Health Connect Home Care – Healthcare Comes Home

February 27, 2026

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Story by Anne E. Butenas

Veteran ICU nurse brings skilled medical expertise and compassionate home care directly to Kansas City families

After years as an ICU nurse and over a decade in healthcare administration, Deborah Wooten, DNP, MBA-HA, RN, saw an opportunity to return to patient care on her own terms. Her last role as a nursing and patient logistics Director of a large local Health Systems had her managing 500+ people and overseeing all patient movement, staffing, and scheduling across multiple hospitals, including throughout COVID. While the work was meaningful, she was ready for a change.

Just over a year ago, she opened Health Connect Home Care, a family-owned company based in Overland Park that serves clients ages 18 and older across the greater Kansas City area.

Filling a Gap in Home Healthcare The idea came from a frustrating realization.

“I had friends asking me who they could call for home care, and I had no idea,” Wooten said. “If I didn’t know, and I had almost 20 years of nursing experience, I realized other people wouldn’t know what was out there either.”

She got her start with help from family. Wooten’s cousin owns multiple home health agencies around southeast Kansas and had a facility she was considering either moving or closing. Knowing Wooten wanted to transition out of the hospital setting, she offered to mentor and help her navigate the business side of home health care. That mentorship laid the foundation for the company’s skilled services.

What Deborah and her Staff hear from their clients:

“I don’t know what I would do without you!” “Can we just adopt you??”

“I really enjoy our time together.”

“I’m grateful you don’t judge us and just anticipate needs, so helpful!”

Two Services Under One Roof

Health Connect Home Care operates two distinct branches. The skilled home health side is Medicare-certified and provides skilled nursing, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. This service is designed for patients transitioning from hospital to home, typically involving visits once or twice a week, or more frequently for wound care, with the goal of preventing readmissions, keeping patients healthy and maintaining communication with their primary care physician.

The home care side offers non-skilled support provided by trained caregivers, often nursing students, nursing assistants, or individuals with medical backgrounds, who can spend anywhere from a couple of hours to 24 hours a day with clients. This service is typically private pay or covered by long-term care insurance policies.

Support That Goes Beyond Basic Assistance

Home care services include transportation to physical therapy or doctor’s appointments, grocery shopping, meal preparation, medication reminders, light housekeeping, and laundry. But the real value lies in the relief it provides to family caregivers.

“Some family members have essentially taken on a full-time caregiving role,” Wooten explained. “They may not have a safe way to leave their loved one. We step in to provide that respite care, whether it for a few hours so the caregiver can run errands, attend a social event, or simply have time to themselves.”

Some clients maintain set schedules, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, for example. Others call as needed. One client wanted to attend a happy hour with friends, so Health Connect arranges coverage to make that possible.

The 24-hour care option is frequently utilized for hospice or palliative care patients, where caregivers provide comprehensive support including turning, personal care, and family assistance during those final days, particularly overnight when family members need rest or require support with aspects of care they find difficult.

A Nursing-Led Approach

What distinguishes Health Connect Home Care from other providers is that every case is managed by a registered nurse. Even on the home care side, where caregivers aren’t functioning in a nursing capacity, there’s nursing oversight on every client.

“The caregivers aren’t always practicing as nurses on the home care side, but they are still overseen by a nurse with years of experience,” Wooten explained.

Her background speaks for itself. As a former neuro ICU nurse who also worked in trauma, medical ICU, and burn ICU settings, Wooten brings substantial clinical expertise to the business. And despite her administrative responsibilities, she remains actively involved in direct care when needed

Building Trust from the First Visit

Wooten personally conducts every initial home visit before assigning a caregiver. During this visit, she develops an individualized care plan and later makes personal introductions between clients and their caregivers. Her supervisor also accompanies caregivers on their first client visits.

“Each care plan is completely individualized,” she said. “Some clients are physically capable of handling daily tasks but might not have the cognitive capacity to remain independent. Others have lost driving privileges or need more assistance with housekeeping and meal preparation. We customize everything based on the individual’s needs.”

One aspect that surprises many families is how manageable outings can be with professional support. Family members often express concern about the logistics of leaving the house with walkers and medical equipment, but trained caregivers view these accommodations as routine. Taking clients on drives or outings becomes a natural part of the care routine, providing important social stimulation and a change of scenery.

Newest Team Member: Compassion on Four Paws

The team is delighted to welcome its newest member, Binxy, a certified therapy dog whose presence is already enriching the home health experience. With a gentle temperament and a constant wag of her tail, Binxy offers comfort and calm during challenging moments, supporting both patients and staff.

Her visits bring reassurance, connection, and small but meaningful moments of joy that complement clinical care. As part of the care team, Binxy exemplifies the power of compassion — reminding everyone that healing extends beyond medicine.

Comprehensive Background Screening

Because Health Connect Home Care is Medicare certified, the company adheres to rigorous hiring standards that exceed typical home care requirements. All caregivers undergo state and national background checks, sex offender registry checks, and Division of Child and Family Services screenings for adult abuse and neglect. References must be thoroughly checked and documented as part of the licensing requirements.

“When we are sending someone into a home to provide individual care, the screening has to be thorough,” Wooten noted. “Families deserve that assurance.”

Service Area

Health Connect Home Care serves 11 Kansas counties: Johnson, Miami, Linn, Bourbon, Franklin, Douglas, Jefferson, Wyandotte, Jackson, Atchison, and Leavenworth. While the skilled home health services operate across all these counties, home care services are primarily concentrated in Johnson County, where client demand has been strongest, though the company will accommodate other areas as needed.

Understanding Insurance Coverage

Many families are unclear about what insurance will and won’t cover. The skilled home health services, including skilled nursing, physical therapy, and occupational therapy, are covered by Medicare. Home care services with non-skilled caregivers are typically paid privately or through long-term care insurance policies. Some clients utilize both services simultaneously.

For Wooten, transitioning from her demanding administrative role to launch Health Connect Home Care has provided the opportunity to reconnect with direct patient care in a more flexible environment.

“This allowed me to return to bedside care without working in a hospital setting,” she said. “When done right, you really do become part of these families.”