Navigating Insurance and Financing for Aging in Place Modifications

Ali Sultani, owner of Handy Pro Services, and Melissa Bresler, outreach coordinator and occupational therapist, discuss their business and the services they provide for people with disabilities and those who want to age in place.

They offer home modifications such as installing grab bars, ramps, stair lifts, and widening doorways. They also discuss grants and funding options for these modifications, as well as tax benefits.

Melissa explains the role of an occupational therapist in conducting home evaluations and the importance of understanding the individual's needs and daily activities.

They also discuss the use of technology in home modifications, such as voice command systems and fall prevention sensors.

HandyPro is a company that specializes in aging in place modifications, offering a wide range of services to make homes more accessible and safe for seniors and individuals with disabilities.

They work closely with occupational therapists to ensure that the modifications meet the specific needs of each client.

While some insurances may not cover the cost of these modifications, HandyPro offers financing options and works with grants and nonprofit organizations to help clients access the services they need.

The company emphasizes the importance of customer service and building trust with their clients, offering warranties and repair services.

They also collaborate with other companies in the industry and refer clients to them when necessary.

HandyPro recommends that companies interested in getting into aging in place modifications hire an occupational therapist and fully understand the industry before offering these services.

They also highlight the value of certifications such as CAPS and CX, as well as the benefits of being a member of organizations like VGM.

Takeaways

Handy Pro Services specializes in home modifications for people with disabilities and those who want to age in place.

Grants and funding options are available for home modifications, but they vary by state and locality.

Occupational therapists play a crucial role in conducting home evaluations and understanding the individual's needs and daily activities.

Technology, such as voice command systems and fall prevention sensors, can enhance home modifications and improve safety.

Insurance coverage for home modifications is limited, and specific long-term disability plans or Medicare may provide some coverage.

HandyPro specializes in aging in place modifications and works closely with occupational therapists to meet the specific needs of each client.

Some insurances may not cover the cost of these modifications, but HandyPro offers financing options and works with grants and nonprofit organizations to help clients access the services they need.

Customer service is a priority for HandyPro, and they offer warranties, repair services, and guidance to navigate the process of home modifications.

Collaboration with other companies in the industry is important, and HandyPro refers clients to them when necessary.

Companies interested in offering aging in place modifications should hire an occupational therapist and fully understand the industry before getting started.

Certifications such as CAPS and CX are recommended.

Being a member of organizations like VGM provides valuable resources and networking opportunities.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background
03:40 Inspiration for Focusing on Aging

Transcript

Janet Engel (00:00.364)
Hello everyone, and today we have Ali Sultani. He is the owner of Handy Pro Services in the Washington DC metropolitan area. And then we also have Melissa Bresler, which is the outreach coordinator, and she is also an occupational therapist. Thank you for being with me today.

Melissa Bressler (00:23.858)
Pleasure.

Ali Soltani (00:23.951)
Thanks for having us.

Janet Engel (00:25.484)
Yes, Ali, tell me a little bit about your business and your professional background.

Ali Soltani (00:33.231)
Sure, yeah. We are operating in Washington DC metropolitan area, which shows that they are familiar with the area. We have three states, if you count DC as in state. So we have Maryland, Virginia, and DC. They are junctioning together. So we perform in all three states, and we are licensed in those three states. We are a general contractor that we are focusing on people with disability and those that they want to aging in place. So we do.

anything to make them safe in their home and they can have access to the part of their home, such as putting grab bars in the bathroom, putting ramps on the stairways to the house and also the stair lifts to the different level of the house or converting bathrooms, like if they have a bathtub and they can't go over the top, so they need a walking shower or rolling shower or widening doorways.

Janet Engel (01:27.404)
Mm -hmm.

Ali Soltani (01:27.791)
changing flooring that is not wheelchair friendly or walker friendly. There are a lot of stuff that we can do, which is, if I wanna talk about it, it's gonna be a long list of things that we can do, but these are the main, most known scopes, I think I can tell, for people that they want aging in place and prevent steps and trip hazards, stuff like this. This is a franchise that I purchased the franchise in 2010.

2014, I'm sorry, end of 2013 that we started to exploring this and in 2014 in January we purchased three locations, which is one DC, Maryland and Virginia. And we've been operating since then. So we are in our 11th year of operation and helping people in our community. If I want to say something about my background and how I got to this point is that I'm a civil engineer and electrical engineer.

I went to have a master degrees in those and then I got my master degrees in MBA from University of Maryland in 2015 while I was running the business, starting to developing the business. My passion is construction. It's my hobby doing construction. I can't do too much stuff with my own hand. I do little stuff, but I don't trust myself to do it for others.

But I have all the knowledge of how it gets done and we have a very, very good team that been with us at least for four to five years. Our main people in our work has been with us for like eight or nine years. So everybody's background checked. And we test everybody and we keep those that they know what they do and those are that they want to help the others and care about their community, stay with us. So.

