Hartford Business Journal

August 22, 2016

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www.HartfordBusiness.com August 22, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 3 CTL taps growing community-care demand By John Stearns jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com F or Andy Tran and Jeff Farmer, a chance encounter at Farmington's Westfarms Mall led to a multi-state business that helps people with mental illness and acquired brain injuries who are on Medicaid, live inde- pendently, while saving the state money and creating jobs for caretakers. The Millennial co-founders of Farming- ton-based Center for Transitional Living LLC (CTL), both 30, see it as an across-the- board benefit. "The most cost-effective, I would even say human-rights thing … is programs like we have right now," Farmer said of businesses like CTL that offer an alternative to institu- tionalization. "It's just getting a lot easier to access agencies like ours and obviously, from our perspective, that's a good thing." CTL serves clients on what's called Medic- aid waivers and who opt to receive care and services in a community setting, with assis- tance from home caregivers, rather than in a state hospital or institution. The services must be cheaper than in an institution. About 75 percent of CTL's clients have a mental illness or acquired brain injury, or ABI, and more than half of its ABI patients require 24-hour care, Farmer said. Others need less help, such as assistance with daily chores, errands or medication reminders. CTL also cares for the elderly on Medicaid who don't have a mental illness or ABI, but have physical limitations requiring assistance and want to live independent of a nursing facility. Tran and Farmer say the cause drives them more than the money — seizing on a Medicaid waiver program designed to help people live in the community and to assist a population other businesses may shun for the low margins. Using cloud-based software and technology, Tran and Farmer say they've adopted efficiencies to profit under strict cost caps required by the state. "I feel like it gives us an advantage to the old-fashioned style … of social work," Tran said of dealing with everything from case notes to billing. "A lot of the billing is now cloud-based and it's getting more efficient," which saves the state money, too, he said. High demand Farmer and Tran serve a growing need. Demand for institutional care is decreasing, while demand for community care is increasing statewide and nationally, said Dawn Lambert, who co-leads the community options unit and manages the strategy group within the Division of Health Services at Connecticut's Department of Social Services. Just last week, for example, the state Depart- ment of Developmental Services announced plans to privatize dozens of group homes and other services for the intellectually disabled. The state could use more businesses in the community sector, Lambert said, citing the state's growing aging population and more citizens choosing community-care options. The percentage of Medicaid long-term care recipients receiving services and support in the home has risen from 52 percent in 2007 to 60 percent last year, according to state statistics. That trend is expected to continue, Lam- bert said, adding that it's not just elderly fuel- ing the rise. "I think the state is looking to build the comprehensive package of services, like the mental health waiver services, and really looking to attract qualified providers and honor the preferences of people," she said. She cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1999, Olmstead v. L.C., that required states to give people with disabilities a choice of where to receive long-term care services, not only in institutions. "We're doing it because it costs a little bit less, we're doing it because it does improve quality of life, but at the end of the day, we're also doing it because it's the law," Lambert said. Early beginnings Growing up with mothers who were social workers, Tran and Farmer were introduced early to helping people and, as Farmer said, "we kind of share the passion for doing something more." So when the former college buddies at Eastern Connecticut State University bumped into each other at the mall about mid-2012, both working in jobs they felt ready to change, they got to talking about the waiver program, with which Farmer was familiar, did research and decided to launch a business in that niche. "We were just like, 'Let's just try it and see what happens,' " said Tran, who majored in biology at ECSU and Farmer in business. They incorporated CTL in early 2013 and each continued to work their day jobs while building CTL on personal time. They rented an office in downtown Hartford and got their first client there six months later. Their next client was in Greenwich. "We're like, 'We better get in our car and make this happen,' " said Farmer, who was liv- ing in Newington at the time, but now lives in Continued H B J P H O T O | J O H N S T E A R N S Andy Tran and Jeff Farmer started Center for Transitional Living in 2013 and have grown it to a projected $1.8 million in gross revenue this year. They're seen here at their Farmington headquarters. Cybersecurity is hard. Defend Forward is easy. One monthly subscription puts the technology, training and expertise in place to defend your company's information, reputation, and future. Your Allies Against Crippling Cyber Attacks www.kelsercorp.com/DefendForward www.kelsercorp.com 111 Roberts St, Suite D East Hartford, CT 06108 860 610 2200

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