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What I Wish Every Home Care Owner Knew – Steven Gonzales

Release Date: 09/16/2025

I Trusted Passion Over Process and It Broke My Business – Kristen Duell

Home Care Hindsight

Kristen Duell, founder of Momentum Healthcare and Technology Consulting, joins host David Knack for a raw conversation about the recurring mistake that has shaped her entire leadership journey: believing that shared passion and purpose are enough to run a successful business. Kristen opens up about the "black eyes and kidney punches" she's endured from moving too fast and trusting that others shared her standards of integrity, without first establishing clear structure and alignment. She explains why "momentum without tension is chaos" and how this hard-won lesson is now the core philosophy of...

My Failed Acquisition Pushed Me To Do More Due Diligence – Kevin Smith

Home Care Hindsight

Kevin Smith, CEO of Best of Care, joins host David Knack to pull back the curtain on a splashy but failed acquisition that taught him a brutal lesson about due diligence. Kevin opens up about buying an adult day health program's home care arm, a deal that made perfect sense on paper but fell apart at the seams, resulting in a massive revenue shortfall. He reflects on the costly mistake of relying too heavily on his relationship-driven "gut" for a process that required forensic analysis, and how the timing—closing the deal the day before his first child was born—added immense personal...

On Death and Dying in Home Care Part 2 – Gabrielle Pumpian and Nicole Soares

Home Care Hindsight

Gabrielle Pumpian returns, joined by death doula and end-of-life consultant Nicole Soares, for a profound conversation about the one thing every home care agency deals with but few are prepared for: death. They explore a common operational mistake: failing to align a caregiver's duties with a client's core values, leading to disengagement and a reduced schedule. Nicole shares her powerful personal journey that led her to become a "one-stop death shop," while Gabby reflects on the costly mindset of viewing a client's passing primarily as a revenue loss. The discussion offers actionable advice...

On Death and Dying in Home Care Part 1 – Gabrielle Pumpian and Nicole Soares

Home Care Hindsight

The "Frankenstein's Monster" Team That Forced a Culture-First Fix – Victor Hunt

Home Care Hindsight

Victor Hunt, the passionate CEO and co-founder of Zingage, joins host David Knack for a long-awaited conversation. Victor opens up about the critical hiring mistake from his first startup: prioritizing raw technical skill over team cohesion and culture fit, a misstep that almost broke the company. He explains why this "Frankenstein's monster" approach to building a team fails and how it informed his "culture-first" philosophy at Zingage. Victor shares the only two traits he now looks for in every hire and dives into the underrated genius of home care owners, who are often overwhelmed by...

The $10,000 Mistake That Forged a Stronger Partnership – John "Moz" Mozdzien

Home Care Hindsight

John "Moz" Mozdzien, a Navy veteran and co-founder of Veterans First, joins host David Knack to share a costly hiring mistake—but not of a person. He "hired" a flawed understanding of VA benefits, leading to a $10,000 loss on his company's very first case. He opens up about the specific rule regarding surviving spouses that they misunderstood and how this "hard fail" became the foundation for a 99.9% approval rate today. Moz reflects on how the crisis forged an unbreakable bond with his business partner, built on pre-existing trust. The conversation also covers the underrated power of...

Hiring the Wrong Person Taught Me About Building a Better Team – Becky Reel

Home Care Hindsight

In this re-released episode of Home Care Hindsight, host David Knack sits down with Becky Reel, founder and CEO of Reel Home Care Consulting and former owner of a top-rated home care agency. In their conversation from 2024, Becky vulnerably shares the story of her biggest hiring mistake: bringing her nanny into the office during COVID-19. She details how she overlooked numerous red flags, which led to a toxic work environment and significant business disruption. From this experience, she learned invaluable lessons about the importance of thorough reference checks, truly listening to her team,...

Stop Waiting for January: Strategic Growth Planning – Steve “The Hurricane” Weiss

Home Care Hindsight

In this returning episode of Home Care Hindsight, host David Knack is joined by Steve “The Hurricane” Weiss, founder of Home Care Evolution. Together, they dive into how home care agencies can finish 2025 strong and hit the ground running in 2026. Steve emphasizes the importance of using September–October to audit your business, tighten referral relationships, and prepare for seasonal surges (like elective surgeries leading to more home care referrals). He shares how to create an orthopedic specialty program to stand out from competitors and walks through the patient journey for better...

