This interview is with Richard Brown Jr,, Owner at Essential Living Support, LLC.

Richard Brown Jr, Owner, Essential Living Support, LLC

Can you tell us about Essential Living Support, LLC and what inspired you to create a business focused on home health and disability support services?

Essential Living Support, LLC is a veteran-owned home and community-based services agency in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I provide VA Medical Foster Home care and disability support services that allow Veterans and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live safely in a real home, not an institution. My focus is on 24-hour support, medication management, life skills, and meaningful community involvement so that each person can build a life that reflects who they are, not just their diagnosis.

The decision to start Essential Living Support grew out of years of working for other providers and seeing the same patterns repeat. Staff turnover was high, expectations were unclear, and clients were often treated as tasks on a checklist instead of as people with goals, preferences, and potential. I saw how much anxiety and regression could be prevented with consistent routines, clear communication, and providers who follow through on what they say they will do.

With my background in healthcare administration and my MBA in Healthcare Management, I knew the system could be designed to work better for both clients and families. I created Essential Living Support to be that difference. In my home, structure and compassion go together. People know who will be caring for them, what their day will look like, and how we will support their medical, behavioral, and social needs.

My goal is simple: to provide the level of professionalism, accountability, and genuine care that I would want for my own family member, and to raise the standard of what home-based care looks like in Cheyenne and beyond.

What experiences from your time as an Assistant Unit Director at the Corpus Christi State Supported Living Facility and your military service prepared you for the work you do today with disabled Veterans and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities?

My time as an Assistant Unit Director at the Corpus Christi State Supported Living Facility and my military service both shaped the way I care for disabled Veterans and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities today.

At the State Supported Living Facility, I learned what it means to be responsible for people’s lives twenty-four hours a day. I supervised direct support staff, coordinated with nurses, behavioral health professionals, and therapists, and helped implement individualized service plans for residents with complex medical, behavioral, and dietary needs. As Meal Time Manager, I saw how something as simple as a dining routine could become a safety risk if not carefully planned and monitored.

That experience made me meticulous about care plans, documentation, and follow-through. It also taught me the importance of predictable routines, clear expectations, and consistency for people with I/DD. Those lessons are now core to how I structure daily life in my home for both Veterans and adults with disabilities.

My military service added another layer: discipline, accountability, and a mission-first mindset. The military taught me how to stay calm under pressure, make decisions with limited information, and lead by example. It also gave me a deep respect for Veterans and the invisible injuries many of them carry, including PTSD, moral injury, and chronic medical conditions.

Serving in uniform is what drives my commitment to provide care that truly honors their service, not just meets minimum requirements. Together, these experiences prepared me to run Essential Living Support, LLC as both a compassionate provider and a disciplined operator. I understand how to build structured routines that reduce anxiety, train and coach others, coordinate with healthcare teams, and maintain a safe, stable environment over the long term.

Most importantly, they taught me to see each person as more than a diagnosis or a history. Whether it is a Veteran transitioning out of a hospital setting or an adult with I/DD learning new skills, I bring clinical structure, respect, and consistency to help them live with dignity in a real home.

In your experience working with both disabled Veterans and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, what’s one common misconception families have when they first start seeking home health or caregiving services, and how do you help them navigate that?

One common misconception I see from families, whether they are supporting a disabled Veteran or a loved one with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is the belief that bringing in home care will “fix everything” quickly and that the provider can simply step in and take over all responsibility. Families are often exhausted and overwhelmed by the time they reach me, so it is very natural to hope that a caregiver will immediately stabilize behaviors, solve medical issues, and remove all day-to-day stress.

What actually creates long-term success is not a single person or program, but a consistent partnership between the family, the provider, and the broader care team. High-quality home care is structured, clinical, and relational at the same time. It involves clear routines, medication management, risk prevention, and documentation, but it also requires trust, patience, and realistic expectations about how change happens over time.

