2018 Economic Impact Awards 16-29 Years in Operation Finalist: Integrity Home Care Inc.

Necessity was the mother of invention when Integrity Home Care Inc. CEO Greg Horton introduced the idea of integrated medication management. While providing his father’s in-home health care, Horton considered a better way to track medications for individuals in similar situations.

It became his mission to find a solution, which ultimately manifested for his company in the form of the subsidiary Integrity Pharmacy LLC in 2008.

The idea is simple but effective: A month’s worth of pills are organized into sealed packs with dates and times to help the patient track their doses whether or not a caregiver is present.

“Integrated medication management is one of the most exciting innovations enabling folks to better manage their prescription medication at home,” Horton says. “To make sure they are taking them at the right time, taking the right medications and that they are not taking more than they need or missing doses.”

It’s just one way Integrity Home Care strives to make staying home easier and more affordable.

Since its origins in 1999, the company has grown to offices in Springfield, Lebanon, Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis.

In 2017, the company posted revenue of $58 million and employed 2,900 statewide. Integrity Home Care paid $52 million in employee wages and benefits.

“We are always expanding,” Horton says.

Staff at Integrity Home Care also assist patients with making wise life and money choices through care navigation.

“We can help people understand what their options and choices are and help them make informed decisions,” Horton says. “A lot of times people are just herded into one form of care or another usually at the worst possible moment to make a decision.”

Horton says his staff strives to help patients know they can achieve quality of life and care in a home-care setting. And if that is not the right option for them, the staff assist the patient to find what modality of care best suits their needs.

More people are having to make that decision. According to the Population Reference Bureau’s 2016 report, “Aging in the United States,” Americans over 65 are projected to more than double to 98 million by 2060.

“It definitely has been felt in every aspect of health care,” Horton says. “We feel it first because we are trying to address people’s needs before they become acute and help them manage chronic diseases in a way that allows them to have a quality of life without having some major hospitalization incident.”

The biggest challenge, however, is finding a workforce to accommodate the need.

“That’s really where we have our focus – it has to be to reach out to individuals who may not know that caregiving is their gift, or their calling, and encourage them to try it,” he says.

Integrity Home Care staff also strive to make an impact for home-care companies all across the state through legislative influence.

“Medicaid services are always very thin margins,” Horton says. “The primary use of those funds are to provide decent wages for our caregivers.”