Family business navigates expansion

Hiring a top executive for a family-run business — someone outside the family — can be an excruciatingly difficult decision.

That's why Sue Wise took her time when looking for an executive administrator at the home health care firm she founded in 1995, Sarasota-based Take Care Private Duty Home Health Care. Wise has held that title herself since she launched the company with four employees. With a nursing degree and an M.B.A., Wise now holds the title of CEO and owner of the company, with around 600 employees. Other family members in executive roles include two of Wise's daughters, Courtney Wise Snyder and Erika Wise Borland.

The new executive administrator, who will oversee strategy development, operations and support for caregivers, among other tasks, is Marguerite Florensa, a longtime nursing home administrator and executive. Florensa, with a health care career that spans more than 40 years, has spent the past decade in regional leadership roles at national nursing home and retirement communities. That means a lot of travel.

“I've spent a lot of time on the road and in airplanes,” Florensa tells Coffee Talk. “It was time to come in from the road.”

Florensa's tasks include a large project to implement electronic medical records software and a program that updates all the firm's internal systems, such as scheduling and human resources. Florensa will also work with the company in launching a fourth office, in Port Charlotte, later this year. Take Care currently has offices in Sarasota, Venice and east Manatee County.

One final key task for Florensa: Fitting into the family and the culture at Take Care, one of the largest and most established home health care agencies in the region. That part of the job, says Florensa, is one aspect she's looking forward to, especially after decades in corporate America. Says Florensa: “I want to continue to build on what Sue has already created.”