Ali Soltani (03:22.031)
It's a wide variety of scopes that we can do and that's why I got into and also because I always like help people. So this is both helping and construction, which is, as I said, is my passion. So these two have a good marriage, I guess, to become this business that we're in.

Janet Engel (03:40.844)
Well, that's you have an impressive background. What inspired you to focus on the aging in place market?

Ali Soltani (03:51.087)
So as I said, I want to always do something in construction because that's all I know. In the past 28 years, I've been doing construction in large, very large scales projects and small projects, anything in that variety I've done. And then also I always want to make changes in people's life and my job, it's kind of valuable to other people what I do. So when I was looking for starting my own business in late 2013, 2014, I was in school for my...

MBA so I had different mindsets when I was in school so I decided to start my own business back in the day so when I was searching for different businesses or different ideas to do I came across with this franchise model that they do whole modifications for those with disabilities so I thought myself so this is a good

thing to do for people and helping people and also as a construction. So these two will very good align to what I needed and then we started that business in 2014.

Janet Engel (04:57.484)
Tell me a little bit about grants and funding these home modifications because one question I get asked very often is, well, is there any organization that pays for this? Does insurance pay for it? Can we receive a tax benefit? And you've done a very good job at educating your customers about grants that are available in your area.

So can you tell us a little bit about how all of that works?

Ali Soltani (05:33.743)
Sure, when we started in 2014, most of these grants were not in place. So this is a very growing trend in the industry. So it's getting recognized every year better than the last year before. In 2014, even nobody knew what is home modification or how they have to do and everything was pay out of pocket. Besides Medicaid, Medicaid was done a long time ago.

I was doing this for a long time as a part of the pain for people that they need some modifications, but it's a very lengthy road that they need to be on. And if someone is in an urgent matter needed, usually Medicaid is not a good route to go because they have a lot of people that they're requesting for these services and also they have a very lengthy process to do that.

But each state and each local government, they have different grants, it depends on their state. Some states have done very, very well on doing grants for home modifications, some states not that great. Melissa can talk about this actually better because she's the one that finding these grants and local funding that come along. So we found a lot of them locally and we are part of a...

Melissa Bressler (06:30.77)
Thank you.

Ali Soltani (06:48.399)
a lot of those companies that they are handling it. Sometimes there are some nonprofit organizations that they are managing those grants and helping, you know, they are kind of between us and the end user. So they coordinating everything, they get the order to us or they send the occupational therapist in most cases to evaluate. Sometimes they want us to evaluate the house, but in most cases they send the occupational therapist to evaluate the house. They come up with a list, they give it to us. Some grants, they have their own price,

list of the things that we can do and some relies on us to give them some pricing on the jobs that they want us to do. But if anybody wants to find any grants, they need to look at their cities, their counties, their local nonprofit organizations such as Rebuilding Together that they are all over the country. In our area, they have some grants for home modifications, but again, each location is different than the other. So they need to check those.

Basically, it's better to check with their local counties that see what programs they have for home modification or helping them to stay safe in their home. And also, there are some tax benefits, as you mentioned, for some home modification related or aging in place mostly. But there are, again, each state has their own criteria that what qualifies them.

Janet Engel (08:08.396)
Mm -hmm.

Janet Engel (08:12.716)
Hmm.

Ali Soltani (08:16.239)
For example, they have to stay in their home for certain years, they have to own the house. There are a lot of criteria that they need to go through, which is a thing they need to discuss with their accountant as well. Because when I was reading it, my head was spinning because there's a lot of criteria, and some of them I even didn't understand it. There's a lot of terms in accounting, probably terms into those criteria that they need to meet.

Janet Engel (08:30.988)
Yeah.

Janet Engel (08:40.364)
So Melissa, tell us about your role at HandyPro. And first I want to say, Ali, I want to congratulate you for hiring an OT because I don't know of any other business that has hired an OT and especially one that's also an outreach coordinator. So Melissa, tell us a little bit about your role and then also the process by which you do home evaluations when you first see a customer.

Melissa Bressler (09:11.826)
Sure, yeah, so as an OT, I mean, overall I want to promote well -being and improving quality of life. And so that's kind of a fundamental principle of OT. We want to be able to engage somebody in a meaningful activity and have them maintain their independence. Well, a lot of our homes are coming with barriers that are going to limit.

those, you know, our participation in daily activity or daily tasks. So, Handy's pros tagline is we make places safe and accessible. So, I feel like it just naturally fits with kind of the tenets of OT and what, you know, we're trying to bring to our, you know, communities, our patients, our clients, just, you know, the world at large.

So as far as a home evaluation, I mean, we wanna basically have a clear understanding of the individual as well as anybody living in the home. I mean, that even includes pets. A lot of times our clients are, you know, I tripped over my dog that was between my feet. So we wanna make sure that we are kind of getting a clear picture. We are asking the clients and their family members,

How are you using this space? You know, everybody bathes, right? It's a pretty common practice. And if we kind of sat down and I went through step by step how I took a shower versus how you take a shower. The process is generally the same, but we're gonna find these kinds of small specific details that are different. And sometimes the differences, you know, are significant and can really impact, you know, somebody's safety or making sure that...

they are not at a high risk for having a fall. So it's asking the right questions, paying attention to those details, and really understanding, kind of having that picture painted for you of how a client is, or an individual is moving through their home in that space.

