Our Founder's Story

Frank Guerrieri, President and CEO

In 1984, Frank, a bright, ambitious 26 years old, with a will and desire to succeed, wanted a career that he could be passionate about, as well as being successful.

His mother-in-law, Lois Whitesell a RN, approached him with the idea of Home Health Care. Frank’s wife, Jody, while waiting for her RN license, worked at the Hebrew Home for the Aged as a nursing aide and also did private duty nursing care in the home. This experience gave her the chance to witness firsthand the need for better care for the elderly, and the importance of having an alternative, of care provided to them in the comfort and security of their home.

Frank, with no medical background, but a people person, had an innate business mind in sales and marketing and quickly saw the potential. He began developing and implementing processes for the business. Because of his commitment to learn he became an expert in the Home Health Care industry. By applying excellent business principles, his business grew rapidly. He recognized a special need in home health care, and even felt he coined the term “live-in,” which became a popular service he offered.

For the past 24 years, Frank developed medical and non-medical Home Health Care agencies and non-medical Home Care agencies, from the ground up. He personally did the ongoing day to day tasks that mark success. He continually developed his caregiver base, never forgetting how important their job was to the company, and nurtured them with great respect. He always kept his clients just a phone call away, talking with them to find out how better to serve them. Payroll and billing he did in his sleep. He marketed to specific targeted referral sources, developing and using key phrases that captured his audiences while finding ways to network through health seminars, health fairs, and speaking engagements. When not at home with their 4 children, Jody enjoyed teaching the training classes for the home health aides, making supervisory visits to the clients for quality assurance.

When he decided to relocate his family from Central Florida to East TN, Frank marketed to sell their 16 year established medical and non-medical home health care business and successfully sold to a prominent hospital chain. In 1998 he started Help at Home a non-medical Home Care services in East Tennessee, culturally very different than Central Florida, whereby he re-established his home care prominence by using the very same business and health care practices that made him very successful in the past. Once again Frank captured the “market by storm,” something that every single franchise owner has come to hear and believe when they join the Preferred Care at home team. From a rural mountain setting to the valley of Knoxville, his expansion progressed, and to this date his office is still providing assistance to those in need. Throughout each phase of developing these businesses, Frank had a burning desire to teach and nurture others in the same business that has brought he and his family such success and rewards.

The Preferred Care at home, a non-medical home care agency franchise, has been in development for the last 6-8 years, and at last has been launched in August of 2007. Frank’s passion is contagious, and potential franchise owners see that and are already quickly joining his team, with owners stretching from Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, as well as up and down the coast of Florida.

Frank has always run a family owned and operated business and he says that this “family feel” is never going to change. This franchise family will soon stretch across the nation. When you come on board with Preferred Care at home, you join a family with family loyalties to one another.

Frank knows what it takes to succeed in the home care business. He has done it himself for 24 years, and now he wants to come alongside you and watch you live your dream. When new franchise owners ask, “Will I be successful?” Frank’s answer is always, “I have absolutely no doubt that you will, I know it works!!”

Frank Guerrieri lives in Boca Raton, Fl with his wife, Jody and their four children, two daughters Francesca, Gina attending UT and MTSU, and two sons, Frankie and Ethan.