We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bob Roth. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bob below.
Alright, Bob thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
It all started shortly after Bob Roth graduated from college. He was just beginning his career in the consumer products industry in marketing with The Quaker Oats Company, when his 48-year-old mother, Joan, was shattered by a series of near-fatal heart attacks on January 2, 1985.
“The doctors put her into a drug-induced coma for 18 days,” Roth remembered. “She spent over a month in the ICU. As a result, she suffered short-term memory loss and a change of personality. She was left with severe cardiac damage. My mom was an extrovert, she played sports, she was involved in the community, and had a lot of friends. This cardiac event changed her, she became more introverted and recluse. See she was always a beacon of light; everyone loved my mom and then suddenly she was a changed person.”
Roth, his father and brothers were devastated by this unforeseen crisis, as they embarked on what would be an 18-year labor of love caring for Joan. This is where the idea for Cypress HomeCare Solutions was born.
“My brothers and I decided that being caregivers for mom was not only a labor of love, but something that we could do for others in our community,” Roth said. In 1994, the brothers opened Cypress Staffing Services, run by Bob’s older brother Joe Roth. “Basically, we wanted to provide respite for families, and then we found an opportunity to do some medical staffing too,” Roth said. 
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Bob Roth, 59, is Managing Partner of Cypress HomeCare Solutions (Cypress), an industry leading premier in-home care service organization based out of Scottsdale, Arizona serving the older adult population in the Maricopa County region. Bob and his family created Cypress with in 1994 after the family had experienced firsthand caregiving for their mother for nearly 18 years. Bob took over the reins from his brother Joe back in 2003 and is now celebrating his 19th year leading the family business. With 38 years of consumer products, technology, healthcare and consulting experience, Bob brought the depth and breadth of his experience to the home care trade. Being recognized for the work that you do is a strong motivator. Cypress has received multiple recognition awards over the years; In January 2014, Bob received CEO of the Month and was a finalist for the 2015 Phoenix Business Journal’s Healthcare Heroes award. Cypress was awarded the Better Business Bureau’s Business Ethics award in both 2013 and in 2018. Bob hosts a radio show called “Health Futures, Taking Stock in You.” In addition, he writes a monthly column called “Aging Today” for the Jewish News of Greater Phoenix, and Lovin’ Life after 50 newspapers. On September 11, 2019 Bob was selected the winner for the Home Health Care News Future Leader Award – Recognizing up-and-coming leaders elevating the home health industry. He is married to the love of his life, Susie, and has three beautiful and grown daughters.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The leadership of Cypress HomeCare Solutions transitioned to Bob Roth in December 2003. While Bob was a major part of the creation of this company, his professional background and experience was in consumer product sales, where his focus was selling the features and benefits of a product. He learned quickly that there were aspects of those skills and experiences that translated well into a people-related industry of homecare, but there were many things he had to unlearn and grow from in order to be successful.
“In the space of homecare, being vulnerable with your emotions in a way that is relational to others is key,” said Roth. In sales, I was trained to talk about features and benefits and value propositions. In homecare it’s not that at all. It’s all relational and establishing and keeping that relationship. The best way to do that is through listening.”
This was very different from selling products, as you were doing most of the talking and essentially, selling, he explained.
“It’s really a matter of perspective and how others can relate anything and everything you say and do when it comes to a relational business. Your empathy and compassion is more at the forefront of the business and you have to put your self in your clients and their family’s shoes.”
Bob has remained the leader to this day where he has innovated a solutions-driven corporate culture where people matter, in addition to providing those same, caring services to his community.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
The COVID-19 pandemic created a unique set of challenges for the home care industry, as it did for virtually every industry.
Caring for people in their own homes was an obvious and immediate issue as it related to the safety and transmission of infection for both staff and clients. Our team had to quickly absorb as much information as possible, and pivot every time the CDC and the government came out with new information, new protocols and recommendations.
We found ourselves having to learn on the job, how to obtain the proper PPE for our staff, and then learn and teach our own staff how to don and doff to ensure proper safety precautions.
We also became the conduit and communications liaison as it related to health for our clients and staff. We launched a special section on our website and created COVID-19 related emails to communicate our protocols and had to develop a boots on the ground team to deliver actual PPE materials to ensure every team member had the proper equipment to do their jobs.
On the job learning was the new way, and in the middle of it all, we had to calm fears of clients and fears of staff. It was challenging, because our own staff found themselves in intergenerational living situations who feared if they went to care for our clients, they may bring the virus home themselves and infect themselves or their loved ones.
“All in all, this team became the basis for the trust building that led to us remaining resilient today, said Bob. “It’s made us better. Going in blindly, we could have easily gone out of business and shut our doors. I’d like to consider myself a resilient leader, and I was determined to hit these extreme situations head on. This approach led us out of uncharted waters where we were able to maintain composure and care for our clients with compassion through this difficult time.
We still face the lingering effects of the pandemic to this day. We are still very much dealing with wage pressures, employee recruitment challenges, and a mass exodus retirement among our caregiver workforce, but I am certain we will continue to power through, as I am a firm believer that these growing pains lead to bigger and better versions of what we can provide for our community. After all, our ultimate goal continues to be to assist those people who want to age gracefully at home.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cypresshomecare.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cypresshomecare
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobrothchs/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/cypresshomecare
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/cypresshomecare
Image Credits
Cypress HomeCare