American Health Management, Inc.

A KHIC Portfolio Company

Kelly Upchurch, President
Richmond, Kentucky

In 1997 Kelly Upchurch, a psychologist with extensive experience in the field of rehabilitation, started American Health Management, Inc., aiming to fill what he saw as the tremendous unmet neet for supervised daytime care for the elderly throughout rural Kentucky. He needed financing to get started and business expertise to ensure lasting success of his business, and so he turned to the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation (KHIC).

Impressed with American Health Management's potential for financial return as well as with the number of professional jobs the company would create in parts of rural Kentucky that needed more professional jobs, KHIC provided American Health Management with a $75,000 equity investment and $15,000 in working capital for its first center, The Clinton Adult Day Health Care, which opened in January 1998. As part of the deal, KHIC owns a percentage of the company, which Upchurch can buy back over a five-year period. The KHIC team also provided countless hours of technical assistance, helping Mr. Upchurch develop his business plan, set up an accounting and cash management system, make financial projections, and plan for the future growth of the business.

After one year, American Health Management was able to use modest profits from its first center to finance the opening of a second center. Today the company runs seven centers around Kentucky and plans to open five to six more in early 2004. Ultimately, the company plans to grow American Health Management into Kentucky's largest adult health care center, creating more than 100 high-quality jobs -- recreational therapists, nurses' aides, registered nurses -- in a state where good jobs are scarce. Staff members are hired from the local community and receive competitive wages and health insurance. Upchurch, however, is just as proud of the fact that the centers enable their patients' primary caregivers to remain employed, giving people the opportunity to take good jobs and go to work each day with peace of mind."

Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation Profile.