Cindy Wickens: ‘We believe in giving back’ 

TORONTO – Cindy Wickens, a founding partner of XPerience Home Healthcare in Windsor, Ontario, has been many firsts. She was the first female firefighter at Lakeshore Fire Department, its first female captain, and now she’s been named the first Canadian HME Woman of the Year by VGM Canada. HME News spoke to Wickens about her passion for service and giving back. 

HME News: As a business owner and a firefighter of 33 years, you wear a lot of hats. How do you make it all work? 

Cindy Wickens: It’s a juggling act most days. My husband and I have two foster kids, sisters ages 5 and 7, which takes a lot of dedication and time. I have always tried to live by the motto: Your health is the No. 1 priority, your family next, and then work. 

HME: Why did you start your own company?  

Wickens: We started our own company in 2017 after working for a large corporately run home health care that didn’t have the same focus or vision we did. My partners and I have over 75 years of combined experience in the industry, hence the name Xperience Home Health Care. We all believe in giving back to our community, which we have—personally and professionally —with the inception of Neighbors Who Care, a medical equipment support program. 

HME: How did Neighbors Who Care come about? 

Wickens: We were only here a few months, and a mom came into the store. She said, “I need a mattress for my daughter, she’s 16 and she has pancreatic cancer.” When I saw her, I knew she wasn’t going to be with us long and I told my partners, “I just wish we had something where we could give people some product.” Then we had a meeting with Assisted Living Southwestern Ontario (ALSO), and they said they had a client with $20,000 worth of equipment who had passed away. That’s how Neighbors Who Care started.