Women in Business

Melisa Rhodes

Melisa Rhodes is vice president of business operations for Always Best Care, a home care agency that specializes in helping senior loved ones remain safely and comfortably in their homes. Melisa oversees agency locations in Columbia and Surfside Beach, South Carolina, where she makes sure everything works as it is supposed to. “Senior care can get complicated, with schedule updates, client condition changes, and staff turnover all having an impact on our service delivery. Our challenge is to handle all of that without skipping a beat. We want to deliver the best care, just like our name says.”

The scale of operations that Melisa manages is impressive — more than 80 clients and 100-plus caregivers delivering about 2,000 hours per week of care to senior clients. That’s a lot of moving pieces, so Melisa has created an organization designed to manage everything, as well as handle contingencies. “We work around the clock delivering service, so we have to be ready to respond at any time when issues pop up.” Melisa makes sure someone is answering calls 24 hours a day, and she uses personnel in both Columbia and Myrtle Beach to spread the load. “Everyone chips in and helps get the job done, and everyone here feels like they are connected to our clients and their care services.”