Today we’d like to introduce you to Kurt Buske.
A Better Solution Home Care & Nursing (ABS) was founded in 2000 by Lia Smith. Over the years, ABS has grown into one of San Diego’s most successful home care organizations. Lia Smith brought Kurt Buske on board as a partner and President in 2015 to help strengthen the ABS brand and expand the business nationally. Kurt has known Lia for over 14 years and was previously a referral source for ABS.
Kurt is a medical social worker by trade and has over 20 years of experience growing businesses in the health and aging industry. Kurt spent much of his career in the non-profit, social services, health and aging field prior to his work with ABS. Since Kurt’s partnership with Lia, ABS has developed a Medicare-certified home health division and a franchise division. ABS is currently expanding its brand and concepts nationally and now has 12 franchise units in the US.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Home care is a competitive industry with many different brands and options available to consumers. With competition comes challenges, particularly in regards to differentiation. ABS, while being a long-standing brand, has experienced challenges related to growth in a competitive market with many players. The demand for home care is growing exponentially due to growth in the oldest segments of our population (age 85+ is the fastest growing population demographic in the US and the oldest baby boomers are now in their 70s) and a desire among this population to remain at home for as long as possible in spite of limitations that may come with age.
Increasing organizational capacity to effectively meet this growing demand has required ABS to implement increasing levels of sophistication in regards to organizational processes. In addition to these challenges, California started requiring licensure of home care organizations in 2016, requiring adaptation to effectively meet regulatory requirements. Home care has and will continue to require operators to become increasingly sophisticated to effectively compete in this industry.
Being creative and launching new business lines also comes with challenges for any organization. The addition of talented staff, procedures and marketing strategies to connect with an expanded consumer base has been challenging. ABS now markets to not only healthcare providers and families looking for non-medical home care (i.e. caregivers), but also to individuals needing short-term skilled care, doctors offices, skilled nursing facilities and prospective business owners interested in launching their own home care business under the ABS brand. These new business realities have brought challenges as well as incredible fulfillment and the opportunity to reach more of our target consumer population.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Although there are many home care providers in San Diego County, ABS is the only San Diego based organization that functions as a non-medical home care agency, a Medicare-certified home health agency and a home care franchisor. ABS has been in business for 18 years and is one of the longest standing homes are agencies in San Diego County. ABS is known for quality care that is customized to each individual client’s needs and preferences.
ABS specializes in providing the following services:
1) Non-medical home care assistance – caregivers and CNAs help clients with their daily living activities so they care to remain living in the environment of their choice even though their independence is decreasing).
2) Home health care – short-term rehabilitative care provided by nurses and physical therapists that can be paid for through Medicare or privately.
3) Care Management – through ABS’s signature Wraparound Care Management program, clients are connected to a variety of community resources available to them that they may not be aware of. A majority of ABS’s clients are older adults and they are often unaware of resources available to help them remain as independent as possible at home.
4) Placement assistance – ABS Care Managers can help clients locate suitable residential care options in the event staying at home is no longer a viable option.
5) Facility staffing – ABS provides caregivers, Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) and nurses to a variety of care facilities needed additional support on a temporary, short-term basis or even permanently.
6) ABS is a franchisor and, as such, trains business owners who have a desire to operate their own home care business under the ABS brand. ABS currently has 12 franchise units throughout the United States.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was always curious and ambitious. I was always engaged in education and learning as much as possible about things that interested me. From a young age, I was intrigued by older adults and loved spending time with my grandparents. I enjoyed their wisdom and learning from their life experience.
I grew up in San Diego and was brought up in a ‘sailing family’. My family had a sailboat and I loved sailing our beautiful bay and ocean. I was also very interested in music and ended up becoming a drummer, performing in a variety of bands for many years. To this day, sailing and drumming remain my primary passions outside of work and family.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3636 Camino Del Rio North, Suite 100 San Diego, CA 92108
- Website: www.absihc.com
- Phone: 619-585-9011
- Email: info@absihc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abshomecare/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/absihc/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/a-better-solution-in-home-care-san-diego
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