Back in 1996, the couple went to work for a home health agency in Atlanta that began to cater to Eastern European immigrants and Russian-speaking people. After a year, the business failed but the patients still needed help. Although the Vaysmans earned income through nursing at Grady Hospital and Victor’s student loans, they also began helping their former clients on a volunteer basis. Eventually they sensed that they had a golden business opportunity.

Victor and Julia decided to pursue their passion and go into business for themselves by starting a company that would offer a variety of home healthcare services for senior citizens. For about two years, they worked with the Georgia Department of Human Resources to get the accreditation they would need to start their business.

Following this success, and after receiving accreditation from Medicare and Medicaid, they opened MedSide Home Health Care Services in 1999. They gradually were able to move their volunteer clients into paying clients offering various medical nursing and therapy services, and the business began to grow. “We soon realized that in addition to the professional medical services, these people needed more personal care assistance with their everyday life,” Julia says, “like grooming and bathing.”

"SCORE Counselor Steve Bloom helped us with research so we knew what we were talking about. We did not know about some of the loans available to us. He made sure we asked the right questions. Steve accompanied us to the meetings with various builders and he gave us his recommendations on the one that would be the most appropriate to hire. We would not have been able to make the right decisions without his guidance."
—Victor Vaysman, co-owner, MedSide Home Health Care Services

In 2000, they decided to open a second division to provide those types of services. Their client niche continues to be primarily Eastern European and Russian-speaking people, though they also serve other clients with different backgrounds. “Our services have become very popular and the business has exceeded our expectations,” she says.

Victor adds, “Between 2000 and 2005, our business has grown by itself through word-of-mouth. People found out we were providing good services, and we’ve barely been able to keep up with the growth. By the end of 2005, MedSide was already providing 12,000 hours of personal care services a month!”

In 2005, the Vaysmans decided to start a marketing department, and it’s already beginning to pay off. In 2007, MedSide was recognized as one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S. by Inc. magazine, as well as the top 100 fastest-growing companies in its region and the top 100 fastest-growing companies in the health care industry nationwide.

As MedSide grows, the quality of service remains the most valuable asset the company treasures. MedSide received the most prestigious quality award from the Georgia Medical Care Foundation in 2007. It remains an industry leader among other Georgia Home Health Agencies, securing the first place in seven out of ten quality measures reported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on its Home Health Compare Website.

About a year ago, Victor and Julia decided to explore another potential business idea: opening an independent assisted living facility that would provide housing and health support services for senior citizens. “Most people don’t want to be in a nursing home,” Julia says. “They want to live in the comfort of their home. Our idea is, surround them with different kinds of healthcare services to make this possible.”

They signed up for a seminar on guaranteed loans by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the speaker recommended that they talk to Atlanta SCORE for help in determining the feasibility of this proposed business model. “SCORE Counselor Steve Bloom has great financial expertise and he went to all these meetings with us exploring this concept,” Victor says. “He helped represent us before the Atlanta Housing Authority and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).”

Victor adds, “Steve helped us with research so we knew what we were talking about. We did not know about some of the loans available to us. He made sure we asked the right questions. Steve accompanied us to the meetings with various builders and he gave us his recommendations on the one that would be the most appropriate to hire. We would not have been able to make the right decisions without his guidance.”

Even though HUD had agreed to a waiver and other government agencies also agreed to support the project, after a year of working with Steve, they ultimately decided it’s not yet feasible, which saved them about $4.5 million from being lost. “Unfortunately, market rent levels would not financially support our model right now,” Victor says.

“By leaving the independent facility idea behind, it allowed us to focus on where we want to go next, such as hospice accreditation,” Julia adds. “We want to keep our clients surrounded by services. We try helping them at any point of their journey, from the time they need a simple companionship or a minimal personal care assistance, to the time when they need complex medical interventions with various nursing services, such as wound care, infusion therapy, or post-operative management; or rehabilitative services like physical, occupational or speech therapy to regain lost functional ability; and to the time when they need hospice or palliative care. Our goal is to provide all healthcare services to our clients while they live at home and promote continuity of care.”

“As we were working on our hospice application, we attended a SCORE Small Business Speed Coaching Test Drive in March 2008, where we were guided by Steve,” Victor says. “We were given the opportunity to communicate our most pressing issues of the corporate structure chosen for the upcoming hospice with one of the Atlanta SCORE counselors.” Victor adds, “We were truly impressed by the knowledge and expertise of Dick Fenster, a retired CPA, who warned us of the potential bookkeeping nightmare if we were to run a hospice under a different corporation.”

The Vaysmans continue to work with Atlanta SCORE and Steve to improve their growing business. Steve says, “Victor and Julia have a tremendous empathy for their clients. It really started as a volunteer business that they struggled to turn into a $4 million business. They understand the need that exists and they’ve always found a way to help clients, even if they can’t pay.”