BrightStar Care of Anne Arundel County, Easton and Salisbury, Maryland were recently acquired by Thomas Graves, MBA, FACHE, president and CEO of Flat Creek Investments, LLC.
Previously owned and operated locally by Bob Brueckman, BrightStar Care is a Joint Commission accredited, full-service home care organization and staffing agency. Its locations in Anne Arundel, Easton and the Lower Eastern Shore are part of a network of more than 300 independently owned and operated locations nationwide. BrightStar Care provides medical and non-medical care to private clients – pediatric through end-of-life – in their own homes. Clients and their families have access to a full continuum of home care services including companion care – visitation and assistance with common household activities like meal preparation, laundry and light housekeeping; personal care – dressing, grooming and assistance with mobility issues; and skilled care – nursing care and therapies such as wound care, infusions and physical therapy. BrightStar also provides supplemental medical staffing services to a variety of senior care facilities, including skilled nursing, assisted living and independent living facilities.
Graves, a board-certified health care executive and a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives, comes to BrightStar Care after 33 years of experience in health care administration. During his career, he has held leadership positions in nationally recognized cancer institutes, such as the Geisinger Health System Cancer Program in Pennsylvania, MD, Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and the University of Texas San Antonio Cancer Center. Most recently, Graves worked for Inova Health System, in Fairfax, Virginia, where he was the Vice President of Cancer Services and opened the new Schar Cancer Institute in May 2019.
In his previous position at Inova, Graves responsible for the development of comprehensive cancer clinical care and research programs, facilitating clinical trials and patient-centered, evidence-based multidisciplinary systems of care for all cancer patients.
Graves graduated from Texas A&M University with a BBA in Finance and attended the University of St. Thomas where he received an MBA in Finance.
In his new endeavor as a local owner of BrightStar Care, Graves will join Leadership Team members Lorelei Palemine, RN, BSN, regional clinical director; Laura Jones, RN, BSN, regional director of Skilled Services; Suzanne Smith, regional director of Finance; and Christina Wingate-Spence, regional director of Marketing and Community Outreach and Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) in overseeing BrightStar’s daily operations.
“I am excited to be a part of the BrightStar family and to continue the exceptional work of the previous owner,” remarks Graves. “My goal is to expand upon our already-exceptional team of administrative staff, caregivers, nurses and therapists, and the services offered by BrightStar during this extremely challenging time for those needing health care. Our organization has always been committed to providing an exceptional experience to those across the region in need of care, and I look forward to carrying on that legacy.”
“The Leadership Team, administrative team members, caregivers and clinicians of BrightStar Care are thrilled to welcome Thomas to our team,” comments Christina Wingate-Spence, regional director of Marketing and Community Outreach. “With his impressive background in health care administration and as an extreme proponent of patient-centered care, he is already proving himself to be a tremendous asset to BrightStar’s consultative process, designed to provide our clients and their families with the information and resources they need to make the right decisions for their individualized needs.”
Since opening its doors in Anne Arundel County more than 11 years ago, BrightStar Care has provided care to more than 4000 families across its three territories, which collectively service Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties, Southern Maryland and the entire Eastern Shore, from the Bay Bridge to Ocean City.
According to Wingate-Spence, the services offered by BrightStar allow clients to age in place in the familiarity of their own homes, surrounded by family and friends. “As clients’ conditions change, our services and solutions will change as well to best meet their needs,” she explains. “Our goal is and always will be to provide a comprehensive home care solution that delivers not just quality care, but also our expertise in the resources necessary to age in place, happily and safely, in the comfort of our clients’ surroundings.”
In addition to its care services, BrightStar Care offers educational opportunities to communities across their service area through their educational series, ‘Senior Solutions,’ which offers programs focusing on age-related topics, ranging from Alzheimer’s and dementia care to home safety tips for seniors. The ‘Senior Solutions’ series includes the Virtual Dementia Tour® (VDT), a patented dementia simulation that makes it possible for participants to experience the physical and mental challenges associated with dementia. BrightStar has been offering the simulation to various health care providers, community agencies and family caregivers across the Eastern Shore and in Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties since 2017. The VDT – a patented program of nonprofit organization Second Wind Dreams® – uses patented sensory tools and training based on research conducted by P.K. Beville, M.S., a specialist in geriatrics and founder of Second Wind Dreams®.
