For the first time in nine years of offering in-home care to vulnerable community members, Capital Homecare Cooperative yielded a profit in 2025 that went back to co-op members.
Co-op General Manager Paulette LaDouceur had the honor of distributing over $34,000 in patronage refunds during a celebratory annual meeting on Saturday, Feb. 21.
“I couldn’t have a better team of dedicated, intelligent, hilarious, deeply caring, empathetic people,” LaDouceur said.
Founded in 2018 and serving Thurston, Lewis, Mason and Grays Harbor counties, Capital Homecare Cooperative is one of five home care co-ops in Washington state.
The co-op is made up of certified nursing assistants and home care aides.
Each caregiver is hired on a trial basis, with LaDouceur evaluating their performance after three months and, if it’s going well, inviting them to join the co-op as a member/owner.
Once they pay a nonrefundable $100 buy-in, that caregiver becomes a partial owner of the co-op.
“Empowered workers who feel cared for, who are invested in a business, provide a higher level of care,” LaDouceur said. “It’s not rocket science. People treat it like it is, but when a business owner goes into someone’s home, they’re representing our business, our collective, our culture.”
LaDouceur herself joined the co-op as a caregiver in 2021, later moving into an administrative role at the request of her mentor, co-op founder Nora Edge.
LaDouceur moved into the role to help preserve “the very strong culture that we have at CHC that really supports our caregivers,” she said.
The co-op model makes caregiving more sustainable for both workers and clients, Capital Homecare Cooperative states on its website.
“We build trust and authenticity as a collective and with our community. It's real,” LaDouceur said. “It's not like some pie in the sky thing — that's what we practice.”
The co-op’s board of directors, made up of its members, have historically prioritized wages and building up a capital reserve over patronage dividends.
In 2025, though, the co-op gained its first 24-hour-care client, which contributed to Capital Homecare turning a profit.
“Fiercely independent, she lived life on her own terms,” Capital Homecare said of the client, who has since passed, in its 2026 State of the Co-Op report. “We would jump into 24-hour care to then be dismissed as her health would improve or family came to be near her.”
Home care hours are often unpredictable due to the unpredictable nature of clients’ health.
“Our clients are mostly elderly people at the end of life, so people die, people move into facilities, and things change very rapidly,” LaDouceur said.
Capital Homecare’s priority through the ups and downs of caregiving is to provide compassionate, individualized care.
Often, that means honoring client preferences, respecting the client’s home, and providing companionship.
“Our clients are very satisfied with us, and people tell us all the time that they've never received this kind of respect and care,” LaDouceur said.
For more information on Capital Homecare Cooperative, visit https://capitalhomecare.coop.
