Suddenly, the woman on the verge of launching a home health care business was in need of one herself.

“I was always in good health, always independent, always been able to offer help to others,” Penny said. “(The accident) was a life-changing experience for me.”

Now, six years later, Penny, a petite woman who sports stylishly short black hair and wears leopard print sneakers, is walking again—albeit with a noticeable limp and the aid of a cane painted black with blue and white flowers.

But the memory of the accident and its aftermath are not easily forgotten.

During her recovery, she placed an ad for a home health care attendant in the local newspaper and interviewed candidates from her bed.

“What I look for in a good (health) attendant is someone who is kind and compassionate,” Penny said. “I can teach you how to do the job but I can’t teach you kindness.”

“It also helps to have good record-keeping skills. I had my attendant keep a journal every day. That way if a certain food or medication is causing me to act a certain way, the attendant would make note of it and could tell my doctor at the next appointment. It helps to have a general knowledge of medicine, how to read the labels on medicine—that kind of thing, but it’s not necessary. I look for people who say, ‘I’ve never done this but I want to try.’”

She interviewed several potential candidates before finding the right match.

It turns out she was learning more about home health care through her experience than she ever could have learned through traditional market research.

She also had the advantage of a background in healthcare: a degree in medical administration from Northern Arizona University and experience overseeing health clinics on the Navajo Nation.

While working at those clinics, she noticed many diabetic patients missed dialysis appointments because they did not have transportation to the clinics. The Navajo Nation encompasses more than 27,000 miles of land, according to the Navajo Nation website. Most of its residents live in rural communities. Those who do not have a vehicle, who were unable to drive, who did not know how to drive or did not have friends or family who could offer them transportation, sought other options or missed their appointments.

In 1990, Penny used her personal savings to purchase four vehicles and hire a small staff of drivers. It was the start of Native Transportation, a non-emergency medical transportation company that serves clients in Northern Arizona. It has since expanded to include a fleet of more than 60 vehicles, some of which are equipped with four-wheel-drive. She hopes to expand the service to New Mexico in the near future.

She also owns Reliable Janitorial Services, which offers commercial and home clean-ups.

In 2002, while still recovering in Gallup, she launched Quality Health Care, the home health care service she had planned to launch before her life-altering accident. Quality Health Care recently opened an office in Albuquerque and is looking to increase its client base in and around the Duke City.

Penny does her best to match clients with the most appropriate home health attendants.

Most of her more than 200 clients are in McKinley County. Many are elderly. Some do not speak English and rely on their health attendants for accurate medical information. A good health attendant is part record keeper, part nurse, and part counselor.

“A good health attendant wants you to maintain the control you have, not take that control away from you. A lot of people fear nursing homes because of that; they’re afraid they won’t be able to make decisions for themselves anymore. A good attendant says, ‘This is your home. You do things the way you want to do them. I’m just here to help.’”

Penny holds this to be true: Independence equals security. Providing that for her clients, her employees, and herself gives her a sense of fulfillment.

“I really like what I do,” she said. “I’m in my glory. It’s a tremendous satisfaction knowing that I improved a customer’s quality of life. Also, I’m putting people to work, providing them with a paycheck. Life is good for me and better for them.”

Native Transportation, Reliable Janitorial Service, and Quality Health Care are divisions of Emerson’s Native Resource Company, which is a certified company. And Native Resource Development Company, Inc. is the parent company of Native Transport, Reliable Janitorial Services, and Quality Home Care business. For more information about any of Emerson’s businesses, visit http://www.nativeresourceco.com.

Karen A. Iwamoto was born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and wrote for West Hawaii Today, the daily newspaper in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. She moved to New Mexico in 2005 and wrote and edited at The Daily Times in Farmington. She currently lives and writes in Albuquerque.