Business Spotlight: Senior Home Solutions
For most people climbing a few steps to reach the front door of their home or ascending a staircase to access their house’s second level is a daily occurrence to which little thought is given. But, for the elderly, those with certain illnesses, and individuals with physical disabilities; climbing a flight of stairs can seem like scaling a mountain. Thankfully there are companies like Senior Home Solutions that can assist homeowners in restructuring entrance ways, converting interior living spaces for additional safety, and tackle home design issues to make daily living more accessible to those individuals with physical challenges.
But it’s not only about building wheelchair ramps and installing chair lifts along staircases, Senior Home Solutions offer several different products designed to improve the quality of life of those needing some extra help in dealing with everyday life tasks.
Company founder and Fenton resident Matthew Welch credits his grandparents for the inspiration to help people rethink the way their homes can become more accessible and convenient to live in. Matthew remembers his grandmother struggling to take care of his grandfather during the later stages of life when he had become confined to a wheelchair. “My Grandmother was old-school, for years she struggled to assist her husband in and out of the bath or moving him about in a wheelchair. Never once did she complain about the difficulties of caring for him at home. It was just something you did. With the products we feature those daily chores can be performed with much less physical effort, thereby helping the elderly to maintain their independence for as long as possible.”
Senior Home Solutions builds permanent wheelchair ramps for any home entrance situation, but they also provide rental ramps for patients that require temporary accessibility after an accident or surgical procedure. These short-term aluminum ramps are often paid for by insurance companies as a part of home health care provisions in the policy. Matthew’s company also installs chair lifts for those folks who find it difficult to continue living in multi-level homes. However, one room in the house generally garners the most attention when it comes to safety and accessibility issues. According to Welch: “Bathrooms are the number one area of the house where most slip-and-fall accidents happen, because of that we do a large number of bathroom conversions installing grab rails, shower seats, walk-in tubs, and open shower designs.”
For years Welch worked for a firm that specialized in home and business remodeling projects, when the business owner retired Welch decided to start his own business focusing on helping those people who struggled to help themselves. A few of the guys who previously worked with Matthew signed on to make his vision a reality. While they will take on a conventional rebuilding project, Matthew’s passion is to provide quality, affordable, and custom designed solutions to everyday accessibility challenges faced by the sick and elderly. You might say it’s his calling at this point in life.
One indispensable part of Matthew’s business is the Ford Transit Van that he purchased last year at Lasco Ford. “I had a one-ton conventional cargo van but it was just not getting the job done. The aluminum ramps we feature come in sections 10 feet long and 3 feet wide, they just would not fit in a standard cargo van along with the installation equipment we needed to carry. We shopped the different van models on the market and settled on the Transit because it offered us exactly what we were looking for. My guys fight for the chance to drive it to a job site, you can’t believe how good it feels on the road, not at all like driving any of the other vans I have owned.”
Welch’s son plays football at Fenton High School, when the Tigers qualified for the playoffs last year they had a road game in Midland. “We emptied the van of all our work equipment and filled it to the roof with the player’s gear bags, shoulder pads, helmets, cleats, all of their equipment for the game. The Transit road and drove like a dream, great performance and handling even with all that weight in the back.”
Matthew’s business philosophy is to earn his next job by showcasing the quality and functionality of the last job he performed. Word-of-mouth referrals are more valuable than any advertising campaign you might conceive. Things seem to be working out well for Matthew and his employees, a dozen hospitals, clinics, and doctors regularly send patients to him for help in home safety, convenience, and independent living modifications. In fact, Matthew says he’s going back to Lasco Ford and buy a second Transit Van; “I like to keep my business local and the Lasco family has been doing business in this community for a long time, they treated me right and I love the product.”
None of us are getting younger and with new accessibility products coming to the market every year it seems the future is bright for Matthew and Senior Home Solutions. Contact Matthew Welch on his website http://www.seniorhomesolutions.com/ via email at seniorhomesolutions@gmail.com or by phone at (586) 997-0750.
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