Good Neighbor Podcast: Orange County

Inside Acti-Kare: How Passionate Caregivers Deliver Peace Of Mind

• Rachel Fyffe & Manish Gandhi

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What if the difference between worry and peace of mind is the person who walks through your parent’s front door? We sit down with Manish Gandhi of Acti-Kare In-Home Care to explore how thoughtful in-home care helps seniors stay safe, independent, and connected to the lives they love. From caregiver selection to after-hours support, we pull back the curtain on what families should expect from a provider that treats quality as a promise, not a slogan.

Manish shares why he built Acti-Kare around passionate, licensed, and background-checked caregivers—people chosen for skill, character, and fit. We talk candidly about the real costs behind home care and the hidden work families don’t see: recruiting, vetting, compliance with state regulations, ongoing training, scheduling backups, and proactive oversight. You’ll hear how word of mouth from neighbors, rehab centers, and senior communities drives their growth, and why a responsive office team can be as important as the perfect caregiver match.

If you’re weighing options for a loved one—or for yourself—you’ll walk away with a practical lens: safety, dignity, and continuity. We dig into how to spot a quality agency, the services that matter most (companionship, personal care, medication reminders, mobility, meal prep), and how a good match can restore normalcy at home. Along the way, Manish’s personal story—supporting his parents and in-laws—grounds the conversation in empathy and real-world experience.

Subscribe for more neighbor-powered stories and practical insights. If this helped you think differently about home care, share it with someone who’s starting the search and leave a quick review so others can find us.

SPEAKER_00:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, a place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your home. Radio.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Now, do you are you do you have a loved one or someone you care about, a senior or maybe even yourself, and you're in need of in-home care, custom in-home care? Well, we have that resource and it's closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Manish Gandhi, with ActiCare in Home Care. Manish, how is it going?

SPEAKER_01:

Going well, Rachel. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, we are really excited to learn about your business. So tell us all about ActiCare in Home Care.

SPEAKER_01:

Sure, right. So ActiCare in Home Care provides quality as well as personal care services to seniors, uh, as well as people who need care at home. Uh, we pride ourselves in providing quality services. You know, we have a staff of more than 50 people, 50 employees. They are all our employees, and they are definitely background checked, licensed by the state of California, experienced, seasoned, and uh passionate about what they do. The key word is I really want to emphasize the passionate because we don't just want to have people who just walk off the street and say, I want to help seniors. No, it doesn't work that way. We do screen them, ask some questions, uh, look into their experience, past experience, and uh see how they will fit into this um exciting services that we provide.

SPEAKER_02:

Wonderful. Well, Manish, how did you get into this business?

SPEAKER_01:

So I have some healthcare background and I always wanted to do something that relates to senior care. As we all know, um, there is a growing population uh across uh all states in in the United States where uh there there is a need for senior care. And um, it started with with my own family, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, my father, own father, and now my mother, they're all in need of services or care at home. Uh, so I always wanted to do something that that helps elevate their lifestyle. You know, they do live independently, and at the same time, some once in a while they do need help. So uh here I am, you know. Uh I came across uh Ecticare and I say, let me try this. And it's been almost five years now since then.

SPEAKER_02:

Wonderful. Well, what do you think are maybe some miss or misconceptions in your industry?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's a good question. Uh the biggest misunderstanding is that uh that uh we are for-profit business and we usually want uh to charge exorbitant prices for the care. Uh that may be true, but the real reality the fact is that uh there is a lot goes behind the scene. You know, uh the most important is the is the monitoring, checking of the people, finding the right person, also interacting with the state of California where we are, and the other overhead cost that involves in uh uh in coming up with this type of service. You know, uh it's it's not just uh uh one sure shot. You know, there are multiple things behind the scenes that go into providing uh, first of all, coming up with the right person for the care that's needed, and the second is also maintaining it. So given the current environment, current business environment, political environment, you know, uh it comes, yeah, it comes with some price. And that's that's number one. I think that's kind of a biggest misconception people have that these other agencies, they just charge for no reason.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, we know marketing is really the heart of every business. So, how are you finding your your clients, you know, these loved ones to help take care of and support?

SPEAKER_01:

Definitely, yes. The uh our biggest source is the word of mouth, you know, through friends and family, uh, even the neighbors, it's all just like what you made in opening remarks about the loved ones, you know, they may not be, you may not, it may not be yourself, but somebody else needing the help in the next door or a few streets down the road, or somewhere else, you know, in the in the county who needs the help. So our biggest source is word of mouth, but we also rely on um or facilities, you know, uh rehabs facilities, senior care facilities, maybe having people uh needing care in their own facilities as well. And um there are many other sources, yes.

SPEAKER_02:

Have you ever thought about doing your own podcast?

SPEAKER_01:

Not really until I came across yours, yeah. But this is exciting, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

All right. Well, what uh outside of work, Manish, what do you like to do for fun?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, I'm big on traveling, so definitely, yeah. Um my family and I do plan some trips, you know. Uh recently we visited one in Europe, you know, and uh Europe has to it has been our favorite destination, one of the favorite destinations. So, yes, we we do make trips outside, and also I have joined this club where we play table tennis as well. So I'm a big fan of uh some outdoor activities, playing games and uh and so forth. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Wonderful. Well, Manish, please tell our listeners one thing they should remember about active care in-home care.

SPEAKER_01:

One thing they remember is if they interact with us, if they are our clients, if they have our caregivers in their home, first is the peace of mind, quality of service. And the second is they do get a customer service, which I think we take a pride of. We do have a staff, um, it's not just eight to five on the phone, but they can text us, they can call us anytime. I do have my partner as well, and we all and three, all three of us are available for them, for their family, anytime they have an issue or a problem.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, to expand on that, how can our listeners learn more about active care in-home care?

SPEAKER_01:

There are many sources, you know. We do uh we don't spend too much money on marketing because we believe in providing uh the quality of service through word of mouth. So, but we do have a website, they can go to ActiCare in South Orange County, um, and they type in, and we should be our website should be popping up. We are also on Facebook as well, and uh we do give out newsletters. You know, we just started sending newsletters, so if they reach out to us, then we can send the newsletters which go out quarterly.

SPEAKER_02:

Wonderful. Well, Manish, I really appreciate you being on the show, and we wish you and your business really all the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you, Rachel, for the opportunity, and uh we wish uh you and your staff a happy holidays and to all of our community, all the PPO people around us, uh very happy and Merry Christmas.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gmp orangecounty.com. That's gmp orangecounty.com or call 714.