Advocacy for home health workers and their patients is a huge passion for Chrystal Everett. She’s not just the CEO of Texas-based Wichita Home Health Service, she’s also the immediate past president of the Texas Association for Home Care & Hospice (TAHC&H).
Everett joined the home health profession under Wichita Home Health Service’s founder, Ruth Constant, who opened the business in 1969. Everett said Constant not only mentored her to be a better caregiver, but also taught her the importance of getting involved at the state and federal levels.
“I immediately joined our Texas association, and I got very involved,” she said. “I sat on the political action committee (PAC) for several years, and then I became the president of the committee. We advocated in Austin (Texas) and Washington for all the fields of the industry, be it private duty, Medicare home health, hospice or pediatric therapy.”
In 2022, Everett resigned from her post on the PAC to take up the role of president of TAHC&H. Her term ended this year.
“I learned a lot in two years. It was very heavy on advocacy,” she said. “I expanded my knowledge in the industry. (I’ve) only done Medicare and primary care services (at Wichita Home Health Service). I needed to learn more about my industry, all the different types of private duty and their problems and legislative needs.”
Everett said she championed the work of the government affairs committee and the PAC, ensuring the work of the committees and the association was in line with the rest of the profession.
“We didn’t want to go in (to a meeting with a legislator) with separate asks, when what we’re really trying to do is get a rate increase (for the industry),” she said.
That effort secured a huge win in the Texas state legislature, Everett said, including $2 billion for community care attendant costs and $46 million for private duty nursing.
“These funds are critical to reinforcing the quality and accessibility of homecare and hospice services in Texas,” Everett said. “Notably, this was the first significant increase to the attendant cost area in over a decade. It has been 17 years since the administrative portion of the rate has received an increase. TAHC&H is still advocating for this and will continue our advocacy next session.”
In addition to championing the industry, Everett champions her team, ensuring they have every resource available to not only do their jobs, but also to advance in their careers.
“I look at my staff, and their achievements are what make me happy,” she said. “I’m the softball mom in the stands when they make an improvement with a patient. I’ve watched some of my employees go from LVN to RN or RN to nurse practitioner, pursuing their wants in life and bettering their families. That’s a good feeling to watch and be able to mentor them to do that.” Everett wants to keep Constant’s dream and business alive for many years to come. Wichita Home Health Service just completed a merger with LTM Group, which will expand the agency’s reach beyond the Texas border.
“From a small agency point of view, we know our patients; we know our people,” Everett said. “We’ve served them for generations. We’ve had so many people that we’ve taken care of their grandparents or their moms or their dads, and now it’s our turn to take care of them. That’s something special, that a hometown agency and a small agency can give that back to the community.”
