Page 17 - BusinessWest January 20, 2021

Mary Flahive- Dickson says the pandemic initially forced many to cancel or suspend home-care services. But as time went on, many came to see the home as a safer alternative to nursing homes and other
facilities.
growing sentiment within the healthcare profes- sion that this trend, or movement, if it can be called either, could have a degree of permanence, especially at a time when some are warning that COVID-19 will certainly not be the last deadly virus to threaten the world’s population.
Meanwhile, the pandemic and its impact on the overall mental health of area residents (see related story, page 6) certainly played a role in propelling the company into the behavioral- health realm, said Ruiz.
That division of the company, if you will, was launched roughly a year ago, but the pandemic has certainly elevated the level of need and vali- dated the decision to again rewrite that business plan and move into this field.
“Even though there’s a lot of agencies in the behavioral-health realm, we still felt there was an opportunity for us,” said Ruiz, noting that this division provides an array of services, including alcohol- and drug-addiction services and coun- seling to frontline workers such as police and firefighters.
For this issue, BusinessWest talked with the principals of Golden Years about how far this company has come in five short years, and just what Ruiz meant when he said they had barely scratched the surface.
Shining Examples
“We don’t look at ourselves as competitors — that’s a word that we don’t use here. We’re creators — we create our niche. And we do that by telling our story and emphasizing our services.”
That’s what Ruiz told BusinessWest when we talked with him roughly 14 months ago. That was his answer to a question concerning the
home-care market in the Greater Boston region (and this one, as well), the many players already on that field, if you will, and his thoughts on why he thought there was room for one more.
His reply speaks to the confident operating tone at this venture, and offers, all by itself, some
insight into why the company’s principals have been chosen for the prestigious Top Entrepreneur award, launched in 1996, and join an elite group of honorees (see chart, page 19) that includes col- lege and hospital presidents, tech-startup found- ers, and many others.
Indeed, at Golden Years, they do look for nich- es, they really enjoy telling their story (we’ll get
“
Springfield area, and his care was real and positive and forward- thinking care, and I felt that same feeling when I first came here.
to it in a minute), and they put the emphasis on services. And, as Ruiz said, they don’t view them- selves as merely another competitor in whatever field they happen to be entering, but as creators ... of opportunities and, yes, niches.
That was true in homecare and in staffing, and it’s also true in behavioral healthcare, as Tracy Mineo, executive vice president of Golden Years Behavioral Health Services, explained when she was asked essentially the same question Ruiz was asked — about the playing field and why Golden Years saw opportunity within it.
“There are a lot of fine agencies operating in this region,” she said, noting that she worked for many years at one of them — Behavioral Health Network. “But even the bigger agencies ... there
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JANUARY 20, 2021 17