Customer Closeup

Plaza Bank Provides Foundation for Salus Homecare's New Home in Orange County

For seniors, hiring a qualified attendant can mean the difference between living at home or moving into an assisted living community. For those who want to stay at home, companies like Salus Homecare come as a welcome relief. Boad Swanson recognized the demand for this type of service, so in 2004 he and his partner Mark Mortensen started Salus, which provides comprehensive care that empowers seniors to thrive in their own homes. Salus employs qualified professionals that provide dozens of services such as facilitating family communication, cooking and serving meals as well as assistance with housekeeping and shopping. Since starting Salus, Swanson and Mortensen now have 50 employees in eight locations in three states.

Swanson hails from a background in healthcare legislation, having worked Washington, D.C., for several years. When he moved to Orange County in 2003, he began working for another home healthcare company, but soon decided to start his own business. Today, Swanson and Mortensen have a vision to grow Salus into a dominant player in the home healthcare industry. “I have a lot of industry knowledge and experience, so I know that our healthcare system needs these types of services,” Swanson says.

As a part of the next step in the company's growth, Swanson and Mortensen wanted to buy their own office building in South Orange County. The developer of the building introduced the principals to Business Development Officer Harvey Torres at Plaza Bank because of the bank’s reputation for lending to small businesses. Harvey and the Plaza Bank SBA team began processing Salus’ request and Swanson and Mortensen were able to qualify for a loan that would allow them to purchase the building that now domiciles the company’s management and Orange County operations. Of the company's 50 full time employees, 21 are located in the new Lake Forest office. During the approval process, it became apparent that Salus had credit needs other than the real estate loan. Torres introduced Plaza Bank Senior Vice President Al De Grassi, who assisted the company in establishing a working capital line of credit with Plaza. We are thrilled to own our own office,” Swanson says. “And we found a bank that understood our growth pattern and our needs.”

Mortensen sees Plaza as a partner in the company’s growth. Since securing the loan, Salus has moved all of its banking to Plaza.

"It's nice to find a bank with such a laser-vision focus on small businesses located here in Southern California," Mortensen says. "With overwhelming attention to our needs, Plaza has helped us to build our business, even in this challenging economy."

Visit Salus Homecare at www.salushomecare.com