Janet Engel (11:30.668)
What are some of the most common challenges that you run across?

Melissa Bressler (11:37.586)
I would say a lot of people feel like they want to be able to see the equipment, see the product, see what kind of they're investing in for their future. Sometimes they're a little bit hesitant. So a lot of times what we do is we, even if it's something like a grab bar, well, what is it going to look like in this space? We bring a bunch of different grab bars with us.

So they can kind of feel it, hold it, look at it. And then we also have a pretty large kind of resource list of past clients, you know, that are open and willing to either speak with prospective individuals that are kind of seeking these modifications, or they're even willing to open up their home. And they're willing to kind of, you know, make that connection with somebody that's interested in an equipment that they already have. And they're, you know,

They're able to kind of, you know, not even just try out the equipment in this person's home, but also create that connection and that social piece of, Hey, you know, I, you know, maybe they need a, a vertical platform lift, you know, you know, I'm in a wheelchair too. And I, and I'm, and I'm using it, you know, it's making that social connection as well. You know, somebody else that has in a similar situation or kind of on a similar journey and.

we're able to make those connections and have people, you know, even just create a new friend or a new resource, you know, they can, you know, within just looking at the equipment, they're also sharing their story as well.

Janet Engel (13:16.652)
I love that. And what are some of the most common modifications that Handy Pro will do in someone's home?

Melissa Bressler (13:27.794)
So I would say, and I'm gonna kind of go with some kind of a lower cost and kind of just really efficient alternatives that, you know, maybe some aren't even, you know, aware of or thinking of. So something like making sure that you have adequate lighting throughout your home, especially on your staircases or in your hallways, even a closet, you know, handheld shower heads with pause features. So what that means is you can,

Janet Engel (13:30.892)
Okay.

Melissa Bressler (13:57.298)
press a button and it stops the flow of water.

So you have access in your hand to if you need to not have that water kind of coming on you in that moment, you can pause it. Being able to have that handheld shower accessible kind of within reach. A lot of times we see those slide bars on the wall, which is great if you're standing, but if you're somebody that needs to sit in the shower for safety purposes, if you're sitting.

and you do have a grab bar, there are mounts called grab bar clamps, then you can put that handheld shower head on that clamp, which is attached to the grab bar, and it's right there. You don't have to reach forward, you don't have to reach up, you don't even have to stand.

Janet Engel (14:34.22)
and

Melissa Bressler (14:49.074)
A few other items that again, sometimes are overlooked are threshold ramps. Those are small ramps that usually cover a step within five or six inches. And they can make a big difference, especially if you're somebody in the home using a cane or a rolling walker. I guess some larger, I guess modifications that we do are we do ramps.

Janet Engel (14:59.948)
Mm -hmm.

Janet Engel (15:04.204)
Mm -hmm.

Melissa Bressler (15:17.458)
vertical platform lifts, stair lifts, as well as all we mentioned before. I think that's one of our most popular items, as well as just your basic handrails on your staircases, whether that's inside your home or outside your home, and then grab bars throughout the homes. I know a lot of times we think of grab bars being in the bathroom, but we can use them throughout the whole home. Even just putting, there's something called a grip bar. It's got a smaller frame.

Janet Engel (15:23.115)
Mm -hmm.

Melissa Bressler (15:45.586)
or a kind of smaller profile that we can install on the like your door frame even entering your home just so you have like a step up to get into your home it just kind of eliminates that step if by chance you know a a ramp is not feasible in that situation.

Janet Engel (16:00.556)
Right. What about larger modifications, for example, a bathroom modification or modifying the steps to the entry of a home?

Melissa Bressler (16:11.25)
Mm -hmm.

Melissa Bressler (16:16.914)
Yeah, so I would say walk -in showers are a big one or barrier -free showers. So we're eliminating kind of like that tub or we're converting the tub to a barrier -free shower. That's a bit of a larger project. Door widening can kind of go either way. Sometimes we can do door widening that's, you know, kind of a quick, easy fix, changing out the hinges to create, you know, a half an inch or an inch more of space.

or sometimes it does take a little bit more, I guess, construction when we need to increase the doorway.

Janet Engel (16:54.092)
Okay, and Ali in terms, no, go ahead Melissa.

Melissa Bressler (16:57.362)
And then we also have, sorry.

Melissa Bressler (17:01.682)
We also have automatic door openers. That's kind of been a hot product on the market lately.

Janet Engel (17:05.932)
Okay, yeah, tell us a little bit about those.

