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Andre and Monique Hikel own Optimal Wellness Home Healthcare, which has been located in the Tampa Palms Professional Center off Commerce Park Blvd. since August 2014. The company cares for patients in their homes in New Tampa and Hillsborough County, as well as in Manatee, Hardee, Highlands, and Polk counties.

Monique earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa in 1994, and has been a practicing Registered Nurse (RN) for 22 years. She also earned a combined Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Business Administration (MSN/MBA) degree from the University of Phoenix in 2004.

Monique also has worked as a clinical instructor for students earning their BSN degrees at both the University of Tampa and at USF. Monique works at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC) as a labor and delivery nurse, which she says helps her to keep her nursing skills current as she also runs Optimal Wellness.

Andre was a tennis professional whose career took an unexpected turn when he was injured in a car accident.

He started working in the financial industry, and ended up continuing in that career for the past 11 years, until leaving recently to focus on building Optimal Wellness Home Healthcare with Monique.

They consider this business a merger of their skills. Monique’s title is Director of Nursing and Administrator, and she oversees the clinical and records-keeping side of the business. Andre handles the financial and marketing aspects. “This business allows us to combine our strengths,” says Andre. “It’s both of our passions to give back and to make a difference.”

Monique & Andre’s Story

Andre and Monique have lived in Wesley Chapel for 16 years and are now raising their three kids – Joshua, 7; Alexandrea, 9; and Alivia, 11 – along with their niece, Phylecia, who is 15.

“Based on our history, we want to make sure we are always giving great care to our patients,” says Andre. “Quality of care is very near and dear to our hearts.”

That history includes losing both Andre’s dad and Monique’s mom to cancer, and Andre’s mom being diagnosed as schizophrenic when he was a young boy in his native Trinidad. And, there’s this: The couple’s son was diagnosed with cancer in December of 2015 when he was five, but now he is in full remission.

“Joshua’s diagnosis of cancer gave us confirmation of the great need for home health care,” says Monique. “We started the business in August of 2014 and Joshua was diagnosed in December. It was hard to continue the business at that time, but God gave us the strength to forge through and opportunities presented themselves that gave us further confirmation during that difficult time.”

In-Home Specialists

“We can take care of anything in the home,” says Monique, explaining that Optimal Wellness provides health care professionals such as CNAs (Certified Nursing Assistants), home health aides, or RNs, depending upon what level of care is needed.

Currently, the company specializes in care for patients with Alzheimer’s, hypertension, diabetes and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, an umbrella term used to describe progressive lung diseases), and also offers respite care, to give caretakers a break from their responsibilities.

Another area of service is infusion care, such as antibiotics or other medications that needs to be administered via injection.

Monique says each condition requires specific training and care, which Optimal Wellness provides. For example, for patients with Alzheimer’s, “We go through extensive training to be sure our providers are equipped for these patients,” she says. “There’s a way to speak to them and to approach them. For example, sometimes they become aggressive, so you have to stay calm and not take it personally. It’s part of their disease.”

If a patient needs full-time care but doesn’t want to live in an assisted living facility (ALF), Optimal Wellness can provide 24-hour care in his or her own home.

“It’s a good option for someone who doesn’t want to go into an ALF,” says Monique.

Some of the company’s clients are leaving the hospital or rehab facilities and need temporary care in their homes.

“We also have long-term clients in assisted living facilities who need 24-hour care, seven days a week,” says Andre. “The families of these clients have hired us to provide supplemental care during ‘down times’ at the ALF. The patient needs extra attention, so the family pays out of pocket.”

For now, Andre says all of the company’s clients are self-pay. Optimal Wellness has gone through the application process to be able to accept Medicare, and has received confirmation that the company meets all of the stringent regulations, but a moratorium is currently preventing them from being approved as a Medicare provider.

Optimal Wellness is in the process of working with several insurance companies to be approved providers with individual companies and expects to begin accepting insurance soon.

Quality, Personalized Care

“We are quality people giving exceptional care, and we want to treat everyone as family,” says Monique.

To ensure each patient receives exceptional care, Monique and Andre say Optimal Wellness follows a specific routine with the family and caretaker, and has a weekly “quality call” to ensure everything is going according to plan.

That call helps to makes sure everyone is on the same page. If a caregiver was a few minutes late, or if there was a minor issue that needs attention, it can be dealt with immediately. “We want our clients to be assured they’re getting the best care possible, and these calls seem to put them at ease,” explains Andre.

Optimal Wellness creates an individual care plan that is gone over with each patient’s family. “We address specific, individual needs and match each patient to the caretaker who suits them the best,” he says.

Monique explains that the company is accredited through CHAP (Community Health Accreditation Partner), which is a many-months-long process that ensures compliance with stringent standards. While accreditation is required for home health companies, it is not required for all staffing companies or registries.

“We want to be known as a company that gives exceptional quality care,” says Monique, and she knows that starts with the professionals who are in their patients’ homes, providing that care.

“We ask our professionals to look at their patients and see their own mom or dad, and proceed accordingly,” Monique adds. “Treat them the way you would want someone to treat your mom or dad.”

They start with hiring only well-qualified, experienced caretakers. Monique says CNAs and home health aides must have at least one year of experience, and RNs must have at least two years of experience.

The company also does a “Level 2” background check, which means that the new employee’s background is searched in all 50 states, not just Florida. Monique says they will not send a healthcare professional out to a home until that background check comes back clear.

And then, they are trained. “Prior to going out to any of our homes, the nurses, CNAs and home health aides that work for us receive training,” says Monique. “Even if a health care provider is an RN with years of experience, we ensure they are trained by us and understand the specific care plan of the patient they will visit before they are sent out to someone’s home.”

Optimal Wellness provided care for Celsa Villanueva, who lives in Cross Creek. She is a diabetic with multiple health issues, and her nephew, Carlos Velazquez, says Monique provided great care for her during a time when she was in need.

“She taught my aunt a lot about what to do when her sugar was low, or high, and helped her organize her medication,” he says. “She explained all the medications and their side effects, and taught her how to tell the difference between pills that look alike.”

Carlos added, “I would recommend her in a heartbeat. She was very professional and caring, and very good to my aunt.”

Optimal Wellness Home Healthcare is available for care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Office hours are Mon.–Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, see the ad on page 46, call 381-5415 or visit OptimalWellnessHomeHealthcare.com.