Meet Lance A. Slatton

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lance A. Slatton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lance A. , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

When I was growing up and spending time with my grandparents I learned that helping others is a really impactful career path. While I originally had been pursuing medical school to help others that all changed when I received a phone call that my father needed help and that phone call lead to a defining choice that would change the path and trajectory of my life.

The choice was either he would need to go into a rehab facility while he recovered or he would come and live with my wife and I. We were newly weds and didn’t have any children at the time and I chose what I like to think most people would choose and that was to come live with us.

During this period, I was still pursuing medical school and I had thought at the time that my purpose was to become a doctor. I was excelling in college in a very big way and was also heavily involved in a multitude of initiatives and some that I had spearheaded for the university.

That slowly and gradually all changed once my father came to live with us. My father had over 7 major surgeries and we had healthcare professionals coming and going from our house to see him almost everyday of the week for over two and half years. This does not take into account the countless doctor appointments, surgeries, pre-op appointments, physical and occupational therapies, and countless other healthcare appointments between all of the others.

The part of that experience that really stood out for me now even more than at that time was the lack of information, resources, and support for us as his family caregivers.

However, the experience with my father had given me a very real and new found purpose and that was to help other families, family caregivers, and their loved ones who needed to know that they were not alone.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

After a couple of years caring for my father and still feeling lost and alone I had a lunch scheduled with a dear friend of mine who was already in the healthcare field. This lunch would change everything in my life going forward.

When I arrived at his office building I was walking down the hallway to his office and on the way there I saw a Home Healthcare company that was hiring. Being in college it doesn’t lend itself to a very flexible employment schedule and so I was student teaching and working in the labs at the university. I loved those jobs, but they weren’t very competitive in their pay. So I decided the ask this Home Healthcare company what they were hiring for and they told me that they didn’t know. I was perplexed why a company that is hiring wouldn’t know what it was they were hiring for. That is when I called my wife and immediately came up with the idea that we should start a company that sends people into homes to help with situations like we were dealing with in my father’s situation.

After only a few days I discovered that there was an entire industry out there – though, I have said if the healthcare professionals that were caring for my father had shared something like this I may not be where I am at today.

We explored many options and ultimately decided that we would start our own company and we have now been in business for over 12 years and the past 7 years we have been rated the number one company in the state of Michigan. I owe that to our mission of helping every family member and their loved ones the way we would want our own family members to be treated and helping them to learn about resources and services that are available to them.

Sadly, this many years later countless families are still lost and unaware of the services available to them and their loved ones. This has become a big part of my purpose and passion and that is helping families, family caregivers, and their loved ones with the resources and information that they are not being made aware of.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three biggest qualities that I feel have helped me are:

1. Not settling for less than your best.

If you want to learn something or you want to start something always give your very best effort in pursuing what it is you are wanting to achieve. Nobody will do it for you and don’t cheat yourself. Believe in yourself and have faith.

2. Integrity.

Having intergrity will help you in many ways. When you are confronted with something difficult – be true to yourself and to others. It is hard for a lot of people to have integrity because it will at times mean you have to acknowledge flaws and failures that you may want to hide. However, facing and acknowledging those failings and flaws will say more about you as a person than if you try to hide them.

3. Truth.

Always be honest. This is much like integrity and can be difficult at times. People will remember you for being an honest person and operating with integrity, It is hard to repair or rebuild your name and reputation but very easy to ruin it if you are not truthful with others.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

This is an older book, but has always remained one of my favorites. The book is “Gifted Hands” and was the biographical story of Dr. Benjamin Carson.

Lately, Dr. Carson has become much more known for his politics and political involvement, but when I read it I was in middle school or early high school and it left a lasting impression on me.

The story of Dr. Carson is one of rare success. Dr. Carson grew up in inner-Detroit and was raised by a single mother in a one room home.

Dr. Carson’s mom made him and his brother read a book every week and do a full report about it before they could watch television. They lived a very meager and difficult life and childhood and yet he said they always had more than what they needed and were surrounded by love.

Dr. Carson shared that it was only later as had gotten older did he realize that his mother was illiterate and never read any of their book reports, but she knew the importance of education and reading.

The story of Dr. Carson and the subsequent success he had in medicine by being the first surgeon ever to successfully separate conjoined siamese twins was remarkable in so many ways coming from the background that he had came from.

This had inspired me and helped me realize that no matter who we are or where we come from if you truly put your mind to something you can accomplish anything.

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