Andrew Bucholtz

Reporter

Brian Buckley and his daughter, Lindsey Eldridge, make it their mission to help South Delta seniors.

They run the local franchise of Nurse Next Door, a company that offers a wide variety of home healthcare services through 32 franchises across Canada.

"Our goal is to keep seniors living in their own homes here in Delta as independent as possible," Eldridge said. "Here in Delta, there's a big population of seniors and not a lot of home healthcare companies."

Buckley, the franchise partner and care team leader, and Eldridge, the general manager, work with care manager Sara Smurthwaite to arrange home-care services for Delta residents. They have 42 caregivers on staff, including companions, registered care aides, licensed practical nurses and registered nurses.

Eldridge said there's a particular demand for companions and registered care aides.

"A lot of seniors just need help in the home with day-to-day living," she said.

Buckley started the franchise with Eldridge about a year ago. He said Nurse Next Door offered him a chance to run his own business in an industry he was passionate about.

"The core values and all of the philosophy were so closely linked to mine," he said.

Eldridge was reluctant to join at first, as she had a good job in customer service management. However, Buckley asked her to come on board, and she was sold after meeting with the Nurse Next Door executives.

"It was the direction I wanted to head," she said.

Buckley said he expects companies like Nurse Next Door to have a larger role in the future thanks to Canada's aging population and the limited number of hospital and long-term care beds available. He said many seniors who would have to take spots in those facilities have been able to continue living on their own thanks to Nurse Next Door, and that's worked out well for them.

"The healing power of being in your own home is amazing," he said.

Eldridge said their business has grown rapidly, and she expects that to continue as the word about them spreads.

"The sky's the limit, really."