Meet the Golden Rule Team...

Founders / Managing Directors

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John-Paul R. Plouffe In 2007, John-Paul began his career in home care as the Director of Operations with a Boston based home care company.  As a lifetime resident of Massachusetts, he understands the culture, the people, their wants and needs.  In addition to being a professional in the business, John-Paul has personal experience as an advocate for family members who needed care.  Having gone through this experience personally has added greatly to his empathy and understanding of what families go through during this phase in life.

 

He says, "I have always been drawn to people with a lot of life experience, even from my youth."  Before co-founding Golden Rule Home Care with his wife, Tricia, he had been able to observe what works best, and what doesn't work well in the home care industry.  In order to give the very best of care, and "treat those we are responsible for, as we would want our own family members to be treated", the best option was to create Golden Rule.

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John-Paul is a graduate of Dean Jr. College with an Associates Degree in Human Services.  He then earned a Bachelors Degree in Business Management from Johnson & Wales School of Business, Providence, RI.  He has studied, adopted and applies the philosophies of Total Quality Management and Continuous Improvement.  Upon graduation, he earned the "Johnsonian Spirit Award" for academic excellence, the spirit of giving to others, and for exemplifying the "ideal" student, given once a year by the college.  John-Paul lives in Worcester with his wife, Tricia, where they operate the business together.  

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Patricia Stepanski Plouffe In 2006, Tricia's parents started to show signs of aging.  In order to help them, she and her husband, John-Paul, moved from Shrewsbury to a house on the same street as her parents' residence in Worcester, MA.  Over the next ten years, she navigated the whole process of caring, researching services, legal concerns, financial responsibilities, speaking on their behalf, and so much more...in order to assist them.  It was a time of immense change, joy, sadness, chaos, and deep concern for them as they stayed living in their home, needing home care, and eventually needing to live elsewhere.  In fact, it consumed her life.  Simultaneously, Tricia was operating a company called Career Management Consultants, an organization she founded years before, where she counselled people and organizations in career counseling, team building, life/work balance, and spiritual matters.  Tricia experienced the immense changes required as the lead family care manager and giver; she also witnessed the physical, mental and emotional changes for her parents.

 

During these years of caring, she learned about all stages of transition for them and the elderly.  A deep appreciation grew within her for wanting to understand Massachusetts services, excellent care, hospitals, rehab units, while insuring family inclusion with it all.  A true love, understanding and respect for aging adults became a personal reality and interest.  It changed her, she says "and hopefully for the better."  Tricia also learned what an excellent caregiver is vs. a mediocre one!

 

Upon the death of her parents, Tricia made the choice to retire her consulting business.  Combined with newfound knowledge, experience and interest in elder care, Tricia and her husband decided to open their own home care organization.  Between John-Paul's employment in the field and her understanding of business ownership/management, they became a professional team to help the elderly and families dealing with health issues in Massachusetts.  Tricia says, "Our goal is to treat your family and friends as we wanted our family to be treated."  Thus, the name "Golden Rule Home Care."

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