Missouri Quality Care Joins the List of Great Curry Tenants

When Jeff Thornton, administrator for Missouri Quality Care, joined the non-profit agency that serves individuals with developmental disabilities, the organization had seven clients and 11 staff based in Cameron, Missouri. Now, it has 45 clients and 160 employees in two markets. Thornton just signed a five-year lease for 4,000 square feet at 2700 NE Kendallwood Parkway in Gladstone, Missouri, managed by Curry Real Estate Services. Missouri Quality Care is another organization that is looking to prepare its future for growth.

“When we came to the Kansas City area we took space in the iWerx co-working space[MS1] ,” said Thornton. “It was a good, supportive environment for us as we tested the waters for Kansas City to be our first satellite market but we grew fast and ran up against privacy-related HIPAA issues. Privacy is not a strong attribute of most co-working spaces.”

Missouri Quality Care provides services to developmentally disabled individuals in multiple environments – group homes, independent supported living (ISLs) and natural homes. Much of the care provided is 24/7, seven days a week per home environment.

“It is a very competitive service sector,” said Thornton. “There are a lot of individuals that need our services but there are a hundred other providers also in this space. I like to think our difference is our professionalism and personal, family-oriented culture. We build relationships with clients as well as guardians and work hard to earn and keep their trust.”ner is still responsible for calls from residents, her team, vendors and others every hour of the day. “I love what I do,” she said. “I treat each property like it is my own – these are my residents, this is my staff and it is my responsibility to take care of them. I have to know what is going on to do that so getting calls nonstop does not phase me.”

Missouri Quality Care has made adjustments for the COVID-19 pandemic. Last August, Thornton had it himself, a mild case, and isolated while he recovered. “We are considered essential employees and healthcare workers,” he said. “We have PPE, COVID protocols and a plan for our team that we update as rules and best practices evolve.”

Thornton said that his staff has worked with clients who had COVID and, in one instance where three ladies living together had the virus though were asymptomatic, two of his staff asked to stay in the home and work around the clock to minimize further exposure.

For the employees who work out of the new office space, