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Capital Homecare Cooperative is a team of extensively trained Home Care Aids and Certified Nursing Assistants working together to provide compassionate care for elders and people with disabilities.
We believe that providing quality employment with living wages creates the best care for our neighbors in need.
We are licensed with the Department of Health in the state of Washington.
Contact us or start your care plan to experience the difference in cooperative care.
Our founder, Nora Edge, spent years as a caregiver in the field. Like so many caregivers, she was underpaid and facing burnout. A series of turning points broke down the narrative she carried about how little power she had until she founded CHC with the help of a small group of like-minded caregivers in Olympia, Washington.
Watch this video of Nora speaking at the National Homecare Cooperative Conference in Dulles, VA to hear her story. The Cooperative Development Foundation, which sponsored the conference, made this video available.
General Manager
Paulette was born into a large and loving multigenerational family in Michigan and can’t recall a time of life without elders. Visiting and helping them in their homes, she developed profound gratitude for all of her elder relatives and neighbors, teachers and friends. Paulette spent her formative years in professional theater in Detroit. She went on to teach and attended Wayne State University to pursue a degree in elementary education while also studying science and philosophy.
Her career has included teaching, performing, parenting, group facilitation and feeding people with food and her music. Caregiving has been yet another path for her to drop deeper into presence and service with others. Outgoing and sociable, Paulette has been an active volunteer in many Co-op, Tribal and Community entities in the Olympia area for the past 20 years. She has a strong passion for worker co-ops and was hired with CHC in 2021. Paulette has evolved in capacity and role from Member/Owner, to Board Chair, to Care Coordinator, to now being our current Executive Director.
In this leadership position, she continues to build a team of highly skilled caregivers and revels in the opportunity to empower workers to own their business all within the presence of respect, authenticity, trust and connection. Paulette believes in service’s ability to transform and uplift both the giver and recipient and is grateful to our founders for creating an avenue for employment that so clearly aligns with her ideals, skills and deep heart. Outside of CHC, Paulette spends her time playing music, being with the people and animals she loves and experiencing nourishment through nature, beautiful food and a commitment to her values.
Care Coordinator
Scott has been a caregiver for over 15 years, starting out as a young teenager when his grandmother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Being in this position at such a young age empowered him to make this a career. Since then, Scott has worked for several agencies in Washington state, caring for dozens of people and serving over 4,000 client hours! He has previous experience in homecare management and conducted orientations for new hires, providing caregivers with administrative support. He helped open a new office with another homecare agency, but his position was dissolved during the pandemic, so he returned to caregiving. Scott is very efficient and organized and enjoys creating streamlined systems to manage our office. He is kind, bright, compassionate, and fun to work with.
We are grateful to have him on our team at CHC as Care Coordinator where he strives to empower caregivers to provide the best and most compassionate care possible. In his free time, he enjoys hiking and camping and finds relaxation in gardening and cooking.
Board President
Vice President
I am originally from Lander, Wyoming, but I’ve lived in the Olympia community for over three years now. I moved here after I graduated from the University of Wyoming (the real UW!) I studied psychology and disability studies because I have always loved connected with people. I have worked in the mental health sphere with teens and families, in school districts, caregiving for seniors and folks with developmental disabilities – and now I’m here with CHC!
My first caretaking role was with my grandmother. At first she needed some tasks done around her apartment – light cleaning, cooking, and companionship. Over the years she started needing more intensive support, to the point where she had a caregiver for all but a few hours of the day. This time was difficult for her and my family because of her transition to caregiver, to receiving care. I watched first hand as our family structure oriented to meet her needs – and it wasn’t always enough. I know how hard it can be to arrange quality care for a loved one. It was so important for me to bring integrity to my caregiving so that my grandmother would feel loved and dignified. In college I worked as a Direct Support Professional for folks with disabilities where I experienced many of the same themes. Integrity has become a central theme for me as I work with people. As caregivers, we are supporting folks during some of the more vulnerable times in their lives. As caregivers it is important that we show up to our work with sanctity and compassion.
I was drawn to CHC because these morals are integral in the culture of the business. Every person I’ve worked with brings these values and skills to the table. It’s beautiful to see how a workplace culture like this brings the best people (caregivers and clients alike) to work together. I am grateful that I can contribute to CHC in a meaningful way by serving on the board.
Treasurer
I’ve spent most of my career cooking for some great restaurants where I grew up, in the mountains of New Hampshire. While I loved what I did, the long hours and physical toll had worn me down. Since my husband was reaching a turning point in his career too, we decided to make a big move to be closer to family (and take a break from frigid NH winters). So a few years ago we drove straight west til we hit the PNW!
I decided that the new direction of my work needed to check a few boxes, like community connection and service. I wanted to feel like I was doing work that helped people and felt meaningful. That path led me to the in-home care field and then to the Capital Homecare Coop. My work is more purposeful now. I love it when I can connect with my clients, see what they need and am able to support them. I take pride in providing comfort and safety to people, often helping them to remain in their homes. I also feel grateful to have found my way to a job where my voice is valued and welcomed. The cooperative structure means I am a participant in decisions that affect me and the rest of our team. And when caregivers feel safe and supported, our clients do too. This is the connection I was looking for.
Capital Homecare Cooperative (CHC) is a Washington corporation organized under RCW 24.06, licensed as an In-Home Services Agency through the Washington State Department of Health. CHC operates on a cooperative basis in which the workers coordinating and providing the service own the company and collectively direct its operation under the principle of one member, one vote.
If you’re a caregiver looking for a new way to do the work you love in a supportive, empowering environment, consider joining our team.
Start the application process today!