Lisa Carsrud, who launched Absolute PCA with her husband Dean, describes the expansion of their services to Grand Marais as “serendipity.” Not only do they have a long-standing connection to the North Shore, they honeymooned in Grand Marais twenty-five years ago, but a chance conversation at a local career expo set everything in motion.
“We love Grand Marais and the whole North Shore,” said Lisa, whose agency began in Grand Rapids, MN in 2016 and has since grown into places like Bemidji and Virginia. “We have always said we should start services here. Now we have.”
Her background made the move feel natural, stating, “My previous nursing experience was in home care a lot and it was in rural areas around here. So, I’m kind of partial to rural areas and love working in the underserved rural areas. We intentionally have been working on expanding across northern Minnesota in the areas where there is a need.”
What ultimately pushed them to make the leap into Cook County was the unmistakable shortage of services. While attending a St. Louis County Conference in Duluth, Lisa spoke with case managers who told her how few options existed for the area.
“They said how they have such a big need up there,” she stated. “For PCA services specifically and homemaking and respite, what we do, they didn’t really sound like there was any providers to do that.”
Later that same day, a woman stopped by their booth to ask whether Absolute PCA operated near Grand Marais because her mother, an RN who had recently moved there, was looking for work. The timing lined up so perfectly that Lisa describes it as nothing short of meant to be.
“We weren’t planning to head your way quite yet,” she added. “After that conference I decided let’s explore Cook County and get started there. It sounds like we could have an employee right away and there is a big need. So that is kind of how it happened. A little like serendipity. It was pretty cool.”
Before starting Absolute PCA, Lisa had been working for a large home care agency based in the Twin Cities.
“They were just huge and corporate-like. I didn’t like that job at all,” she said.
One night around a campfire, Dean made the suggestion that would change the course of their careers.
“My husband said, we should start our own home care company,” she recalled. “I said that is actually a really great idea. There was a big need in our community. It was totally his idea. I got to give all the credit to him.”
Her nursing background made the leap possible.
“Being a registered nurse as my background was a godsend to start this company,” she said.
Ten years later, Absolute PCA employs around 165 people and provides services such as Personal Care Assistance, Homemaking, Respite, Individualized Home Supports, Independent Living Skills, Night Supervision, RN admit visits, RN supervision visits, guardian services, and conservator services.
“For many years it was just my husband and I working the office,” she said. “We have also expanded our office employees, and they are amazing.”
What has surprised Lisa most over the years is not just the growth of the business, but the depth of the need in rural communities. She expected gaps in access. She did not expect how wide they would be.
“I knew that there was a need,” she said. “I didn’t realize how big of a need. Agencies aren’t even really trying to work in the rural areas.”
She added, “Access to health care is so much harder for clients in the rural areas. They are so far out there and there are not as many choices and options. In the cities, there are a bunch of clinics, a bunch of hospitals, and a bunch of home care agencies. When you are in the rural areas, you are lucky if you have one home care agency to choose from.”
Distance alone can become a barrier. Some clients live so far off the main roads that even reaching them becomes its own challenge. Lisa recalled one elderly man whose home sat at the end of a long, muddy driveway that became impassable each spring. Staff had to park at the road and walk in on foot.
“You had to stop at the end of his driveway,” she said. “You had to walk into his property because you could not drive on his driveway. He didn’t have any running water either. That was his choice, which is totally fine. The PCAs would go to the lake and get the water and boil it.”
For Lisa, those realities are not reasons to turn someone away. They are reminders of why the work matters.
“A lot of agencies just say, no, we can’t,” she said. “I don’t think that way. For me, I want to help as many people as we can. If we don’t have someone in that area, I am going to try to hire someone in that area.”
Her resourcefulness sometimes goes beyond traditional hiring.
“I have gone as far as calling some rural churches,” she said. “To see if there are any semi-retired ladies that want a little extra work to do. Some of our best employees have been older women that have retired. You have to kind of be resourceful.”
That same mindset shapes how she approaches her staff. Lisa speaks about her team with genuine warmth, and it is clear she sees Absolute PCA as a community rather than a corporate structure.
“We are very, very blessed,” she said. “We really have great office staff. All of our PCAs are wonderful. My philosophy is to treat people the way that you want to be treated. We try and treat them well. We pay them as much as we can right off the bat.”
For Lisa, the heart of the work always comes back to the people they serve.
“It is all about the client or recipient and what they want,” she said. “They are the boss. It is about meeting them where they are. And helping them however you can. Helping people live independently in their homes is such a reward. Without home care, they could end up in a nursing home or assisted living. Depression is a big thing in the elderly community. Being able to stay in their home really can make a difference.”
When a family is ready to seek help, the process is simple and thorough. A referral comes in through the website or by phone, and the team reaches out to learn more about the person’s needs. Some clients already have someone in mind to serve as their PCA, often a family member or neighbor. Others rely on the agency to match them with a worker.
“We contact the person referring the client and find out what they need,” Lisa explained. “A lot of people have a county case manager, so we always want to touch base with them too.”
From there, Absolute PCA handles the background studies, state approvals, and onboarding required before a PCA can begin. Sometimes they have staff ready to start right away. Other times, especially in rural areas, they work to hire someone local so the client can receive consistent support.
In Grand Marais, the agency will also begin offering a monthly blood pressure clinic at the Hub. The clinic will be led by their registered nurse, Angela, who lives in Cook County. It will take place on the first Thursday of each month from 10 to 12, with the first clinic scheduled for March 5.
For Lisa, expanding into Cook County is not simply about adding another service area to the map. It is about making sure that geography does not decide who receives care and who does not.
“I never believe in just saying no, we can’t help you. I am always going to try,” she said.
For more information about services in Cook County or to begin the referral process, residents can visit absolutepca.org, call 218-301- 0461, email info@absolutepca.org or see their ad on page 2 of this week’s NSJ.
