In this Co-op Highlight, we are spotlighting Home Care Associates (HCA), a worker-owned home care cooperative providing senior, respite, post-surgery, and companion care services to families across the Philadelphia region. Since its founding in 1993, HCA has been dedicated to a mission of providing quality home health care through quality jobs. 

At HCA, quality care stems from the personal investment that the business and the caregivers have in every one of their clients. The cooperative model cultivates caregivers’ passion for their work, empowering them through ownership and decision-making. For caregivers, being a part of a cooperative makes a huge difference. Caregiver needs such as training, mentorship, and support receive great priority in homecare co-ops because the owners of the business are also caregivers and frontline staff themselves. Caregivers’ voices are also heard in the decision-making process through the one member, one vote structure. Ownership is distributed equally among worker-owners who invest in the business by purchasing a membership share. At HCA, caregivers and employees are involved in the business’s strategic planning, contribute to industry growth and betterment, and engage with the communities they serve. Employee interests are business interests, and vice versa, thus promoting a happy balance between caregiver needs and business viability. 

In a Nonprofit Quarterly article about building solidarity economies, Yvette Beatty shares the impact that being a worker-owner at HCA has had on her. 

“Working for a co-op is like having an extended family of people who are like-minded when it comes to success and supporting our communities”. – Yvette Beatty, Home Care Associates 

For Yvette, being a worker-owner means she has a voice and a space to make her opinions heard. She’s highly involved in HCA and the homecare industry. Yvette serves a variety of roles at HCA beyond being a home health aide. Through her involvement in numerous worker-owner-managed committees, she has served as a mentor, community ambassador, and a member of a policy-action group and safety committee. These roles empower her and help her better understand how HCA and caregivers can support people’s needs. 

Yvette also receives a lot of support from her co-op, which is rare to find at non-co-op organizations, but is the common experience for worker-owners at HCA. HCA helps its caregivers and other employees grow and improve on the personal and professional levels. Yvette has received free career training, a loan during a time she was struggling, and tools that enabled her to become a homeowner. 

We also give a special shout-out to Terrell Cannon, another worker-owner at Home Care Associates. She has served on PACA’s board for many years, but as of Spring/Summer 2025, is officially transitioning off the board (but not out of our community!). We are beyond grateful for her amazing service to PACA and the Philly co-op ecosystem. 

Read more about Yvette’s story and other Worker Co-op stories HERE. 

Learn more about homecare cooperatives HERE.

Learn more about Homecare Associates HERE.