Tiburon Peninsula Chamber of Commerce Business of the Month

Marin Home Care

Our Business-of-the-Month, Marin Home Care founded by Tiburon resident Laura Belluomini, began with a ferry ride on the bay.

Four years ago, Laura’s husband, Joe, was riding the ferry home when a friend happened to tell him about the frustration he had with the few options of home care services available for his aging mother.

Naturally, Joe immediately thought of Laura who was not only a registered nurse but had a Masters degree in healthcare systems and was a certified case manager. When he told her about his conversation, it didn’t take long, after figuring out the logistics, for Laura to decide to start a new business, Marin Home Care, and opened a small downtown Tiburon office.

On November 1^st, with business booming, the service is moving into new quarters at the Maritime Plaza, in the spot where Casto Travel used to be.

With this bigger office, Marin Home Care can better provide both its non-medical and its skilled nursing care to its clients. The types of home care it offers run from bathing, dressing and feeding to meal planning and prep, light housekeeping and laundry, plus just plain companionship, help with shopping, errands and exercise, and everything in-between.

Its skilled nurses are licensed to give injections and infusions, ostomy and wound care and portioning out pills. They perform all the activities that only qualified nurses may, under the law, provide.

Marin Home Care is a licensed and bonded agency – not a franchise. Since it is owned and operated by a local resident, it is a very hands-on company with a comprehensive caregiver hiring process. All its caregivers are registered by the Department of Social Services: fingerprinted, screened, trained, bonded, insured and are HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliant.

Among the many services offered are 24/7 home care, Alzheimer’s and dementia care plus respite care. “We serve clients exclusively in Marin County but mainly in Southern Marin,” Laura says. “Our narrow market focus allows us to fulfill needs with a more personalized approach and gives us the opportunity to know each client personally.”

Medicare and Medi-Cal does not cover the cost of this home care, but it does accept Long Term Care insurance. Its services not only cover seniors, but it can be used for any age – those with disabilities, post-surgery recovery or people who need a little help getting around their homes or community.

Prices range from $25/hour to $40/hour, depending on what is required, and no job, in or out of the home, is too large or too small. Great effort is put into pairing up the caregiver and the client so they are combatable.

Originally from Kirkland, Washington (yes, that of Costco fame), Laura says she always knew she wanted to be a nurse. “Being a doctor never crossed my mind,” she says. “It was always nursing. I love taking care of people.”

At age 16, she became a lifeguard at Lake Washington and found she not only liked swimming but also enjoyed the first aid part of it.

Standing six-feet-one-inch tall, Laura dabbled in softball and soccer in junior high but excelled in basketball during high school and college. She was on the basketball team at the University of Montana in Missoula where she earned her undergrad degree.   

Working in an ambulatory peri-op setting at the University of California, San Francisco, she says she saw how happy her patients became when they were able to go home after surgery. “It made me realize there really is no place like home,” she says, “and it motivated me to make the transition into helping seniors age in place – right at home.”

Marin Home Care’s Director of Care Management is Caroline Glassell. A native of Sweden, Caroline has lived in a number of countries and speaks six languages fluently. She has a Masters degree in business from Bentley University in Boston and has spent her entire career in client services and relationship management.

“I’m driven by providing excellence in client service,” she says, “and I believe in personalizing care to each individual client need.”

Both Laura and Caroline live in Tiburon, and they each have two daughters who attend Reed District schools – in fact, the two first met through their children. And both are dedicated to providing the best, personal care to every one of their clients.

Marin Home Care can give peace of mind to those who live close by as well as those who live miles away from relatives who need help. And knowing the clients being served are happy and content makes for a win-win all the way around.

For more information or for a free consultation, call 415-712-1917 or go to MarinHomeCare.com.

Marin Home Care is at 1640 Tiburon Boulevard, Suite 16.