A Q&A with HomeFirst Home Health CEO James Happ

Fulcrum has recently invested in HomeFirst Home Healthcare, a trusted home health provider with locations across Tennessee, and plans for expansion throughout the southeast. Learn more about their commitment to excellence directly from President & CEO James Happ.

What is HomeFirst’s mission?

The Mission of HomeFirst Home Healthcare is excellence. We provide compassionate, quality services to our patients and their families while recognizing the valuable relationship with our employees, our providers, and the communities we serve.

What sets your platform apart from your competitors?

What sets us apart is our commitment to our core values. HomeFirst is led by a team of home health veterans with decades of home health experience. Our collective experience of operating in this ever-evolving service industry has convinced us of the need to constantly strive to create a “user-friendly” environment for our employees, referral sources, and other stakeholders. The daily challenges we face in home health should not include a difficult organizational structure that puts unnecessary demands on its employees. One of our goals is to create a stress-free workplace.

What’s the biggest challenge your team is working on?

The biggest challenge that the team at HomeFirst faces today is trying to recruit skilled nurses. This is not only a challenge of ours but of all providers in the home health industry. The COVID pandemic has had a wide-reaching impact on nurses. Many of them have taken “travel” assignments, been recruited by large health systems offering above-market pay rates, chose to stay home to attend to children’s needs, left the workplace due to health concerns, or been forced out due to vaccine mandates.

What is your team’s proudest accomplishment?

We are a young company, but we are proud of the progress we have made in structuring our company for long-term success. We have installed new systems and processes in all areas of the business that will withstand substantial growth without the need to make significant future system conversions and investments.

What were you looking for in a funding partner?

We were looking for a partner that was familiar with our industry and had faith in the senior management team to execute in a quickly evolving industry.

Why did you choose Fulcrum?

We chose Fulcrum because of their familiarity with healthcare services. We have worked with the Fulcrum team before and felt they provided the right balance of support, oversight, and trust in the management team.

What’s next for HomeFirst?

HomeFirst will continue its strategy of looking for acquisition opportunities in Tennessee and surrounding Certificate of Need states, specifically Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Kentucky. In addition, we have significant organic growth opportunities in the markets we currently serve and will focus on business development in those markets.

Fulcrum is excited to announce our investment in HomeFirst and their upcoming location expansion. To learn more about HomeFirst, click here.