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The Franklin-based business We Are All One Home Health Care, which serves Western Tidewater, celebrated the establishment of its own independent office location at a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Franklin-Southampton Area Chamber of Commerce.

Attending the ceremony held at the business’ new office location of 220 Middle St. in Franklin were Franklin Mayor Paul Kaplan, Chamber Executive Director Madison Berryman, Franklin Southampton Economic Development Inc. President and CEO Karl Heck, Southampton County/Franklin Sheriff Josh A. Wych Sr. and the co-owners of the home health care business, along with their family and some employees.

The co-owners, co-CEOS and partners of We Are All One Home Health Care are Alicia Middleton and Shadonna Warren.

“We Are All One Home Health Care, founded by Alicia and Shadonna, is a compassionate and client-focused home health care business dedicated to providing exceptional care to individuals in need,” Berryman stated. “As proud graduates of the Franklin Business Center, Alicia and Shadonna have combined their expertise and passion for helping others to create a thriving service that emphasizes dignity, independence and personalized attention for each client. Their commitment to improving the quality of life for those they serve has established We Are All One Home Health Care as a trusted name in their community.”

Middleton, who is a certified nursing assistant, and Warren, who is a medical assistant, noted that they met each other in 2016 while working in Suffolk at Bayview Cardiovascular Associates.

“Both of us pretty much have a medical background,” Middleton said. “We just always talked about doing something on our own, because we just saw certain things that, I know for me, I just didn’t like seeing, how people cared for others, and I know I worked in the hospital and also nursing home. So just seeing certain things, (we) just wanted to do something on our own to make a difference and try to do things differently and treat our employees differently.”

It was in 2020 that this idea became a working plan.

“When I came up with it, it was April, and then we officially did the paperwork in July, and then it just went quickly from there,” Middleton said.

We Are All One Home Health Care’s first office location was in the Franklin Business Center.

Middleton said she signed the lease at the end of November 2024 on the independent office location at 220 Middle St.

While the office is a key part of the business’ operation, its services are experienced almost entirely in the homes of its clients.

“We offer personal care and respite care,” Warren said. 

The business’ website, www.weareallonehhcare.com, noted that supportive in-home services include environmental care; medication management; training, support and assistance in eating, bathing, dressing, grooming and other self-care skills; fall prevention; light housekeeping; meal preparation; first aid, CPR if needed; monitoring/supervision for health and safety issues; and assistance with attending appointments (arranging transportation).

Warren noted that personal care could also include running errands, like getting groceries.

“Respite care comes into play to relieve the family members,” she said. “So sometimes we have someone that’s taking care of the aid for their personal care during the day, and then sometimes we try to find someone else to step in for the evening time and for family members off work just to let some of that burden off of the families.”

Respite care helps highlight the 24-hour nature of We Are All One Home Health Care’s services.

Middleton noted that representatives of the business are in the office physically Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., “but our phone line is open all the time,” she said.

The phone number is 757-304-9111.

“Our 24-Hour Care services enable us to respond quickly to any emergency or problem that requires immediate attention,” officials state on the business’ website. “At We Are All One Home Health Care, we offer around-the-clock medical home care services to ensure that our clients get the attention they deserve.”

Both Middleton and Warren plan to go back to school to become registered nurses so they can be the nurses for their business, but they have been ably overseeing a significant number of employees in the meantime.

As of Jan. 21, We Are All One Home Health Care had 48 employees.

Middleton and Warren had been handling supervisory duties up until April 2024. They now have an office manager, Shawnté Booker, to aid in that regard.

Reflecting on how the Jan. 7 ribbon-cutting ceremony signaled the dream of the business becoming a reality now independent of the Franklin Business Center, Warren said, “It meant everything to have our family here, to have the people from the Franklin Business Center here because they’ve been with us since day one, they’ve been good to us, and to have the mayor out, that was our first time meeting him and Madison, it was an exciting moment.”

Middleton said, “Yeah, we didn’t get to take it in, really, but now looking at it, getting this far — because May will be five years for us — is mind-blowing, because it’s a lot of ups and downs, so it’s definitely hitting us that we’re still going.”

The business’ website states, “At We Are All One Home Health Care, our strength lies in our diverse and dedicated team. Each member brings a unique set of skills, experiences and enthusiasm to the table. Together, we weave a tapestry of innovation, creativity and expertise, driving us towards our shared goal of ‘We Are One. We Are Family.’”

Middleton said the name of the business is derived from how she and Warren approach everyone.

“We use that for our employees and our clients, so we treat everybody equally,” she said.

For more information on We Are All One Home Health Care, visit www.weareallonehhcare.com.