Melissa Bressler (17:14.706)
Yeah, so there you can have access in the palm of your hand, even almost like a key fob, where you can open the door, as well as we can install like a kind of a either a touch pad that you have to touch or even like a sensor. And it will open your front door, side door, back door.

Janet Engel (17:36.748)
And how much does that cost to install?

Ali Soltani (17:38.959)
And then to add on that, those are can be.

Janet Engel (17:45.1)
how much do they cost to install?

Ali Soltani (17:47.343)
So for, as Melissa mentioned about the accessibility of those door openers, so if even someone doesn't have any sense in their hand, so it's just really a touch can open and close it and also we can put a touch pad, I'm sorry, a combination code at the outside, so if the caregiver's coming in or anybody, they can just punch a code, they don't have to have a key or anything in the door open.

It depends on the door and what equipment that it needs. It runs about average of 2500. To install those, if you want more accessories like combo code or key fob or keychain fob or anything like this, those are adds up. But for the basic one, it's about 2500, which includes a strike that it opens with the door and then open and close the door.

Janet Engel (18:19.436)
Okay.

Ali Soltani (18:40.975)
You can even adjust how wide the door opens and you can put it even timers or how long the door stays open and then close and the reach the Frequency of the remote it can you know if you are in your bedroom even you can push the button and open the door and also you can Add that to Alexa so they you know you can when you ask for it it can Open and close the door as well, so it's it's

integrate into the new technology as well.

Janet Engel (19:11.788)
So is this a new door that you install or can this technology be added to your existing door?

Ali Soltani (19:20.911)
can be added to any core.

Janet Engel (19:22.188)
wow, well that sounds amazing.

Ali Soltani (19:25.071)
Yeah, it is because a lot of people, when they are at the door, so it's hard for them to push the door and then also close the door. A lot of the apartment doors, it has like auto spring. So when you open it, so it keeps trying to close on you while you are getting into the door. So this will eliminate those problems. So it stays open till you get through the door and either by the timer, when the time is off, it can close itself or you can push the button again.

and close the door.

Janet Engel (19:54.54)
Mm -hmm. I was just at the Botanical Gardens in Atlanta this past weekend and I had to open the door to get to the other area and it was really heavy and I'm not in a wheelchair. I don't use a cane. I don't use a walker.

Melissa Bressler (20:08.53)
and

Ali Soltani (20:09.007)
Yeah, I did. Especially if it has a...

Especially if it has a hydraulic jack on those, like those traditional hydraulic jacks, it's really hard for, even a kid cannot push the door open. Or if your hands are full, it's hard to open that door for us that have no disability.

Janet Engel (20:15.212)
Yes.

Melissa Bressler (20:21.458)
and

Janet Engel (20:21.804)
Yeah.

Janet Engel (20:26.572)
bright or someone with arthritis too, arthritis in their fingers, arthritis in their shoulder, which is common as we get older. So what other technology home features do you install?

Ali Soltani (20:30.735)
Correct.

Melissa Bressler (20:35.026)
Thank you.

Ali Soltani (20:42.319)
So there are a lot of voice command that for some people that they can't do anything. So for example, we did a whole modification for the gentleman that who fell off of the scaffold and he broke his neck. So he was like, you know, neck below, he was paralyzed neck below. So he couldn't do anything, even he couldn't control his body temperature. So we had to put a dual system, edge back system there, then a wilder family, for example, in the summer they need cool air.

Janet Engel (21:02.348)
friend.

Ali Soltani (21:10.863)
He was cold, so he needed heat, so we had to make a dual zone for him so he can get, you know, his climate, which was in the basement, can be controlled for his needs. And then everything was controlled by his voice, all the TV, all the door openers. And then, you know, he obviously couldn't do that much by himself, but the things that he could like change the channel or open or close the door, stuff like this, he could use when, because he had a wheelchair that he could just, but blowing into it to operate the.

the wheelchair so he needed sometimes to go outside, get a fresh air so he could open the door with his voice. Those are the things that we do. There are some other technologies that we do. There are some fault -prevention technologies that are sensors that we can install all around the house. They're not cameras or microphones, so they're not recording anything. So if some people are concerned about their privacy, there's no recording of those sensors. They are just sensors. So if someone falls in the house,

and they are alone, so for example, if you have a mother or father that lives by himself or herself and you are worried about, so those sensors can sense if somebody fall and it will alert to the family members, cell phone, texting and calling to say, hey, your dad just fell or your dad went to the bathroom for one hour and he hasn't come out. So those are other technologies that can be done to helping and there are some other companies that they came in that,

Janet Engel (22:29.388)
Mm.

Ali Soltani (22:38.479)
They have something like a tablet that they give to the elderly person and then they can connect with their family. They are very easy push buttons on it. So if they need anything or if they are in emergency, they can push those and a family member and the ambulance, for example, 911 will be alerted. So as I mentioned, this industry, it's still, it's new, even though in the past 10 years it came a long way and it's much, much advanced than it was 2014 when we started, but still.

Melissa Bressler (22:56.722)
and I'll talk to you soon.

