By Ascension Business Solutions · October 2026 · Leadership & Delegation
Nearly 150 home care owners came to Denver in October with the same quiet worry: the agency they built still leans on them. Over three days, they rose to their feet for Stephen Tweed. They heard a founder admit she once cried on a bench in Dollywood over a scheduling text. And they ended the night with a raised glass and one idea worth keeping: better together.
Lead with Love.
Scale with Support.
Operate with Excellence.
Quick answer: At the HOMECAREceo Forum’s Better Together 2026 gathering (October 18–20, 2026, Denver), the lesson that kept surfacing was simple. An agency that depends on its owner is fragile. The agencies ready to grow move scheduling, recruiting, follow-up and on-call work to the right people, then back those people with training, systems and accountability.
If your agency doubled tomorrow, would your structure hold? Let’s talk it through.
Book a Success Strategy Call →
A Glimpse Inside the Room
The trip started with a 20-second video from an airport gate. Jen, from our business development team, said her goal out loud before takeoff: “I am looking forward to achieving my goal for Denver, and that is establishing a new relationship.”
That goal fit the room. Stephen Tweed and Elizabeth Jeffries started the HOMECAREceo Forum’s peer groups in 2012, and Jensen Jones has led the Forum since 2023. Better Together 2026 brought its community into one room in Denver. Most of the owners there already knew each other, and it showed.
The conversations started before the agenda did. On Saturday, October 18, Regina and Jen sat down for the welcome dinner at Tom’s Watch Bar with Melanie Stover of Home Care Sales. Owners swapped notes on growth, hiring and how hard it is to step out of the daily work.
Over the next two days, the hallways did as much work as the sessions. Our team spent time with Jensen Jones, CEO of the HOMECAREceo Forum, and with Bob Roth, Jeff Salter, Casey Rausin and Melanie Stover. The questions were honest and the answers were practical. Nobody was there to perform. They were there to get better.
Regina Asuncion’s Story: Why an Agency That Depends on You Is Fragile
ABS came to Denver as a sponsor, and Regina Asuncion, our founder and CEO, took the stage with a story instead of a pitch.
Years before ABS existed, she was running a home health and hospice agency in Colorado. She had not taken a vacation in about 17 months, so she hired a young woman to help with scheduling and took her kids to Dollywood. Then the text came.
“Regina, I’m going to lunch.” She never came back.
Regina ended up scheduling caregivers from her phone while her kids begged her to put it away. She nearly walked into a pole. She found a quiet bench, cried, and fell asleep there. Her kids took a picture. “I hate that picture,” she told the room, “but it is actually a turning point.”
What she learned on that bench became the reason ABS exists:
“Your business, if it’s dependent on you, it’s super fragile.”
Then she turned the story toward the owners in front of her. They had built multi-million-dollar companies, with great caregivers, strong reputations and real demand. Yet their leaders were still “stuck doing scheduling, recruiting, follow-up,” working 40 hours and then taking on-call every night, weekend and holiday.
“The agencies that struggle to scale, it’s not because we don’t have the opportunities. It’s because sometimes the best people we have on our team, they’re buried doing the wrong things.”
She explained how ABS answers that problem. It starts with hiring the right person for the role, using behavioral data from the Culture Index to see who is naturally wired for scheduling, recruiting or intake work. “Hiring is just half of the equation,” she said. The other half is training, systems, processes and accountability, so the support holds up long after the first week.
She closed with the question every owner in that room took home:
“If your agency doubled in size tomorrow, would your current operational structure be able to handle that kind of growth, or would it break under pressure?”
Yes or no, she said, come talk with us. And come to the party tonight.
Stephen Tweed’s Keynote: A Standing Ovation for the Man Who Started It All
When Stephen Tweed finished his keynote, the room stood up. Nobody had to be asked.
It was a fitting moment. Stephen is the founder of the Home Care CEO Forum itself. He has worked in home health, hospice and home care since 1982, and he wrote Conquering the Crisis, his book on caregiver recruiting and retention. Many of the owners on their feet that day have spent years learning from him.
For our team, the applause meant something extra. A few weeks before Denver, Stephen joined an ABS webinar and spoke directly to our Smart Virtual Assistants about what owners and CEOs expect from the people who support them. He gave them six standards:
- Reliability. “If you say you’ll do it, do it.”
- Ownership. “Don’t just complete the assignment, own the result, own the outcome.”
- Initiative. “See what needs to be done and take action.”
