Gary Nguyen of 24/7 Care at Home | 2015 Small Business Person of the Year
Vietnam native starts home health care business in 2007, grows to $10 million enterprise employing 150 people
Cuong “Gary” Nguyen, founder of 24/7 Care at Home, has been selected as the 2015 Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Santa Ana District Office. Nguyen, who lives in Westminster, started 24/7 Care at Home in 2007 and has since grown the company into a $10 million revenue enterprise employing 150 people and providing comprehensive in-home health care services to families living in the Southern California counties of Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino. Nguyen was nominated for the award by Kurt Chilcott, President/CEO of CDC Small Business Finance, a participating SBA Community Advantage, Microloan, and 504 lender.
A native of Vietnam, Mr. Nguyen immigrated to the United States to pursue higher education and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Cal Poly Pomona. Nguyen gained valuable experience working in the real estate industry before launching his first home health care agency in 2007 providing care services to underserved communities in Southern California. Beginning with five employees, including his brother and sister, Nguyen and his team of professionals have doubled the company’s annual revenues every year. In 2009, Nguyen added a hospice service to his agency’s continuum of care, which now includes physical, occupational, and speech therapy; mobile dentistry; podiatry care; home-delivery pharmacy; and more. According to Nguyen, the hospice team is also heavily involved in identifying and supporting veteran patients and their families, and a team of volunteers and staff routinely honor veteran patients publicly and by their bedside for their contribution to our nation’s security and freedom.
Cuong “Gary” Nguyen
Originally named 24/7 Home Care, in 2014 Nguyen added house call doctors to the company’s services and changed the company’s name to 24/7 Care at Home, reflecting his belief that patients are happier and thus healthier when they are receiving care in their own home. Nguyen
projects the company’s 2015 revenues at $20 million and is confident the demand for home health and hospice care services will parallel growth in the nation’s population of seniors, which is expected to reach 75 million by 2030.
Throughout the company’s eight year history of serving the community, 24/7 Home Care has placed a strong emphasis on ensuring that the individual needs of every patient are met, earning the company the Pinnacle Quality Insight Customer Experience Award in 2012, 2013, and 2014. In order to qualify for the award, a sampling of the provider’s patients and families participate in monthly telephone interviews and have the opportunity to rate the company in certain categories. The award signifies the company placing in the top 15% of home care providers in the nation.
24/7 Care at Home’s has been recognized as one of the top 100 home health agencies in the United States by the National Research Corporation’s Home Care Elite. Nguyen is committed to hiring a bilingual staff and include Vietnamese, Tagalog, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Cambodian, and Farsi as languages spoken by his staff. Nguyen has also provided initial funding Support Care Family Services, a non-profit organization created to help families who struggle to afford quality in-home health care.
The SBA became a vital resource for Nguyen starting in 2013. With revenues and employee base doubling every year, he wanted to consolidate three separate leased office suites. Nguyen used the SBA 504 loan program, receiving funding from CDC Small Business Finance to purchase a $1.7 million, 12,000 square foot building. The next year Nguyen again leveraged SBA backed financing in the form of a $250,000 Community Advantage loan to cover operating costs and hire new employees.
Owner Nguyen’s path to entrepreneurial success has not been without challenges. Several years ago, Nguyen was involved in a helicopter crash.
According to Nguyen, “the crash made a huge influence on my healthcare career. It changed how I think about health care and hospice and gave me motivation to help more people with their end of life care and quality of life. I’ve adopted the personal philosophy that if you can’t add more day in your life, then add more life in your day.”
Every year since 1963, the president has issued a proclamation calling for the celebration of National Small Business Week. Small business owners, entrepreneurs, and community leaders are recognized by SBA district offices at events across the nation during this week. SBA’s Santa Ana District Office, which is responsible for the delivery of SBA programs in the Southern California counties of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino,