Janet Engel (22:57.58)
Mm -hmm.

Ali Soltani (23:07.983)
because it gets recognized through the government and through a lot of companies, local companies or national companies. So it's speeding up because as you probably know, other parts of the world are much ahead of us in this industry. Especially Canada is next to us. They are much, much ahead of us in the whole modification, in funding, grants, insurances cover for that. Right now, insurances really...

Unless that you have a very specific long -term disability plan, insurance doesn't cover that. Even Medicaid, some plans will cover some not, and then those that we work with them on, I'm sorry, Medicare, on Medicare side, they only cover up to $5 ,000, which is really, you can't get that much stuff out of that. You can do some door widening, putting a few grab bars, or maybe put a stair lift.

That's all you can do. Even if it's a large ramp, we cannot put it in that five grand.

Janet Engel (24:08.236)
Well, that was my next question is, and specifically with these whole house technologies that can detect falls and alert emergency personnel, are there any specific brands that you recommend? And do any of those brands have funding through health insurance or some kind of other funding organization?

Ali Soltani (24:34.895)
It's not too many companies that make those. It just kept my mind and name that we know and we work with them, but I don't think any of the insurances will cover, which should, but as of right now, I don't think any of the insurances will cover that. Because it's had a subscription as well. When you have those sensors placed in the house, then you have a subscription for you to keep that server so that can continue monitoring the home. So usually, like for example, when...

when we get through, like order through Medicaid, there are sometimes they have those personal emergency response that they wear over, you know, as a necklace. So that one has a subscription as well, but you know, Medicaid doesn't pay for the subscription. So sometimes the occupational therapist recommends that, but we can just get the device to them and the family will be responsible for paying for that subscription. So there are some disconnect between the.

technology and in what insurance can pay or what they can do. Still, I think there are a lot of room for improvement on those.

Janet Engel (25:38.508)
Do you have customers that take advantage of a grant or a funding source that's available to them and then also pay out of pocket for other modifications to be completed?

Ali Soltani (25:57.551)
In some occasions, yes. So for example, if the program has a certain grant and then they, for example, they want to do a curve stair lift, which is a curve stair lift, has a very higher price tag because it's a custom build lift. It's not something that you can pick it off the shelf and install it. We do like 3D measurements for it to the one eighth of the inch and then it needs to be built. It takes several weeks for us to get it, like what, almost two months.

Melissa Bressler (25:59.186)
Thank you.

Ali Soltani (26:26.414)
it takes for us to get those. So those are more expensive than some insurances. Most of the insurance they don't cover unless they have like, again, certain insurance with a higher budget. So like family members, yeah, they say, okay, whatever the insurance will cover, we will pay the rest out.

Janet Engel (26:41.132)
Do you find that? no, go ahead, Melissa.

Melissa Bressler (26:42.674)
Yeah, there are definitely times.

Melissa Bressler (26:48.146)
There are definitely times where we have to pull from multiple funding sources in order to get the client the equipment that they need.

Janet Engel (26:57.804)
What percentage of your clients would you say are out of pocket versus funding sources or grants?

Ali Soltani (27:11.407)
You know, we work with a lot of these grants and nonprofit organizations. So because again, it's a lack of companies that they can do exactly what we do. There are some companies that they do pieces of things that we do, but because we do everything on the same roof. So it's kind of popular between the nonprofit organizations and those grants because they have to deal with only one company instead of hiring different companies to do different part of the project.

So we do a lot of work for them. I would say probably about fifth, I would say maybe 60 % grants in our self 40 % self -pay.

Janet Engel (27:48.908)
And 40 % self -pay. Well, that's interesting. Do you find that you have less competition because your company, HandyPro, offers these very unique services?

Melissa Bressler (27:49.586)
Mm -hmm.

Ali Soltani (28:09.807)
Yes and no. When I said there's less competition, there are other companies that they do exactly what we do, but I can count only two or three of them. But there are other companies, for example, there are companies that only can install Lyft. And then in the Lyft, it needs any modifications such as, like if you do a wheelchair lift, you need concrete, you need carpentry work, you need electrical work. So they have to go hire somebody else or they put it on a homeowner to go and hire another company.

So I think if it comes to the why we get like, if we are more popular within our clients or other brands, because we put our clients first and then customer service is extremely important for us. So all our team, they help the customer, they hold their hands, even though sometimes there's nothing that we can do, but.

we stay on the phone with them, talk with them and make sure that they know where to go, how to do it, even if we cannot help them, we try to help them to navigate this road because it's a dark road, you know, when people, especially people that suddenly get to this situation, like if the family member had an unexpected health issue or stroke or fall, so they are in rush to get something done and unfortunately there are a lot of scams out there that they can, or there are companies that they claim that they can do what they, what,

the family needs, but they never done it. So it's because they are a construction company, that doesn't mean that they can do everything in that nature because that needs some education, some understanding and what we need to do and how we need to do. We've done a lot. We went to the houses that regular contractors did a good job, like as far as the details and quality of the work, they've done a very good job, but the design is not there. So we had to go, unfortunately.