- Problem solving. Bring solutions, not just problems.
- Understanding the business. “Know how your work affects caregivers, clients, revenue, margins, and growth.”
- Continuous improvement. “Don’t simply perform the process but look for ways to make the process better.”
He also told them to “ask questions, be curious, ask for clarity,” because most owners will make time for someone who is genuinely trying to help.
Watch two short clips of Stephen from that webinar:
Watching a full room of operators stand for him, we felt lucky. Our team got to learn from him first. Thank you, Stephen.
The CEO Nightcap: Better Together After Hours, Hosted by ABS
That evening, Ascension Business Solutions hosted The CEO Nightcap: Better Together After Hours at Poka Lola Social Club, the cocktail lounge inside The Maven Hotel at Dairy Block.
The night started early. A few owners joined us for dinner with Michael Betsch of Advantage Recruiting Group. Before the doors opened, we gathered with strategic partners Jason Van Horn of Phelix Financial, Michael Betsch and Clint Mohr of WellSky.
When the room filled, the evening opened with applause for the guests: “this is by far the best group I’ve been around.” Then Regina stepped up to thank them, and said the line our team will remember from Denver:
“I’m honored that Jensen has personally selected us and vetted us to serve home care owners like yourselves.”
— Regina Asuncion, Founder and CEO, Ascension Business Solutions
She kept the rest short. “We talk about streamlining and how to centralize your operations, how to protect your margins. Come talk to us tomorrow.”
Then each co-sponsor introduced the part of the business they help owners with:
| Co-sponsor | Who spoke or attended | How they help home care owners |
|---|---|---|
| Advantage Recruiting Group | Michael Betsch, Founder & CEO | Strategic recruiting for in-office and branch roles, without job posting |
| Allied Screening | Greg Davis, CEO; Jason Wood, COO | Background screening built for the home care space |
| Home Care Sales | Melanie Stover, Owner | Helping owners build sales teams so they can scale |
| Phelix Financial | Jason Van Horn | Financial planning for agency owners themselves, including exit planning |
| Hellohire | Ravin Shah, CEO & Founder | A hiring platform that helps agencies reach strong caregiver candidates |
| WellSky | Katherine Kinser; Clint Mohr and Candice D’Arcangeli attending | Operating and EMR software for day-to-day agency operations |
The night ended the way it should. Everyone raised a glass to the HOMECAREceo Forum and to a year of owners getting better together.
What Home Care Leaders Can Take Home from Denver
- If the agency depends on you, it is fragile. Find the places where one text message, like “I’m going to lunch,” could pull you back into the daily work. Fix those first.
- Your best people may be buried in the wrong work. If leaders spend their days on scheduling, recruiting, follow-up and weekend on-call, you are paying leadership wages for work that can be delegated.
- Growth runs on structure, not just demand. In The Room Where It Happens, Jensen Jones notes that as agencies scale, total operating expense falls from roughly 35% of revenue to about 18%. The work does not disappear. It just takes a smaller share of the business.
- Hire for fit, then support the fit. Behavioral data helps match people to roles. It works best alongside interviews, skills checks, training and ongoing accountability.
- Live by the standards Stephen Tweed named. Reliability, ownership and initiative are what make home care virtual assistant support feel like part of your team rather than a task list.
- Ask the doubling question honestly. List the five tasks that would break first if your census doubled. That list is your delegation plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a home care virtual assistant?
A trained remote professional who handles recurring, non-clinical work for a home care agency, such as caregiver scheduling, recruiting support, intake and after-hours coverage. Clinical decisions stay with the agency’s licensed staff.
What should a home care owner delegate first?
The recurring work that keeps pulling leaders out of strategy: scheduling and call-outs, applicant follow-up, intake follow-up and after-hours on-call. Start with whatever would break first if the agency doubled.
How does ABS choose the right person for a role?
ABS uses Culture Index behavioral data as one input to match professionals to the role an agency needs, alongside experience, interviews, skills checks and training. It is a guide, not a guarantee.
What was the HOMECAREceo Forum Better Together 2026?
An in-person gathering of the HOMECAREceo Forum community, held October 18–20, 2026 in Denver, Colorado, for home care owners and executive leaders focused on peer-to-peer learning.
Would Your Structure Hold?
Regina’s question is now yours. If your agency doubled tomorrow, would your operations bend, break or hold? If you’re not sure, that’s the best place to start a conversation.
Book a Success Strategy Call →
We support those who support others. · Love. Support. Excellence.
