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Village Caregiving was founded in 2013 by three friends ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ” Andrew Maass, Jeff Stevens and Matt Walker ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ” who each had a family member who needed home care services. They opened up the original headquarters in Barboursville, at 650 Main St. Ben Keenan, COO of Village Caregiving, said the organization will keep the Main Street building to use for overflow.

Today, the company has grown to more than 60 locations across 22 states with more than 3,300 caregivers serving more than 5,500 clients.

Village Caregiving offers non-medical care and assistance with daily needs, such as help with personal hygiene, light housework, meal preparation and companionship.

Jeff Stevens, co-founder and CEO, grew up in Barboursville. The idea of moving the companyÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s headquarters to another city was not on the table.

ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœWhen we take the values, Appalachian values, treating people the right way, do the right thing just because itÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s the right thing to do. We take those values and they spread across the country. Everyone relates to that. ItÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s been a huge key component of our success and had we not grown up both personally and this company, right in this little pocket, I think there would have been a huge something lost. Especially given the fact that weÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™re in the home care industry,ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ� Stevens said.

Proposed cuts to Medicaid, a joint federal and state program that helps cover medical costs for qualifying individuals, could hurt health care companies like Village Caregiving, but the impact remains unknown.

ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœI havenÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™t seen anything specifically yet that would affect home careÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ� Stevens said. ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœProbably depends on which version of the bill passes, how it plays out. It will obviously affect Medicaid in some substantial way, but I havenÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™t seen anything specific to home care yet.ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ�

He estimates Village Caregiving currently has about 1,000 clients who rely on Medicaid to pay for services.

ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœGovernor (Patrick) Morrisey has already in his very first budget done a good job of honoring the home care industry. I think he gets it,ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ� Stevens said.

Morrisey, who attended MondayÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s celebration, was asked directly if he would push back against President Donald Trump if federal cuts to Medicaid were enacted.

ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœIÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™m always going to stand up for West Virginia no matter what happens,ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ� Morrisey said. ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœI think that President Trump is trying to lift West Virginia and every state up economically, and I think if we can lift our economy up, thatÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s going to solve a lot of problems. ThatÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s a lot of what weÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™re focusing on from an economic development perspective.ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ�

The building was designed and constructed by Cornerstone Builders. It was meant to add elegance to the corner of Central Avenue and Main Street, Stevens said, and resembles a high-end bed and breakfast more than a corporate office.

ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœIt was more important to me that the people in town liked the way that building looked than that I liked the way it looked. So the mission was to try to ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ” itÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s going to be modern. ThereÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s no way around that obviously, but make it fit in as well as you possibly can so itÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s something that they can be proud of instead of an eyesore,ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ� Stevens said.