Janet Engel (29:47.852)
Mm -hmm.

Ali Soltani (30:01.167)
remove or demo what they did and then restart it again. So I think the whole thing, the customer service, the knowledge, having occupational therapists to have that, you know, very good background knowledge of what needs to be done. And, you know, we offer financing, we are five star reviews all across the internet. So we bring a lot to the table and help customers to understand their plan and what they're paying for.

and also the warranties that we put in place. So we have from one year to lifetime warranty on different equipments that we install as far as the labor, besides the manufacturer warranty. And we also do repair, services, maintenance, so all this stuff. So when they work with us in any construction work, because we can do other construction not related to the disability. So even if they have something else like...

their toilet is broken or they need to remodel their kitchen, for example, for just a regular remodeling. So we still can help them because we have the labor force and the knowledge. So it's good for the family when they trust us so they can continue to work with us. So we have a lot of repeat customers when we start working with them. So they realize that it's, you know, when they trust us and we deliver a very, very good job as they expect, so they come back and we do other stuff for them.

Janet Engel (31:03.404)
Hmm.

Janet Engel (31:21.164)
And right and hire you for something else. So what would you say to companies that provide similar services to yours and are considering getting into aging in place modifications and then also considering hiring an occupational therapist? What? Is your advice to them and why is it important?

Ali Soltani (31:45.711)
Yeah.

Ali Soltani (31:53.199)
Well, I think the most important advice that I can have for them, don't get into it till you fully understand it. Because if you mess it up, no one's gonna trust you anymore. Because this is a very sensitive area and people are sensitive about it because they are in a critical situation when they need those services. Unfortunately, most of the people, they're not proactive. So when the crisis happened, they think, I had a fall.

My husband is coming home in two days. I have not done anything. The house is not ready for him to come home. So those are the stuff that we, I tell them, understand what you want to do. Take your certifications first, understand it, and then claim or start offering those services to the guys. So it's a great thing to do. We need a lot of companies to do this because there are a lot of work out there and there's not enough knowledgeable companies out there to be able to do it.

And competition is not bad. We work with our competitors. We refer to each other. We're gonna again, there are stuff that we do that they don't do and there are some stuff that they do. For example, there are some brands that we don't service. So our competitors do so we refer to them or you know, there are some certain DME's durable medical equipment that we do not offer and then they offer so we try to work with our competition. We have a very very good relationship with them and

We try to help each other. Again, this is a very, very young and new industry still, and it's a long way to go to be something that people can be comfortable about it. So we need a lot of more companies, but again, the only advice is learn the industry before you offer the services.

Janet Engel (33:41.516)
So you said specifically acquire a certification. Are there any specific, well, number one, what are the certifications that you have and which ones do you recommend for other people like yourself that want to get into this business?

Ali Soltani (33:58.319)
There are a few that, again, Melissa can talk more, excuse me, about it. I myself, I'm a CX certified, which is certified environmental adaptation consultant. That's through VGM that you can do, there's a course that you take and there are some fees that you pay for registration and also there's CAPS that Melissa is a CAPS certified as well. And also Melissa has some more certifications in that industry so she can talk about those better than I do.

Janet Engel (34:24.62)
Melissa, tell us because I, as a CAPS instructor for the NIHB, I get asked that question a lot by potential students, which certification should I acquire? And I strongly believe that the CAPS certification really helps, especially OTs, understand things that we're not so knowledgeable about, like construction. But what's your opinion?

Melissa Bressler (34:28.53)
Nice.

Melissa Bressler (34:37.778)
Hmm.

Melissa Bressler (34:51.346)
Yeah, I agree. I think the CAP certification is a really good foundation. And there are a few other ones that come to mind at this moment are the executive certificate in home modifications from the University of Southern California. I think that's also a really great course. They do give it virtually, so you can take it regardless of where you are in the country. And...

there and you have, I mean, I think that's a really great, they have a bunch of great resources too on their website as well. Just to try to get some initial knowledge about what home modifications are all about and how OTs can play a role in home modifications and working with the contracting team. There's also from Age Safe America, it's the,

Melissa Bressler (35:52.37)
Senior home safety certificate certification as well. I might have butchered that name but They also have a pretty good course and That that I that I would definitely recommend there are a few more

Janet Engel (35:54.028)
Yes.

Melissa Bressler (36:12.086)
that

Melissa Bressler (36:16.658)
that I again the names are escaping me at the moment but yeah.

Janet Engel (36:18.348)
Yeah, I know that it's complicated to memorize all those acronyms. Right. I have the same issue. But I did want to ask you Melissa, because you've been successful in using your certifications. I know you said you have CAPS. Do you also have the ECHM? Right. And you've been successful in using your certifications and and you work in this area.

Melissa Bressler (36:36.058)
Yes.