The $100,000 Partnership Mistake I Was Too Stubborn to Quit – Clayton Foutch

Home Care Hindsight

In this episode of Home Care Hindsight, host David Knack is joined by Clayton Foutch, a home care veteran and founder with over 18 years in the industry. Clay opens up about the costly mistake of stubbornly pursuing a major partnership that was a poor strategic fit for his company's "Four Seasons" vision. He shares how his refusal to listen to his team and cut losses earlier resulted in a significant financial and reputational hit. Clay also dives into the importance of revenue diversification for stability, the collaborative nature of the home care industry, and how to thoughtfully...

What I Wish Every Home Care Owner Knew – Steven Gonzales

Home Care Hindsight

In this episode of Home Care Hindsight, host David Knack is joined by Steven Gonzales, CEO of HealthView Home Health & Hospice, to demystify the world of home health. Steven breaks down the core function of home health, its role in the care continuum post-hospital discharge, and the critical financial challenges driven by payer mix and Medicare Advantage. He shares invaluable insights on how home care agencies can become essential partners by understanding clinical needs, tracking client payer data, and focusing on true care coordination. Steven also looks to the future, discussing...

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In this episode of Home Care Hindsight, host David Knack is joined by Steven Gonzales, CEO of HealthView Home Health & Hospice, to demystify the world of home health.

Steven breaks down the core function of home health, its role in the care continuum post-hospital discharge, and the critical financial challenges driven by payer mix and Medicare Advantage. He shares invaluable insights on how home care agencies can become essential partners by understanding clinical needs, tracking client payer data, and focusing on true care coordination.

Steven also looks to the future, discussing the exciting potential of AI and personalized medicine to transform patient outcomes and free up caregivers to focus on human connection.

Lesson Takeaways:

1. Home Health's Core Role: The primary goal is to help patients recover after a hospital discharge through skilled nursing and therapy, with success measured by preventing rehospitalizations.

2. Payer Mix is Everything: The biggest challenge isn't getting referrals—it's profitability. Declining reimbursement rates, especially from Medicare Advantage plans, force agencies to be highly selective about which patients they can accept without losing money.

3. Become a Data-Driven Partner: Home care agencies can stand out by tracking their clients' insurance (payer mix) and proactively presenting this data to potential home health partners to see if a business relationship is even feasible.

4. You Are the Eyes and Ears: Non-medical home care is a powerful tool for preventing hospitalizations. The key is to be "woven into the care plan" and act as an early warning system for changes in condition, communicating effectively with clinical partners.

5. The Future is Personalized: Advancements in AI and technology will lead to more personalized medicine and customized software solutions, freeing up professionals to focus on the human elements of care and coordination.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction to the "Home Health 101" series and Steven Gonzales
02:30 - Steven’s journey from non-medical home care to leading a post-acute continuum company
05:00 - How HealthView differentiates itself through culture in a competitive nursing market
09:15 - The day-to-day of home health: Who gets referred, from where, and why
12:45 - The real challenge: It’s a payer mix problem, not a referral problem
18:20 - Why Medicare Advantage plans are squeezing home health margins
22:30 - The metrics that matter: Hospitalization, rehospitalization, and proving value to health systems
28:50 - The critical gap home care can fill in the care continuum
33:40 - How home care providers should approach partnerships with data in hand
38:00 - The exciting future of personalized medicine and AI in home-based care

Quotes:
Steven Gonzales: "There's such a demand for home health... but it's not a referral problem, it's really a payer mix problem."
Steven Gonzales: "Home care [is] such a pivotal part of preventing hospitalizations as long as... they're weaved into the care plan. They're the eyes and ears."
David Knack: "Something to give is something that... takes very little extra work. Just make it part of the intake process."
Steven Gonzales: "The reason computers were built was for us to go do life... Freeing up people's time so they can... do the human stuff really well is what I think is pretty cool."

Resources:

1. HealthView Home Health & Hospice: https://healthviewhomehealth.com/

2. Connect with Steven Gonzales on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevegonzalez/

3. Connect with David Knack on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-knack/

4. Powered by Zingage: https://zingage.com

5. Watch Episode on Zingage’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Zingage

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