BY MAUREEN PARKER for WEEKLY VOLCANO
OK so boom … a little side reflection! I moved my business office from downtown Tacoma to the evergrowing area of South Tacoma Way this spring. One of the first businesses I encountered was Vibrant Health Homecare. After I got the gig writing for the Weekly Volcano and started featuring local businesses, guess which one I decided to do a story about.
Go ahead, GUESS??? VHH! Ding ding ding ding ding!!! My interest was personal. I have been a caregiver for elderly people, both formerly and currently, and I believe it is one of the most important jobs, period. Caring for elderly and vulnerable adults requires time, energy, compassion, patience, and respect. You are helping someone navigate parts of life they may no longer be able to manage independently, and how you treat that person matters.
I met founder Annet Asio-Pasquali during my first week at Surge South Tacoma, which will be getting its own feature, so stay tuned for that. I was immediately intrigued by how sweet and kind she was and how many offices her business occupied in the building.
Being the nosy bones that I am, which of course makes me a great reporter of things (wink wink), I wanted to know what everybody in all those offices did.
Turns out, I was getting acquainted with the administrative side of an operation Annet said has grown to 153 employees, including 13 office staff members. Behind those office doors is a team coordinating care for elderly and vulnerable individuals in their homes.
Before sitting down with Pasquali, I asked her staff a question: What is something about Annet that she probably wouldn’t say about herself?
Compassionate. Patient. An amazing boss.
They also described her ability to connect with people and help families feel comfortable trusting the agency with someone they love. Now, you can tell people what kind of boss you are all day long, but hearing it from the people who work with you? That says something.
Annet, a registered nurse who also serves as the agency’s administrator, found her inspiration while working as a bedside nurse caring for medical and surgical patients.
Some older patients arrived at the hospital after falling at home and remaining on the floor for days before someone found them. Beyond their injuries, Annet saw another painful consequence: the possibility that they 17 NOVEMBER 6 2026 | WEEKLY-VOLCANO.COM could no longer return home.
These were homes where people had raised children, celebrated holidays and imagined spending the rest of their lives. She remembered watching patients absorb the news that a nursing home might be their next destination.
“I just wanted to be part of the solution,” she said.
Her answer was to create an agency that could provide trained caregivers to support people at home, with the goal of helping prevent falls and recognizing problems before they became crises.
The business was established in 2018. After putting the necessary protocols and regulatory requirements in place, Vibrant Health admitted its first client on May 2, 2019.
Knowing how to care for people, however, did not automatically mean knowing how to operate a business.
Pasquali brought nursing experience, energy, and passion to the work. Accounting, business regulations, and managing the books required a different education. She sought legal and accounting assistance, and took courses to better understand the business she was building.
That part felt familiar. As a business owner myself, I understand having people who help with the things outside your expertise. But you still need to know what is going on. It is your business!
Today, Pasquali said, service coordinators supervise field caregivers and maintain contact with clients to make sure their care matches the agreed-upon plan. She oversees the care plans from a nursing perspective, while coordinators conduct check-ins and home visits.
When hiring, she looks beyond a resume to consider whether someone has experience serving others, the required training, and the temperament to work with vulnerable people. The agency also conducts background checks.
For families, though, inviting someone into a loved one’s home takes more than paperwork. It takes trust.
Pasquali recognizes that asking for help can bring complicated feelings, including guilt. Adult children may be balancing jobs, their own families, distance or care needs that exceed what they can manage alone.
She encourages families to ask questions, seek references, and understand how their loved one’s care will be supervised.
Respecting a client’s preferences is part of that care. Pasquali said care plans include space for cultural, religious and personal expectations.
“It’s not about us,” she said. “It’s about the person.”
For someone who is lonely, companionship and conversation may be an important part of a caregiver’s visit. Someone else may prefer a quiet home and help preparing a meal. Understanding that difference means listening.
And speaking of meals, one of my earliest glimpses into this business involved somebody cooking in the shared kitchen.
Naturally, I needed to know what was going on.
The agency was creating instructional cooking videos for caregivers. Pasquali explained that her staff comes from diverse backgrounds, and preparing the foods clients enjoy can require learning unfamiliar recipes.
Originally from Uganda, Pasquali understands that firsthand. The agency developed a video series called “Yes, You Can Cook,” shared privately with caregivers through unlisted YouTube videos they can follow while preparing meals.
I loved that. A familiar meal is such an everyday thing, but when someone else is helping you in your home, those everyday things matter.
Pasquali also wants people to understand that home care involves more than simply sitting with an older adult. Along with assistance with daily activities and safety, she said the agency coordinates with other providers, including home health and physical therapy services, when needed.
Away from work, Pasquali is a mother of two who makes Sundays time for her family. Her children, she admitted, think she works a lot.
With that many employees and offices, I can see how they reached that conclusion.
But at the center of the operation is the reason she started: helping people receive support in the place they want to call home.
Her message to families was simple. “It’s okay to ask for help.”
As someone who knows caregiving from the personal side, I appreciate that reminder. Loving someone and having the time, skills and energy to meet every one of their needs are different things. Asking for support can be part of taking good care of them, too.
Referral email is referrals@ vibranthealthhomecare.com. Call Michelle Tate-Schmid at 253-528- 4793 to schedule a free assessment or for anything else including care collaborations.