When families first come to Essential Living Support, I spend time explaining this. I walk them through what a typical day looks like in my home, what safety and behavioral supports are in place, and what progress usually looks like at 30, 60, and 90 days. I am honest about what I can and cannot do, and I clarify that we are building new habits, not just providing “babysitting” or temporary relief.

I also invite families to stay involved in a healthy way. We review the care plan together, talk about communication preferences, and discuss how they can reinforce routines and boundaries when their loved one is with them. By shifting the mindset from “the provider will take over” to “we are a team working together,” families feel more empowered, expectations are clearer, and the person receiving services is more likely to thrive in a stable, predictable, and respectful home environment.

You mentioned being a caretaker, mentor, advocate, and payee for your clients. Can you walk us through a specific moment when one of these roles required you to go beyond traditional caregiving, and what that taught you about what people truly need from their support system?

One moment that stands out for me was with a client for whom I serve as both caregiver and representative payee. She came to me after a long period of instability, where structure and follow-through had been missing from her daily life. By the time she entered my care, her reputation with previous providers was severely damaged, her personal hygiene had broken down, and most of her daily intake was Coca-Cola, candy, and fast food.

She wanted things to be different but did not yet have the routines, skills, or support system to make those changes stick. When we started working together, I knew that traditional caregiving alone would not be enough. I had to step into multiple roles at once.

On the health and daily living side, we focused on very small, consistent changes. We created a simple morning and evening routine around showering, clean clothes, and basic grooming, and I coached her through each step until it felt familiar and achievable. We also worked together to shift her eating habits toward regular meals, more water, and practical, healthier options that still felt realistic for her.

At the same time, I supported her in areas that many people do not associate with caregiving but are critical for long-term stability. I helped her gather and organize the documentation needed to ensure she did not lose her Medicaid benefits, walking her through each requirement so she understood what we were doing and why it mattered. I also helped her apply for and obtain her first passport, something she had always wanted but never believed was possible.

For her, that passport was more than a document. It was a symbol that her life was moving forward and that she was capable of meeting goals. Throughout this process, I was not just completing tasks on her behalf. I was mentoring, advocating, and building trust.

I explained each decision in clear, respectful language and made sure she had a voice in how her routines and goals were set. That experience reinforced that people do not simply need someone to keep them safe for the day. They need someone who will invest in their dignity, help them navigate complex systems, and stand beside them as they rebuild health, confidence, and a sense of possibility.

When families are choosing between facility-based care and home health services for their elderly or disabled loved ones, what key factors should they consider, and how can they evaluate whether a home care provider will truly meet their family member’s needs?

When families are weighing facility-based care against home health or home and community-based services, I encourage them to slow down and focus on a few core areas: safety, level of support, consistency, and quality of life.

The first priority is safety and supervision. What level of medical, behavioral, or mobility support does your loved one truly need, not just on a good day but on a hard day? If someone is medically fragile, has dementia, or has significant behavioral needs, you want to know exactly who will be with them, how often, and what training that person has. In a home setting, that means asking about 24-hour staffing plans, backup coverage, fall prevention, medication management, and emergency procedures.

The next factor is predictability and consistency. Many of the Veterans and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities I serve have already experienced a lot of turnover and change. They do best when their days look familiar and when they know who will be there to support them. Families should ask any home care provider about daily routines, staff turnover, and how schedule disruptions are handled.

In my home, for example, we review what a typical day looks like and how we keep structure in place through weekends, holidays, and staff time off.

Quality of life is just as important as clinical care. A facility may offer more activities on paper, but the real question is how often your loved one is actually engaged in meaningful things they enjoy. In home and community-based care, you can individualize activities: walks, errands, community outings, volunteer roles, or hobbies that fit the person. Families should ask to see real examples of weekly schedules, community engagement, and how the provider will support their loved one’s specific interests and goals.

To evaluate whether a home care provider will truly meet your family member’s needs, I recommend three practical steps:

(1) Visit in person and pay attention to what you see, hear, and feel. Is the environment clean, calm, and respectful?

(2) Ask detailed questions about training, documentation, incident reporting, medication management, and coordination with doctors, therapists, or the VA.