Additional information about the services and educational opportunities offered by BrightStar Care in your area can be obtained at brightstarcare.com or by calling Christina Wingate-Spence at 410-820-4200.
Previously owned and operated locally by Bob Brueckman, BrightStar Care is a Joint Commission accredited, full-service home care organization and staffing agency. Its locations in Anne Arundel, Easton and the Lower Eastern Shore are part of a network of more than 300 independently owned and operated locations nationwide. BrightStar Care provides medical and non-medical care to private clients – pediatric through end-of-life – in their own homes. Clients and their families have access to a full continuum of home care services including companion care – visitation and assistance with common household activities like meal preparation, laundry and light housekeeping; personal care – dressing, grooming and assistance with mobility issues; and skilled care – nursing care and therapies such as wound care, infusions and physical therapy. BrightStar also provides supplemental medical staffing services to a variety of senior care facilities, including skilled nursing, assisted living and independent living facilities.
Graves, a board-certified health care executive and a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives, comes to BrightStar Care after 33 years of experience in health care administration. During his career, he has held leadership positions in nationally recognized cancer institutes, such as the Geisinger Health System Cancer Program in Pennsylvania, MD, Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and the University of Texas San Antonio Cancer Center. Most recently, Graves worked for Inova Health System, in Fairfax, Virginia, where he was the Vice President of Cancer Services and opened the new Schar Cancer Institute in May 2019.
In his previous position at Inova, Graves responsible for the development of comprehensive cancer clinical care and research programs, facilitating clinical trials and patient-centered, evidence-based multidisciplinary systems of care for all cancer patients.
Graves graduated from Texas A&M University with a BBA in Finance and attended the University of St. Thomas where he received an MBA in Finance.
In his new endeavor as a local owner of BrightStar Care, Graves will join Leadership Team members Lorelei Palemine, RN, BSN, regional clinical director; Laura Jones, RN, BSN, regional director of Skilled Services; Suzanne Smith, regional director of Finance; and Christina Wingate-Spence, regional director of Marketing and Community Outreach and Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) in overseeing BrightStar’s daily operations.
“I am excited to be a part of the BrightStar family and to continue the exceptional work of the previous owner,” remarks Graves. “My goal is to expand upon our already-exceptional team of administrative staff, caregivers, nurses and therapists, and the services offered by BrightStar during this extremely challenging time for those needing health care. Our organization has always been committed to providing an exceptional experience to those across the region in need of care, and I look forward to carrying on that legacy.”
“The Leadership Team, administrative team members, caregivers and clinicians of BrightStar Care are thrilled to welcome Thomas to our team,” comments Christina Wingate-Spence, regional director of Marketing and Community Outreach. “With his impressive background in health care administration and as an extreme proponent of patient-centered care, he is already proving himself to be a tremendous asset to BrightStar’s consultative process, designed to provide our clients and their families with the information and resources they need to make the right decisions for their individualized needs.”
Since opening its doors in Anne Arundel County more than 11 years ago, BrightStar Care has provided care to more than 4000 families across its three territories, which collectively service Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties, Southern Maryland and the entire Eastern Shore, from the Bay Bridge to Ocean City.
According to Wingate-Spence, the services offered by BrightStar allow clients to age in place in the familiarity of their own homes, surrounded by family and friends. “As clients’ conditions change, our services and solutions will change as well to best meet their needs,” she explains. “Our goal is and always will be to provide a comprehensive home care solution that delivers not just quality care, but also our expertise in the resources necessary to age in place, happily and safely, in the comfort of our clients’ surroundings.”
In addition to its care services, BrightStar Care offers educational opportunities to communities across their service area through their educational series, ‘Senior Solutions,’ which offers programs focusing on age-related topics, ranging from Alzheimer’s and dementia care to home safety tips for seniors. The ‘Senior Solutions’ series includes the Virtual Dementia Tour® (VDT), a patented dementia simulation that makes it possible for participants to experience the physical and mental challenges associated with dementia. BrightStar has been offering the simulation to various health care providers, community agencies and family caregivers across the Eastern Shore and in Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties since 2017. The VDT – a patented program of nonprofit organization Second Wind Dreams® – uses patented sensory tools and training based on research conducted by P.K. Beville, M.S., a specialist in geriatrics and founder of Second Wind Dreams®.
Additional information about the services and educational opportunities offered by BrightStar Care in your area can be obtained at brightstarcare.com or by calling Christina Wingate-Spence at 410-820-4200.