The Inside Story on
Beacon Health

When Richard and Diane Omdahl founded Beacon Health in 1987, their two daughters were still in grade school. They have grown up with the company. This month, they share their thoughts on 20 years in homecare.

Rachelle Cehanovich
In 1987, I was not in homecare, nowhere near. I was 13 years old, going to school, when my parents started the business in our basement. After school, I would answer the phone, and it was a customer wanting to speak to Diane. I would say, “She is not in. May I take a message?”

When I was a junior in high school, I started working part-time in shipping at Beacon Health. (I guess you could say it was the mailroom.) While in college, I moved up to fill roles as receptionist, customer service representative, and accounting assistant. Now I work full-time with Web-based training.
Over the years, I have watched Beacon Health grow, shrink (due to the Interim Payment System (IPS)), and grow again; and have seen my mother take her work on vacation and everywhere she went so our customers would always have accurate, up-to-date products. (I think she probably sleeps, eats, and breathes this.)

Congratulations to Beacon Health for keeping the doors open for 20 years! It’s been an interesting ride, but I’m looking forward to the coming years.

Rachelle is Technical/Product Support Specialist at Beacon Health and also works part-time as an emergency medical technician. She has an Associate Degree in television/video production from Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Melinda Caughill
As the younger daughter of Diane and Richard Omdahl, founders of Beacon Health, and a previous employee, I have many stories that I could tell about the business that is the pride and joy of my parents. However, I think the most valuable gift I could give to Beacon Health on its 20th anniversary would be to introduce you, Beacon Health’s most important asset, to a side of Beacon Health you may not know about. Namely, I’d like to tell you a bit more about the woman behind the company: Diane.

Many of you have probably met or seen Diane speak at one time or another. So, you probably already know that she has an uncanny ability to remember intricate Medicare regulations almost verbatim. But, did you know that this talent is not limited to Medicare regulations?

• My mother remembers her locker combination and schedules from each year in high school.
  
• She can tell you who hit the all-important home run in the last game of the 1982 American League Championship.
  
• She can name my 4th grade church choirmates better than I can.
  
• She knows who sang that obscure one-hit-wonder song from 1966.
  
• She knows what other films and shows a lead character from a random TV show starred in during the last 20 years.
  

Diane simply has a remarkable ability to remember details. This makes for great party conversation, but somewhat annoying family dinner quizzes. However, when it comes to Beacon Health, her ability to retain and recall details helps homecare agencies survive and thrive in the complicated Medicare environment today, as well as throughout the last 20 years.

Melinda is Chief Operating Officer at Third Person, an advertising and web design company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mass communication from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She began her career as Director of Marketing at Beacon Health from 1999-2004.