(3) Clarify communication. How often will you get updates, and what happens if there is a concern or a change in condition?

In the end, the right setting is the one that can safely meet your loved one’s needs while preserving dignity, independence, and a genuine sense of home.

As someone who manages the business side while also staying deeply connected to direct care, how do you balance maintaining quality, compassionate service with the administrative and regulatory demands of running a healthcare business?

Balancing the business side with hands-on caregiving starts with being very clear about what I will not compromise: safety, dignity, and consistency for the people in my care. Everything else in the business is built around protecting those priorities.

On the direct care side, I am physically present in the home and actively involved in daily routines. I help with morning care, medication administration, appointments, meals, and community outings. My wife and I genuinely enjoy being at home, so creating a real home environment where we also provide 24/7 support feels natural for us, not like an interruption to our life.

That makes it easier to stay connected to the small details that matter: how someone slept, what triggers show up, what foods they tolerate, and how they respond to certain routines.

On the business side, I treat Essential Living Support, LLC like the healthcare company it is, not a hobby. I set aside dedicated blocks of time for documentation, care plans, quality reviews, and compliance work so that those responsibilities do not get pushed to the side. I use checklists, structured forms, and standardized processes for things like incident reporting, medication tracking, and communication with case managers, the VA, and waiver teams.

That allows me to meet regulatory expectations and also spot trends early, before they become problems.

Staying compliant and prepared is an ongoing discipline. I review policies and procedures regularly, track training requirements, and keep current with VA, Medicaid, and DD waiver rules. When regulations change, I adjust our internal processes and explain those changes to families in plain language so they understand why certain steps are necessary.

The practical key to balancing it all is integration instead of separation. I build many of the administrative tasks into the natural flow of the day. For example, after medication passes, I document immediately. After appointments, I update notes and follow up with the care team. I also protect quiet time in the day or evening for higher-level tasks like financial planning, strategic growth, and reviewing performance.

Because I remain hands-on, the business decisions I make are grounded in real life. I see how policies play out in the home, how staffing affects behavior, and what truly supports or overwhelms a person. That combination of direct care and structured management allows me to maintain a high standard of compassionate service while meeting the administrative and regulatory demands of running a healthcare business.

What’s one skill or practice that you wish more professional caregivers understood or developed early in their careers, based on what you’ve seen make the biggest difference in client outcomes and family satisfaction?

One skill I wish more professional caregivers developed early is the ability to combine consistency with clear, respectful communication. It sounds simple, but it is the single biggest driver I have seen in improving client outcomes and family trust.

Many new caregivers focus on being “nice” or “helpful,” but they underestimate how much people with disabilities or complex medical needs rely on predictable routines and clear expectations. When staff change frequently, rules shift from day to day, or boundaries are unclear, behaviors usually increase, anxiety goes up, and families start to lose confidence in the provider.

Consistency is not just about showing up on time. It is about doing what you say you will do, following the care plan as written, and responding the same way to the same behaviors. For example, if shower time is at 7 p.m. and the expectation is clearly explained and supported every day, most clients eventually settle into that routine. If one caregiver is firm, another is lenient, and a third “doesn’t want to upset them,” the client receives mixed messages and progress stalls.

Clear communication ties directly into this. Clients and families need to know what is happening, why decisions are being made, and how concerns will be addressed. That means explaining routines in plain language, documenting changes, and being honest when something goes wrong rather than hiding it or minimizing it. It also means listening: asking how the person prefers to be supported and how the family has seen them succeed in the past.

In my work with disabled Veterans and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, I have seen that when caregivers are consistent, communicate clearly, and maintain professional boundaries, several things happen: behaviors decrease, health outcomes stabilize, families relax, and the home feels calmer. The technical skills can be taught, but this disciplined, predictable way of showing up every day is what truly changes lives and builds lasting trust.

Many Veterans face unique challenges when transitioning to civilian life and accessing care. From your experience serving this community, what does effective Veteran care look like beyond just meeting medical needs, and how can caregivers better support this population?

