Kind-Hearted Care wins Daily Times Best Of Delco awards year after year

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

Knowing the award came from readers’ votes, Pola was pleased to continue his mother’s legacy of being an in-home care company, recognized as the top-choice neighborhood favorite, year after year.

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

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

Carl, who has “grown up in the business,” recently took over Kind-Hearted Care, which was started by his mother, Joann, in 2015 to provide individualized companion care to older adults, so that they can stay in their home setting and supported in their independence.

Joann Pola, right, recently retired from Kind Hearted Care, Inc., the successful home health care business she founded in 2015 is pictured with her son Carl Pola, left, who worked for the company for ten years and also has an extensive business background. Carl took over the ownership of his mother's company earlier this year. He plans to keep the same person-centered, compassionate care mission that has won Kind Hearted Care accolades from its clients year after year. (PEG DEGRASSA/ DAILY TIMES) — Joann Pola, recently retired from Kind Hearted Care Inc., the successful home health care business she founded in 2015 with her son Carl, who worked for the company for 10 years and also has an extensive business background. Carl took over the ownership of his mother’s company earlier this year. He plans to keep the same person-centered, compassionate care mission that has won Kind Hearted Care accolades from its clients year after year. (PEG DEGRASSA – DAILY TIMES)

Kind-Hearted Care provides affordable, dependable and compassionate nonmedical care, mostly to seniors, but also to new mothers, and handicapped or physically impaired individuals.

Services include ALS, Alzheimers, dementia and arthritis care, bathing, hygiene and grooming, hospice support, light housekeeping and meal preparation, medication reminders, pet care, respite care for families, transportation services and much more.

Both Polas are lifelong Ridley Township residents.

Joann still resides in the same Swarthmorewood neighborhood where she was born and raised. She 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 a few years ago, raised their two children, Carl and Alla, in the same home, same neighborhood, where the couple are happily enjoying their retirement.

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

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A company is born

After she retired from Blue Cross Blue Shield, Pola’s dad became ill. She immediately fell into the caregiving role. After her father passed away, a friend, who knew Pola’s extensive medical background, asked her if she would do private duty for an ill uncle.

“While I was taking care of my friend’s uncle, someone else saw me caregiving and asked me if I was available to care for their parent,” Pola said, explaining how her company initially took root. “I needed help to care for both people, so I hired my friend from the Burn Center who was also an RN. More people saw our caregiving and asked for help and that’s when I got licensed and began Kind-Hearted Care.”

Pola compiled a consistent team through her longtime professional network. Each client care team member who is employed at Kind-Hearted Care is given a thorough background and reference checks.

Ready to retire and spend more time with her husband Carl Sr., Joann handed the reins over 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 courses in entrepreneurship, and studied a semester 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 eagerly went for it,” Carl says about taking over the business following 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 already was handling the financial books for the company, as well as its payroll, so he was able to easily transition to president/owner of the company. He’s a hands-on owner, like his mother, building and nurturing relationships with every client they serve.

“Kind-Hearted Care already had built a stellar reputation, so taking over the company was a win-win,” Carl said. “We treat all of our customers like they are our own family members.”

Heart for serving

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

“Clients and their families appreciate that someone on the Kind-Hearted staff is on call to answer the phone at all times,” Carl stated. “We want our clients and their families to be satisfied and happy, above all else. When they hire a caregiver, they are also hiring me, so I am going to make sure it works and they’re highly satisfied.”

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

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

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

The Kind-Hearted Care professional team of RNs, CNAs, and home health aides, has over a half century of client-care experience.

According to the Polas, most care team members are Delaware County residents themselves who know how important it is for seniors to stay 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, everyday lives.

“We have some employees who have been with us since 2015, when the company was founded,” Carl added. “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 clients and their families love them because of the good care that they give.”

Hiring ‘good people’

Joann took care of her late father as well as her late mother, who lived into her late 90s. Because of this personal experience, the Polas are adamant that their team members are extremely trustworthy and just genuinely “good people.”

“We try to match our caregivers by their personalities and other traits with our clients to make good fits,” Carl explains. “We depend on our clients and their families to be honest with us. If it happens not to be a good fit, and we will reexamine the situation. We keep in very close touch with the families.”

Carl said although they receive customers through their Facebook page, Google, referrals and newspaper ads, the majority come from “word of mouth” referrals.

What sets Kind-Hearted Care services apart from other care agencies is not only its owner’s and team members’ backgrounds in geriatric care, emergency care, and case management, but also its personalized in-home care.

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

Owner Carl Pola, left, sitting in the office of Kind Hearted Care with his mother, founder Joann Pola, right, talk about the reasons that the Delaware County award-winning company has been voted — Owner Carl Pola in the office of Kind Hearted Care with his mother, founder Joann Pola, talk about the reasons that the Delaware County award-winning company has been voted the best year after year. One of the biggest reasons, they say, is “trust.” (PEG DEGRASSA – DAILY TIMES)

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

The care team has experience in caring for clients with medical diagnoses of everything from cancer, heart issues, diabetes and strokes to dementia, multiple sclerosis, vision problems, ambulatory issues and arthritis. Experienced caregivers are available hourly, overnight, on weekends and holidays, around the clock or for respite care.

Kind-Hearted Care has many other personal touches, like a daily communications book, which is shared with each client’s family, whether they live nearby or far away. Caregivers write notes in the log about what their clients are eating, when they get their hair washed, and other small details throughout the day.

Pola said families appreciate the updates.

“The communication books are especially appreciated families that live a distance away from their loved one,” Carl explained. “The daily updates keep them involved in the day-to-day details of their loved one’s life when they often can’t be there themselves.”

Matter of trust

Although the family-owned business changed hands from mother to son, the heart of the local company is still beating with compassion and kindness.

“We deliver quality care by working with each client and their family individually, on any and all concerns,” Carl said. “But more than anything else, we truly care about our clients. We treat them the way we would want our family members treated. There’s a reason customers voted for us to get these awards. We work hard to earn their trust each and every day.”

Kind-Hearted Care, a member of the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, is Pennsylvania licensed, and fully bonded and insured. The owner said they pass all of 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. provides free in-home consultations. Services offered include Personal Wellness, Companionship, Helping Hands, Specialized Care and Home Safety Assessment.