Small Business & Non-Profit Secrets to Success: FirmCare Life Sharing
An Atlanta entrepreneur puts home healthcare & COVID testing within reach
Eric Thornton has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. He founded FirmCare Life Sharing in 2019 after realizing he wanted to start a business “somewhere that I can help our people.” Originally envisioned as a “full-service agile healthcare company,” FirmCare partners with Medicaid to help those in need get free home healthcare aid—a vital service for the Atlanta community. The business was off to a promising start when the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything, but Thornton was ready to prove FirmCare Life Sharing could live up to that “agile” description.
It all started with a phone call from the Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUCC) that Thornton described as “a leap of faith.” The AUCC is a nonprofit organization consisting of several historically Black colleges and universities, including Thornton’s own alma mater Morehouse College. When the consortium needed a way to set up COVID-19 testing centers throughout its campuses, FirmCare Life Sharing was ready to help.
“Dr. Trawick really believed in me,” Thornton said of Morehouse’s Associate Vice President Cynthia Trawick, Ph.D. Of course, he didn’t do this alone; Thornton cites his mother, his wife Orie, his “right hand” (and FirmCare VP) Senait McKinney and Head Nurse Tia White as key collaborators. Together, they ordered the necessary supplies, staffed 70 contractors and negotiated with medical companies to get contracts in place—all while Thornton was still working a full-time job elsewhere.
The hard work paid off, and Thornton’s team did such a “phenomenal job” that they were asked to come back again and again. As one Atlanta University graduate student put it, “FirmCare is proactively leading the way in administering rapid COVID tests to students and faculty. The care and professionalism of the FirmCare staff are a plus and make the COVID testing experience less unpleasant.”
Today, COVID-19 screening and testing is one of FirmCare’s main offerings alongside private in-home healthcare services—but Thornton and his team aren’t stopping there. Over the next few years, he wants the company to “grow in all facets of healthcare” and move beyond Georgia’s borders. “We want to solidify ourselves as one of the premier home healthcare services,” he said, and hopes to eventually provide transportation and daycare services to the Atlanta metro area as well.
To help Thornton with his five-year plan for FirmCare Life Sharing, we provided a $1,000 Walmart Business gift card that will allow him to stock up on office furniture and technology, medical supplies and more. Additionally, we set him up with a six-month Walmart Business+ membership, which offers free shipping with no order minimum1 and 2% back in Walmart Business Rewards.2 That could add up to over $500 a year in savings.3
Be sure to watch our full interview to learn more about Thornton’s vision, as well as how FirmCare Life Sharing is making home healthcare more accessible for Atlanta residents.
Watch the video above to see how Walmart Business is helping FirmCare Life Sharing expand its reach and make a lasting impact on the Atlanta community, and click here to discover more inspiring Walmart Business success stories.
1 Excludes most Marketplace items, freight and certain location surcharges.
2 Rewards can only be used toward future purchases on Walmart Business. Additional terms apply.
3 Savings based on 1 free $35+ delivery order vs. $9.95 fee and 1 free shipping order under $35 vs. $6.99 fee biweekly, plus 2% Walmart Business rewards on monthly order >$250 (average value of $400).