In my experience, effective Veteran care goes far beyond managing medications and appointments. Many Veterans are carrying visible and invisible injuries, moral injury, grief, and a complete change in identity after leaving the military. Good care must address their sense of safety, respect, purpose, and control over their own life.

The first layer is trust and respect. Veterans are used to structure, straight answers, and people doing what they say they will do. When I work with a Veteran, I am very clear about routines, expectations, and what I can and cannot do. I speak to them as adults and as peers, not as “patients.”

That respectful, direct approach is often what allows them to open up about pain, trauma, or fears they have never voiced before.

The second layer is structure with flexibility. Many Veterans do better with predictable days, but they also need to feel they have choices. In my VA Medical Foster Home, we build a daily rhythm around meals, medications, rest, and appointments, while still making room for the things that give them joy: watching a favorite team, going fishing, working on a project, or just sitting quietly without being pushed to talk.

The third layer is connection to their care team and benefits. One of the strengths of the VA Medical Foster Home program is that the Veteran’s VA care team comes to the home for appointments, checkups, and follow-up. Primary care, nursing, social work, and other disciplines stay actively involved, which means issues can be caught early and care is coordinated instead of fragmented.

My role is to observe, document, and communicate clearly so the VA team has real information about how the Veteran is doing day to day.

Caregivers can better support this population by learning basic trauma-informed principles, understanding military culture, and being willing to listen without judgment. Small things matter: asking permission before touching, explaining each step of care, honoring their service, and giving them a say in decisions that affect their life.

When caregivers combine clinical competence with consistency, respect, and genuine interest in who the Veteran is as a person, the result is not just stable health, but a home where they feel seen, safe, and valued again.

Looking at where home health and disability support services are headed, what’s one change or innovation you believe the industry needs to embrace to better serve clients while also supporting the caregivers who do this demanding work?

I think the most important change our field needs is to stop treating home care as “hours to be covered” and start designing it around continuity of relationships for both clients and caregivers.

Right now, most systems pay for minutes of direct care. That drives high caseloads, rotating staff, and constant rushing. Clients see a different face every week, and caregivers are expected to manage complex medical, behavioral, and documentation demands with very little protected time or support. It is no surprise that burnout and turnover are so high.

An innovation I would like to see is funding and operations that explicitly pay for stable, primary caregiver relationships and the work that happens around the hands-on care. That means:

Smaller, consistent teams instead of a long list of rotating staff.

Paid time for caregivers to document, coordinate with nurses and case managers, and communicate with families.

Simple, shared tools for tracking medications, behaviors, sleep, and mood so patterns can be seen early, not just in a crisis.

In my own VA Medical Foster Home and disability services, I try to model this. My wife and I are the consistent people in the home. We build routines, keep detailed logs, and communicate regularly with VA teams, case managers, and families. That stability is what reduces behaviors, prevents hospital visits, and helps people feel safe.

If our industry can shift to valuing and funding continuity, not just coverage, clients will experience calmer, more predictable care, and caregivers will be treated as skilled professionals with the time and support they need to do their job well.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I would just add that for me, this work is not theoretical. It is my daily life and my home.

At Essential Living Support, LLC here in Cheyenne, my wife and I live where we provide care. We share our home with disabled Veterans and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who need structure, medical oversight, and genuine connection, but who do not want an institutional setting.

That means every system I build, every routine I put in place, has to work in real, day-to-day life. It has to keep people safe and also let them feel comfortable sitting on the couch, cooking in the kitchen, or laughing at the dining room table.

If a family, case manager, or VA team is looking for a setting where professionalism and compassion are both nonnegotiable, I invite them to learn more about Essential Living Support and the VA Medical Foster Home option. I am always willing to talk through whether my home is the right fit, explain how the program works, and be honest if a different level of care is needed.

There are many good providers in our field, but there is still a gap for Veterans and individuals with I/DD who need high structure, clear boundaries, and a calm, consistent home environment. That is the space I am committed to filling. If someone is looking for care that feels like home while still meeting clinical and regulatory standards, I would be honored to be part of that conversation.