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CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
February 17, 2014
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Health Care W I N N E R : C O R P O R A T E A C H I E V E M E N T I N H E A LT H C A R E
CEO expands services of Evangelical Homes Denise Rabidoux President and CEO Evangelical Homes of Michigan Saline When Denise Rabidoux began her nursing career more than three decades ago, the home health care landscape looked much different. “In the 1970s, the only answer for older adults was to stay at home until you couldn’t manage anymore and then look at longterm care placement,” said Rabidoux, president and CEO of Saline-based Evangelical Homes of Michigan. “Now, there are a variety of services. We’ve been able to meet those needs, no matter where the client calls home.” Evangelical Homes is a nonprofit health and human service organization that provides health care, housing and community service to seniors and their families in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties. Rabidoux, 59, led Evangelical Homes’ transition from a traditional nursing home with 660 beds to a provider of various services, especially home health care, to more than 3,200 people.
Rabidoux led Evangelical Homes’ transition from a traditional nursing home to a provider of various services. She also launched two subsidiaries — LifeChoices and LifeChoice Solutions — that have boosted revenue and diversified the company. The former provides for home care; the latter specializes in home-based technology products. “There are multiple ways to touch an older adult,” she said. “And it doesn’t mean taking away their control or moving them out of their home.” Change didn’t come overnight for Evangelical Homes, founded 134 years ago. In 1999, with Evangelical Homes still primarily a nursing home organization, Rabidoux became the first woman and non-minister to lead it. She took over the top spot after serving as the nonprofit’s COO. Initially, the organization was looking to fill the CEO position with someone from within the United Church of Christ, to which it is tied. “Somewhere along the way, I put my hat into the ring,” she said. “I asked, ‘Are you sure that with the changes health care is going to face in the next 20 years we shouldn’t be thinking about the delivery of services?’ So I be-
Denise Rabidoux of Evangelical Homes of Michigan: “There are multiple ways to touch an older adult. And it doesn’t mean taking away their control or moving them out of their home.”
came a viable candidate.” In her first few years, Rabidoux said, she spent a lot of time talking to older adults, visiting libraries and holding focus groups in churches and congregations to ask what senior adults needed or wanted. — Shawn Wright
LON HORWEDEL
Gene Applebaum has been our hero for the last 10 years. A business leader, philanthropist and humanitarian. His unique combination of talents, along with his boundless generosity, has impacted everyone at Beaumont. He provided the impetus to create a leading edge simulation facility where doctors could develop advanced procedures using simulators, instead of patients. And where surgeons at Beaumont could share their surgical innovations with doctors from around the globe. The Marcia & Eugene Applebaum Surgical Learning Center and Simulation Learning Institute are a tribute to our profound belief that patient safety is as important as medical progress. All of us at Beaumont congratulate Mr. Applebaum for his recognition as this year’s Trustee winner of Crain’s Health Care Hero Award. He reminds us that it doesn’t take a medical degree to save lives. All it takes is a heart.
The Marcia & Eugene Applebaum Surgical Learning Center is a 5,500 square-foot facility that is one of the first of its kind. Surgical teams from around the world learn advanced robotic and minimally invasive techniques at the center.