Griswold Launches New Company-Owned Office in Delaware County, Pennsylvania; Celebrates with Open House on March 23rd

Griswold, the non-medical home care franchise with over 170 locations, is becoming more essential than ever as the growing senior population demands a steadily increasing need for quality home care. As one of the first non-medical home care franchises in the United States, Griswold is backed by over 40 years of experience, providing quality home care to the elderly, disabled adults and those recovering from illnesses. While the brand has continued to grow in large part thanks to franchisees joining the system, several company-owned offices have also opened up across the Mid-Atlantic region. Most recently, Griswold celebrated the opening of a new company-owned office in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The office is hosting an open house at 525 West Chester Pike, Suite 200 in Havertown, Penn. on Thursday, March 23 at 11:00am to 3:00pm, inviting the community to meet the team and learn more about its services. 

“This market used to be served by our Blue Bell location, but we found that we were missing the caregiver population that was living in Delaware County because they didn't want to travel that far,” said Griswold VP of Company Offices Christina Sommerfield. “So, we made the decision to open another office and be more involved with the local Delco community, as opposed to keeping one larger office. I believe that home care is so personal that we need to really be in the community and involved.” 

Griswold operates eight company-owned offices in the Mid-Atlantic region—a footprint that allows the corporate team to develop best practices and share them with franchisees. The first-ever Griswold operation, now located in Blue Bell, Penn. along with the corporate office, is a company-owned office. 

“Our company-owned offices allow us to learn a lot about our clientele and our caregivers,” said Sommerfield. “It helps us understand the difference between a small territory and a big territory, for example, or an urban and suburban environment. It also helps us to see what works best for franchisees.”

Similarly, Sommerfield says incoming Griswold franchisees find it appealing to have company-owned offices available as a resource.

“We are there as a test kitchen for them,” she said. “This worked great. This didn’t work so great. It allows us to try new things and give franchisees the upper hand so they don’t have to make the same mistakes as us.” 

As a recent example, Sommerfield says Griswold has been testing out an innovative, new, wearable device for clients called CarePredict. 

“It keeps us up to date on the real-time activity of our clients,” she said. “As we look at costs associated with home care, a lot of it comes down to just knowing the client is doing OK. With this monitor, we can remotely find out how they are eating, moving around, sleeping, and more. We aren’t invasive. We are not there outside their home checking on them. But if they were to fall, for example, the family would be notified immediately. That is something we are testing out now at company-owned offices.” 

Referral source marketing is another area company-owned Griswold offices are investigating. 

“Out of the eight company-owned offices, we have some that are focused on caregiver recruitment, and some that are sales focused,” said Sommerfield. “Our marketing strategy is about bringing people to our website directly so they can do their research, but it’s also about visiting facilities, rehabilitation centers, and other community sources so they know we are a trusted local source where they can send referrals.”

The new Delaware County Griswold office officially opened last month. 

“We are eager to not only serve more clients in the area, but also continue to develop best practices for franchisees moving forward,” said Sommerfield. “Over the past 40 years, Griswold has always maintained several company-owned offices, and we are excited to continue that expansion today.”

The cost to open a Griswold franchise ranges from $95,850 to $174,100, including a $49,500 franchise fee. For more information on franchising with Griswold, visit griswoldhomecare.com/franchising.