about Cathy
When Act Home Health founder Cathy Tolley was in nursing school more than 30 years ago, she had never heard of home health care. Her goal as a nurse was to help people live their best possible lives. As a means to achieving that goal, Cathy envisioned building a community where people with health problems could live for free. The only requirement to live in the community would be that residents would allow Cathy to counsel them about improving their health. Cathy believed that if these patients were to follow her recommendations, their health and quality of life would improve enough to discontinue medication and increase their motivation to take better care of themselves.
Cathy served as a nurse in various hospitals for several years before having the opportunity to visit a patient at home. She wondered whether the home visit was the path to fulfilling her dream or if it would be a fluke. As it turned out, Cathy had entered the door of home health nursing, and she has welcomed dozens of others in with her since.
Cathy has served in every type of home health nursing for more than 27 years including intermittent, private duty, skilled and nonskilled. She had the opportunity to grow in her career, holding a variety of staff, supervisory and director-level positions. Prior to founding Act Home Health, she served as Vice President of Clinical Operations for a multistate national home health agency. Cathy has opened offices, closed offices, turned around failing offices, started new clinical programs, developed and implemented policies and procedures and has led organizations through joint commission accreditation, which is the highest standard of home health practice.
Cathy founded Act Home Health in order to make a more direct impact on the patient experience, which she didn’t have the opportunity to do in her previous executive role. She operates Act Home Health with the heartfelt belief that there is nothing more important than health care providers who are competent, who truly care and who demonstrate care through actions that improve quality of life. Cathy believes that a truly successful company that focuses on patient care can grow through word-of- mouth marketing and patient referrals. Almost thirty years later, Act Home Health is stronger than ever, and a wonderful variation of Cathy’s original vision has come true.
“Act Home Health is not just another home health agency, but a passion-filled mission. Our patients are
people, our neighbors, who we strive to help live a better life every day.”
—Cathy Tolley, RN, BSN,
PHN, founder, Act Home Health
about Nicole
Act Home Health has brought Nicole Guerrero into the lives of families who take on tremendous adversity and make immense personal and professional sacrifices to ensure their loved ones have access to quality in-home health care. Nicole understands the complex challenges that arise from choosing in-home nursing care because she has firsthand experience caring for family members with advanced medical needs.
Nicole’s father shares many of the same needs as Act Home Health clients. She shared her personal connection to home health nursing during her interview with Act and was quickly presented with an in-home care plan that met hers and her father’s needs. In addition to finding a career at Act Home Health, Nicole also found quality in-home nursing care for her father.
After several years as a field nurse with Act, Nicole was promoted to RN Supervisor, receiving one-on- one training with Act Home Health founder Cathy Tolley in clinical management. Nicole began to see the care that is woven into each document, policy and procedure. She grew to know each family and saw how Act Home Health works diligently to address the nuances of every patient’s individual medical situations.
Nicole is part of the team that ensures personal care manifests itself in every aspect of the company. She provides clinical oversight and nursing supervision to dedicated, compassionate nurses who value their place on the team. She ensures that the delicate balance between nursing care, multiple specialists, providers and suppliers is optimized for each patient’s home health needs. Nicole thrives on the empathy and work ethic of the Act Home Health office personnel who serve families with prompt, attentive communication and thoughtful, consistent management.
“From the beginning, I have been meaningfully connected to Act. I came in looking for a position as a
nurse and ended up with this multifaceted evolution into home health that I didn’t even know existed.”
—Nicole Guerrero, RN, Director of Patient Care Services
Our office staff is here to support you, so together we can provide compassionate care for your loved one at home.