App-based elderly home care company expands to North Texas

Honor, often described as the Uber of non-medical home care services for the elderly, expanded into North Texas this week by opening education centers in Arlington and North Richland Hills.

Launched a year ago in San Francisco, Honor uses mobile apps to match clients with home care employees while also providing information digitally to the customer’s family so that they can monitor their loved one’s care.

The kind of services Honor’s employees provide — not medical care such as dispensing medicine but tasks like house cleaning, buying groceries and preparing meals — will allow seniors to age in place with honor and dignity, company officials said.

“The exciting thing about Honor is that we are using technology to change the game and help people age in comfort and grace,” said Kathryn Parsons, Honor’s general manager in Fort Worth and Dallas. Often family members are required to do tasks that put a strain on relationships.

“We can help a husband be a husband again ...We can help a family be a family again,” Parsons said.

The education centers, where potential clients and their families can learn about the services, are located in Wal-Mart Supercenters at 9101 N. Tarrant Parkway in North Richland Hills and 4800 U.S. Highway 287 in Arlington. The centers are open 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

Honor’s founders felt that the nation was doing a poor job taking care of its seniors. In Fort Worth and Dallas, there are more than 320,000 people 65 years or older, company officials said, and that population is growing with a lack of adequate, affordable facilities.

To provide efficient care, Honor asks its employees — or Care Pros — to list their qualifications; then links them with seniors who have detailed the kind of help they need.

Other information is provides, so that if the client has dogs and the Care Pro is allergic, they are not matched.

Since the services being provided are non-medical, they are not paid by Medicare or Medicaid. The number to call about getting care is 877-777-5116.

Honor is also hiring hundreds of new caregivers, who will be trained and receive good wages, Parsons said. Nationally, the average pay for a home caregiver is $9.70 and hour; Care Pros will be paid about $13 an hour in this area. They also will get benefits, paid sick time and stock options.

The company carefully screens its applicants, hiring only about 5 to 10 percent of those who apply, Parsons said. Applicants can apply at www.joinhonor.com/carepro.

“Ninety percent of Americans want to stay in their homes as long as they can,” Parsons said. “We want to offer that opportunity to as many people who want to make that choice.”

This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 4:56 PM with the headline "App-based elderly home care company expands to North Texas."