Janet Engel (36:48.076)
What's your advice to OTs especially that want to make the transition like you did? Because there are a lot of them out there.

Melissa Bressler (36:48.754)
Mm -hmm.

Melissa Bressler (37:00.146)
Yeah, I would just say, you know, I guess go to your directories, go to your sources. Yeah.

Janet Engel (37:05.419)
well, thank you for mentioning that. So I did. So yes, I want to thank Handy Probe for becoming members of our Aging in Place directory. Thank you so much. We are so proud to have members like you because you're exactly who we want representing our directory, especially a company that services multiple areas such as yours.

But yes, thank you. So yes, you can become a member of our directory and have access to clients, people that are looking for a professional. And then what else, Melissa?

Melissa Bressler (37:50.866)
I would also try out your Centers for Independent Living. Try to maybe go to some of those nonprofit organizations that are out there working with clients and seeing how to get involved. Rebuilding Together is a pretty well -known nonprofit organization. There are, I believe, in 42 states, if I'm not mistaken. And just kind of...

you know asking around I know when I worked in an outpatient clinic in the DC area, you know, like Clients would always say I need a grab bar or where do I go to get you know a toilet riser and to be honest with you before I met with Ali, he would always just say, you know, you know, do you have like a local contractor that you trusted or

Maybe just check out Home Depot, but that's not the safe way to go. It's not going to work.

Janet Engel (38:49.74)
No, no, and that was exactly what I did because I worked in home health for many years and I had a few people that I got into contact with and I had them on my phone. But how do you build those, first of all, create those connections and then develop those relationships like you did with Ali and Handy Pro so that you.

Melissa Bressler (38:56.434)
Okay.

Janet Engel (39:16.78)
And I know Ali saw the value in you and your education right away, but what is your advice for other OTs that are starting out and they're on the same path that you were to help other general contractors who are not as enlightened as Ali and help them see the value in bringing on an OT into their team?

Melissa Bressler (39:47.186)
I would go back to our task analysis, break it down for them, make them kind of a fun and entertaining, kind of one sheet resource page or information of what you can bring to the table.

Another way is, so I have a sister who has cerebral palsy. So we actually have these modifications in our home and we use them on a daily basis. And I reached out to actually some of the manufacturers as well. So as a therapist, again, we're always seeking knowledge, always looking for resources for our clients and patients. And I feel like just, you know,

picking up the phone, writing an email, asking, hey, I have these skills that I can bring to the table. Can we have a conversation? Can we collaborate? Can we do a trial project together?

Janet Engel (40:41.836)
Yeah.

Janet Engel (40:50.828)
Those are all great ideas. And like you said, it's just putting yourself out there and venturing out to do, you know, something you may not be comfortable with, but that's all part of growing. Sorry, those are my dogs. That's all part of growing is being comfortable with being uncomfortable, right? And as healthcare professionals,

Melissa Bressler (40:57.138)
Mm -hmm.

Melissa Bressler (41:16.85)
Yeah.

Janet Engel (41:17.868)
We've been put in those situations many times. So it's just a matter of being comfortable, being uncomfortable in a different setting. So tell me, Ali, you mentioned VGM. And I think that's a great network. They have the VGM Live at Home, part of the division. Tell us a little bit about the value of being a VGM member.

Melissa Bressler (41:29.01)
Mm -hmm.

Ali Soltani (41:48.463)
So VGM, as you mentioned, is a great source to have because they have a lot of education as part and also they have policies that they try to implement and take it to become a law or get some grants. So they're doing a lot of work on the back end. But what we see in the front, it's the place that we get our newsletters from, that all the industry news is in it. There are a lot of certifications. As I mentioned, I'm a CX certified, which I got it through VGM.

They have like annual conferences that they gather everybody like us, the companies like exactly like us as a whole modification. And also they bring a lot of vendors, new products. So for us to touch and feel the new products and talk with the vendors to make sure that those products can be used for our clients. Because again, I repeat myself that this is a brand new industry. So it's really, really helped to be.

in the middle of everything that is happening in the industry. So in a week, we'll give you that, that it gives you the glance of what is happening in the industry. And then you can go and read more if you're interested in any of those. And they, again, they take bills to the Capitol Hill. They try to pass some grants. So there are very, very good organizations to make this industry even.

more being seen or being recognized in the industry. And I really support them as much as I can. We try to, you know, any conference that they have to try at least to participate in itself because we need WGM or other organizations such as WGM to be out there for helping the people that they need those services. We all need those services in one day. We never know when that day is. You can need it tomorrow or you can...

needed when you are in 80s and 90s. So these are these helping everybody not not just because we are in the industry and in the business to do those stuff but if the more sources resources are out there it's it's much better for everybody so we we need more of those organizations out there and I really really enjoy working with EGM and what they bring to the table.

