It means a lot that now I have the opportunity to reach out and help. I want to get out there and make sure people are getting the appropriate care. What we are noticing so far is that there are a lot of people who aren’t in the right plan and they are paying a lot of money for services they may not even need. They feel stuck and I want to be able to help people get out of that and live more independent and fulfilling lives.”

Right at Home Rhode Island services begin at $20 per hour with varying additional costs for transportation as well as flat fees for different programs ranging from $45 to $150.

For more information on Right at Home Rhode Island or to inquire about their services, visit their website at www.rightathome.net/warwick or call their offices at 383-1950.