RIDLEY TOWNSHIP — When Kind-Hearted Care Inc. recently received the award Delaware County Daily Times’ Best of Delco Home Health Care Award for 2024, owner Carl Pola couldn’t be prouder.

Knowing that the award came from readers’ votes, Pola was excited to continue her mother’s legacy of being a home care company recognized as a top neighborhood favorite year after year.

Kind-Hearted Care’s office is covered in plaques and banners from both Delaware County Daily Times’ Best Of Delco Awards and Town Talk Newspapers Talk of the Town Awards.

Kind-Hearted Care has collected awards almost every year it’s been in business: Best Senior Caregivers, Best Senior Care and more. This year was no different for the local company.

Carl, who “grew up the business,” recently took over Kind-Hearted Care, which was started by his mother, Joann, in 2015 to provide personalized companion care to older adults so they can remain at home and supported in their independence.

Kind-Hearted Care provides affordable, reliable and compassionate non-medical care, primarily to the elderly, but also to new mothers and people with disabilities or physical impairments.

Services include ALS, Alzheimer’s, dementia and arthritis care, bathing, hygiene and nursing care, hospice assistance, light housekeeping and meal preparation, medication reminders, pet care, family respite care, transportation services and more others.

Both Pola are lifelong residents of Ridley.

Joann still lives in the same Swarthmorewood neighborhood where she was born and raised. He attended Notre Dame de Lourdes Elementary School and graduated from Ridley High School in 1979.

She and her husband, Carl, who retired from Ironworkers Local Union 401 several years ago, raised their two children, Carl and Alla, in the same house, same neighborhood, where the couple is happily enjoying retirement.

After becoming a nurse, Joann Pola began her career at Bryn Mawr Hospital, followed by 15 years at Crozer-Chester Medical Center Burn Center and 15 years as a supervisor/case manager at Blue Cross Blue Shield, visiting site at 60 hospitals for user reviews. At the burn center, she spent many years as a flight nurse providing critical initial medical care during emergency transports.

A company is born

After retiring from Blue Cross Blue Shield, Pola’s father became ill. She immediately fell into the role of caregiver. After her father died, a friend, who knew of Pola’s extensive medical experience, asked her if she would do a private duty for a sick uncle.

“While I was babysitting my friend’s uncle, someone else saw me babysitting and asked if I was available to babysit their parent,” said Pola, explaining how her company initially took root. “I needed help taking care of both people, so I hired my friend at the Burn Center who was also an RN. More people saw our care and asked for help, and that’s when we got our license and started caring with a kind heart.”

Pola has put together a consistent team through her long-standing professional network. Every customer care team member who is hired at Kind-Hearted Care is given a thorough background and reference check.

Ready to retire and spend more time with her husband Carl Sr., Joann handed the reins to Carl Jr. in 2022, knowing the company was in capable hands.

Carl Jr. is a 2014 graduate of Cardinal O’Hara High School and a 2018 graduate of Bloomsburg University, where he majored in business management, took many entrepreneurship courses, and studied abroad in Brussels, Belgium.

After graduation, he held jobs at small businesses and startups, including Chewy.com and Flex.com.

“When this opportunity came up in 2022, I jumped at it,” Carl says of taking over the business after his mother’s retirement. “I worked as a caregiver at Kind-Hearted Care all through high school and college, so I knew what I was getting into.”

The new owner was already handling the company’s financial books as well as its payroll, so he could easily transition to president/owner of the company. He is a hands-on owner, just like his mother, building and maintaining relationships with every customer he serves.

“Kind-Hearted Care has already built an excellent reputation, so taking over the company was a win-win,” said Carl. “We treat all our customers as if they were members of our family.”

Heart to serve

As the owner, Carl is available to his customers 24/7, all year round, even on holidays.

“Clients and their families appreciate having a kind-hearted staff member available to answer the phone at all times,” said Carl. “We want our customers and their families to be satisfied and happy above all else. When they hire a caretaker, they hire me, so I’ll make sure it works and they’re very happy.”

“At the end of the day, we want a close relationship with the families we serve,” added Carl. “After all, they’re paying for quality care and that’s what we want to give them. We tell our customers, if you’re unhappy with something, call us and tell us directly so we can change it. We are always on the phone. We’re family, not a huge corporation that you can’t get in touch with when you need them.”

Carl ensures that everyone on the Kind-Hearted Care team is well trained and experienced.

“I’ve lived in this community my whole life,” Carl said. “For me, it’s a local thing: I know or know the people I hire. Most are from Delco. Our care team is dedicated because they are practically our neighbors. This is what sets us apart.”

Kind-Hearted Care’s professional team of RNs, CNAs and home aides has over half a century of experience caring for clients.

According to Polas, most of the care team members are Delaware County residents themselves, who know how important it is for seniors to remain independent in their own homes. They make it their mission to help them do just that by providing all the assistance they need to live happy, day-to-day lives.

“We have some employees who have been with us since 2015 when the company was founded,” added Carl. “The longevity of our employees in a market that sometimes has high turnover says a lot about our team. Our number one goal with our employees is to have our customers and their families love them because of the good care they provide.”

Hiring “good people”

Joann cared for her late father, as well as her late mother, who lived into her late 90s. Because of this personal experience, Pola is adamant that their team members are extremely trustworthy and are truly “good people “.

“We try to match our caregivers by personality and other traits with our clients to make them a good fit,” explains Carl. “We depend on our customers and their families to be honest with us. If it happens to not be suitable, we will re-examine the situation. We keep a very close connection with the families.”

Carl said that while they get customers through their Facebook page, Google, referrals and newspaper ads, most come from “word of mouth” referrals.

What sets Kind-Hearted Care apart from other care agencies is not only the experience of the owner and team members in geriatric care, urgent care and case management, but also the personalized care at home.

“Our work ethic is second to none,” Carl said. “We are not a corporate entity, but family-oriented, practical. Customers will always deal with me, the owner, every step of the way.”

Kind-Hearted Care meets with each client and their family to develop a personalized care plan that is customized to meet their needs.

The care team is experienced in caring for clients with medical diagnoses of everything from cancer, heart problems, diabetes and strokes to dementia, multiple sclerosis, vision problems, ambulatory problems and arthritis. Experienced caregivers are available hourly, overnight, weekends and holidays, 24/7 or for respite care.

Kind-Hearted Care has many other personal touches, such as a daily communication book that is shared with each client’s family, whether they live nearby or far away. Caregivers write journal entries about what their clients eat, when they wash their hair, and other small details throughout the day.

Pola said families appreciate the updates.

“Communication cards are especially appreciated by families who live far away from their loved one,” explained Carl. “Daily updates keep them involved in the day-to-day details of their loved one’s life when they often can’t be there.”

Matter of trust

Although the family business has changed hands from mother to son, the heart of the local company still beats with compassion and kindness.

“We provide quality care, working with each client and their family individually for any problem,” Carl said. “But more than anything else, we really care about our customers. We treat them as we would want our family members to be treated. There’s a reason our customers voted us to receive these awards. We work hard to earn their trust every day.”

Kind-Hearted Care, a member of the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, is licensed in Pennsylvania and fully bonded and insured. The owner said they pass all their audits “with flying colors”.

The company, which serves Delaware County and some surrounding portions of Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, currently accepts private pay and long-term care insurance and hopes to accept Medicaid and VA patients sometime in 2025.

Kind-Hearted Care, Inc. offers free home consultations. Services offered include personal wellbeing, companionship, helping hands, specialist care and home safety assessment.

What to know

To contact Kind-Hearted Care Inc., call 215-350-1899 or email [email protected] or visit www.kindheartedcare.com.