When Yvette Aitkens-Franklin moved to the United States from the United Kingdom, she thought she was coming for a fresh start, but she found so much more. Today, Aitkens-Franklin is the founder of Franklin Home Health Agency, a Marion-based home care business rooted in dignity and guided by experience, humility, and an unwavering commitment to senior citizens.
She started in 2011 and noted that the business “ramped up” in 2012. Aitkens-Franklin later expanded by opening a second office in Conway in 2016. While her agency supports some pediatric care, her patients are predominantly “98 percent” senior care.
From day one, the mission has been consistent: provide home care with the compassion and structure families deserve and create a workplace where caregivers feel supported instead of overwhelmed by the load.
Aitkens-Franklin’s story began long before the Franklin Home Health Agency. Her background is in human resources in the United Kingdom — a practice that is not the same in the United States. “So I said to myself, I know how to speak the Queen’s English — I'm going to do a secretarial position,” she mentioned.
Her decision led her to a role as an assistant to a director of a 128-bed subacute rehabilitation center in New Jersey. She thought her work would be mostly clerical. However, her role positioned her in proximity to residents — and it changed her perspective entirely. She described how one resident in particular, a man named Jimmy, impacted her.
“He rarely spoke to anyone. He would quietly come to the office and sit … day after day,” she said. Until one morning, he acknowledged her as his friend. From there, it became a turning point in her work. She learned the U.S. health care systems like Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance as well as the systems that shape who receives care and how. She also learned while juggling motherhood, balancing the demands of family life, and figuring out how to succeed in a new country and a demanding industry.
After gaining experience in several health care settings, Aitkens-Franklin decided she wanted to build her own company on her own terms.
In 2005, she opened her first home care agency in New Jersey. She described starting with limited resources, with her first payroll being $166 and pushing forward. Over time, that business grew to $1.3 million. Eventually, she was headhunted by national companies, including Senior Bridge and several others who wanted to buy her business. “I declined those offers because in my mind, I wanted to keep a future in place for my daughter to potentially take over,” she said.
In 2010, her plans shifted when she became ill, spent weeks recovering, and decided to sell the company in May 2010. Following recovery, she and her husband opened a restaurant as another venture, and she also dabbled in the hospitality industry. Both of which presented challenges that felt personal and stressful, which warranted her to pivot into a home care consultant role.
“I put an ad out to be a home care consultant and have supported franchises, startups, and distressed agencies across the country,” she said. Her consulting helped build structures for business owners who needed guidance without feeling like they were doing it solo.
Aitkens-Franklin shared how the culture shock from relocating from the United Kingdom to the United States affected her. “Moving from the U.K. to New Jersey was a change of pace,” she said, describing how New Jersey was "fast-paced" with sharp competition that sometimes turned hostile. Her experience forced her to stay resilient and strategic, and when she moved to South Carolina, she had to readjust to the slower pace and how communication was drastically different in the Southeast than in the Northeast. To make it work, she had to step back, observe, and allow herself to adapt — not just for her business, but for her relationships and her leadership style.
Even her accent became a factor in how she was perceived early on. “People heard me, heard my accent, but did not listen to me,” she explained, noting that it got to the point where she had to set boundaries so she would be taken seriously and not “some little lady with an English accent.”
When she transitioned into management, she said she made herself heard — not by changing who she was, but by insisting on respect for the work and responsibilities she carried.
The advice she’d give to aspiring entrepreneurs is to “start with risk in mind, but don’t let fear shut the door.”
Aitkens-Franklin explained further, “Anything you do as a business, there is going to be risk.” She emphasized that founders should minimize their risks and evaluate if they are truly up to the task of being a business owner or simply want to be able to say they are a business owner.
“It’s not as glamorous as people think it is,” she said, explaining that your hours are not always your own and that the emotional weight can be significant. Health care involves people at their most vulnerable state and requires a special level of care. She addressed one of her core values, which is having caregivers who are properly trained and offer care when it counts most to families and patients.
“We need people in the health care space. Aging isn’t going away. One day, we are all going to need someone to bathe us, feed us, etc., and I emulate the type of care I’d like to receive,” she said.
Aitkens-Franklin also shared her dedication to Alzheimer’s and dementia. She is a certified assisted living administrator for New Jersey, along with multiple dementia-related certifications, including
Certified dementia practitioner
National certified dementia trainer
Certified first responder and dementia trainer
She also credits her long-time accountant, who recently passed away, for a huge life lesson. A lesson from him that still guides her approach: if you don’t know your numbers, you don’t know your business. The philosophy about preparation, clarity, and accountability has become part of her legacy.
Through the Franklin Home Health Agency, Aitkens-Franklin continues to serve families and aims to strengthen the home care system by turning her own challenges into practical guidance.
For more information, visit franklincare.org.
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