Janet Engel (44:06.924)
That's great, yeah. And I agree with you that you need that bigger network, especially when you're just starting out your business, because it's, other people will help you succeed and they will help you get connected and educate you. And it's too hard to do it by yourself. And plus, it can be very rewarding.

going to networking meetings, just meeting different people from different professional backgrounds, and then also education. I know that VGM offers a lot of support with marketing and setting up your website and different things that are really valuable to new business owners.

Well, thank you guys so much. This was so educational. I love learning about how Handy Pro has really developed such a successful business around aging in place and that you're the part I like the most about your business, Ali, is that Melissa is your outreach services coordinator.

Ali Soltani (44:55.727)
That's it.

Ali Soltani (45:20.239)
another.

Janet Engel (45:22.188)
and that you've included an OT in your team and that she has a prominent position. And that was why I invited her on the podcast because I thought her voice is also so valuable and a voice that we rarely hear. So I wanted to give you an opportunity.

Ali Soltani (45:40.719)
Yeah, it's very important to have some, it's like that you have a builder without engineers, so it doesn't work. So you need Melissa as an engineer of these modifications as far as a medical standpoint. And then I'm as a construction and civil engineer, so it's a very good partnership that she engineering on her part and I'm engineering it on our part, so it's a good merge. So.

Melissa Bressler (45:41.81)
Thank you.

Ali Soltani (46:09.359)
It's it's at the project will be successful if you know you have bright -minded people working on those just especially the design and then Implements the design so bolts are equally I think important. So I really encourage people that If they want to get to the whole modification business have some kind of medical professional in there, you know, I've seen our competitors recently hired a PT, you know physical therapy, which still good but I

Melissa Bressler (46:22.866)
Mm -hmm.

Ali Soltani (46:39.503)
occupational therapist, their job is to, you know, one of their job is to make sure the home that you go in or you live in, it's safe for you. So it's, I think, it's one of the great decisions that I made that was like, we worked with Melissa and when she was talking about, you know, she was referring to, you know, asking people to see if you have a trusted contractor to go there. So that's how we met. I think we talk about it offline.

So she, when I had an educational webinar for her team when she was working, so she came back with a resource sheet and she put us on that resource sheet as a resource because she was very happy that finally she found the company that they professionally do this, not just, you know, I'm a contractor, I can install grab bars, for example, or I can modify your shower to be able to be accessible, which is not all the time true. So.

Janet Engel (47:18.712)
you

Janet Engel (47:34.924)
Right.

Ali Soltani (47:36.751)
It was very important and the mindset that she has, I'm sure most of the occupational therapists has that kind of mindset that they want to make sure that their clients are really, really safe when they go back home or when they live in their own.

Janet Engel (47:50.348)
Before we end, I did want to ask you this question because I do get asked this question a lot about the financial relationship between the general contractor and the occupational therapist or the healthcare professional. What are some of those possibilities?

Ali Soltani (48:11.919)
What do you mean exactly by that?

Janet Engel (48:12.652)
Well, a general contractor that is considering hiring an OT, but they may not know if they can afford an OT on their team. What are some examples of the structure of that relationship and how it can be financially beneficial to both?

Ali Soltani (48:37.231)
So having the occupational therapist, that would be obviously their overhead because that's gonna be part of their overhead, which again, maybe at the beginning is overhead, but at the bottom line, when it gets to the designer and the satisfactory of the customer, it's not gonna be overhead anymore. It's part of that process with them. But if they wanna see if they can afford it because at the beginning is gonna be overhead. It's like that you.

you know, hire another admin at your office, which I'm not comparing these two together, but as far as the financial perspective, the financial is not the same, but it's extra cost for the company to bring somebody like Melissa. Again, it's like that you want to do a big project and you don't want to hire engineers. So it's part of that process, part of that project. There are OTs out there that they're willing to work with them on a project basis. So they don't have to...

on a right path, they don't have to hire them. So they can, you know, we know a lot of OTs that they were willing to work on a project basis with us, which we, yeah, as a consultant. So we didn't need one because we have Melissa on board, but if, you know, we are shorthanded and she's tied up, so there are resources to us that they will just work with us on a project base.

Janet Engel (49:36.556)
as a consultant.

Melissa Bressler (49:39.826)
Mm -hmm.

Janet Engel (49:51.5)
Okay, well that's great. Great. That's a great answer. Well, thank you so much Melissa and Ali. It was a pleasure having you on and I'm so glad that you joined our directory. I hope other people listening, other companies that are similar like yours join and perhaps other Handy Pro owners throughout the country. But thank you so much and I would love to have you on again in the future.

Ali Soltani (50:22.895)
Honor thank you for having us and good luck with your directory and I'm sure is going to be a very very good path for you because that's something that it's needed this one of the pieces of the puzzle that it's that is missing right now it's a trusted directory that people can trust and go there and find whoever they need in their local area

Melissa Bressler (50:23.25)
Thank you, our pleasure.

Janet Engel (50:35.372)
So.

Melissa Bressler (50:37.97)
Thank you.

Janet Engel (50:45.676)
All right, thank you.

Ali Soltani (50:49.807)
Thanks so much.