Jerome Hanway Is Building His Right at Home Franchise Around His Mission To Serve

When Jerome Hanway decided to open a Right at Home* franchise in Las Cruces, New Mexico, it wasn’t a business decision driven solely by market opportunity — it was personal. Hanway first experienced the need for in-home care when his grandmother, who had both legs amputated, required assistance for a decade. That early, deeply personal connection to caregiving shaped his approach to business ownership. “Helping people is the one thing for me that’s big,” he said. “You can make money doing anything, but if you’re not helping people while you’re doing it, that’s not satisfying.”

Jerome’s “why” is rooted in both family experience and a deep respect for veterans. His father, a Vietnam veteran who served three tours as a 101st Airborne Ranger, inspired Jerome to make veterans a core focus of his work. “One of our main focuses is making sure that our veterans are taken care of,” he said. “We’re veteran first, we take care of those who took care of us.”

With his business, Legacy Care, Jerome aims to set a higher standard for caregiving — not just for clients, but for the caregivers themselves. By prioritizing specialized training, paying accordingly for skills, and fostering a culture built on shared values, Jerome is working to improve the quality of life on both sides of the care relationship. For him, franchising with Right at Home wasn’t about following a cookie-cutter model, but about finding a brand that allowed him to bring his values, compassion, and commitment to those who served our country into every aspect of the business.

1851 Franchise spoke with Jerome about his commitment to serving veterans and why Right at Home was the right fit for his mission. Here’s what he had to say.

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What do you want us to know?

Jerome: I experienced this industry first as basically my grandmother needing services. She had both of her legs amputated when I was in high school and in college, and we needed the in-home care because my parents were still working. Of course, we were all kids and still going to school.

We actually needed these services as clients, not as the owners. My grandmother needed the services for about 10 years. We used to move her around because she would stay with one of my aunts for a little while, then with another aunt, and then she would come to our house for a little while. She really didn’t like the jumping around and going from place to place.

So, we got her set up at home with an in-home care person and, by the grace of God, we got a really good caregiver who stayed with her for about seven years.

1851: What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Jerome: I worked for PepsiCo for about 12 years. I started two insurance companies from scratch and still have my insurance licensing. I worked for Edward Jones for a little while as a financial advisor.

I came to do this because my sister owns the Right at Home in El Cajon, California. We had a conversation about what she did and how she did it. I really enjoyed my time at Pepsi. The part that I missed the most was mentoring people. I loved training and mentoring other younger people to help develop and grow into good, valued employees.

Helping people is the one thing that I love to do. You can make money doing anything, but why not help people while you’re doing it? That’s very satisfying.

1851: What was your perception of franchising before becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?

Jerome: My perception of it was McDonald’s, Burger King — the restaurant types of places and cookie-cutter things where you do what they say and follow whatever their format is.

My reality of it was that I worked at my sister’s office for about a year and a half. I realized, especially with this, you can attach your identity to it. You can attach your moral structure and how you want to do business. That was very important to me because everybody’s different, and everybody approaches this industry differently. Ours was about being clients first. We come from that perspective first.

It’s really based on the right company for you — what it is you want to do inside, what your moral compass looks like, what’s near and dear to your heart, and if that company really allows you to express yourself through whatever it is that you’re doing.

1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?

Jerome: I really like the fact that, again, the model of the company is the in-home care. But with Right at Home, they really let us have our own identity of what we find important to us and our moral structure.

My father’s a Vietnam veteran. He did three tours in Vietnam, has been shot three times, and he’s 101st Airborne Ranger. That’s very important to us — taking care of veterans. I would say one of our main focuses is making sure that our veterans are taken care of. We’re veteran first, and then we take care of the others. But we take care of those who took care of us.

1851: Can you tell us a little about your partners?

Jerome: My sister, Melanie Delgado, owns a Right at Home in El Cajon, California. My cousin, Daniel Contreras, is also a partner.

Then there’s Victoria Walck, who is a hospice nurse. She worked as a caregiver while she was going through school, became an RN, and is now a hospice nurse. This industry is what she wanted to be in from the get-go, and she took care of her parents while they were going through this process as well. She’s definitely got a strong “why.”

1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth?

Jerome: We do have growth plans, but first, we want to really establish a new way of doing caregiving. We want to make sure that not only are we taking care of the individuals and servicing our clients and improving their quality of life, we also want to make sure that our caregivers who are giving the care are improving their quality of life.

To us, the skills training — Alzheimer’s care and other specialties — is important. We want to be able to go to a client and tell them we are certified in this, that we have caregivers who can do this and are certified. That adds value not only to our company but also to the caregiver, and we pay accordingly.

If you come with skills, values, and the same moral structure as giving care, then you’ll do well. But if you come to our company and you just think this is a paycheck and you’re clocking in and clocking out, this is not the place for you because you won’t last.

1851: Is there anything else about your story you want us to know?

Jerome: We’re DBA Right at Home, but the name of our company is Legacy Care. That really encompasses the care of my grandmother. One of our partners — my cousin — his father had dementia and passed away as well. These are all near and dear to our hearts, and we’ve experienced this as clients first. We come into it with emotion as being the client.

1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming franchise owners?

Jerome: I would look at your core beliefs, what you are as a person, and what you want to accomplish. Then make sure that the franchise aligns with that.

If you love what you do — that cliché, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day again in your life” — I know that’s very cheesy, but it’s true. It’s absolutely true.

ABOUT RIGHT AT HOME:

Founded in 1995, Right at Home offers in-home care to seniors and adults with disabilities who want to live independently. Most Right at Home offices are independently owned and operated and directly employ and supervise all caregiving staff. Each caregiver is thoroughly screened, trained, and bonded/insured before entering a client’s home. Right at Home’s global office is based in Omaha, Nebraska, with more than 750 franchise locations in the U.S. and four other countries.

If you're interested in taking the next step in making a difference in your community as a Right at Home franchisee, visit http://rightathomefranchise.com or to read more about franchise ownership, visit our blog at: https://rightathomefranchise.com/forc/.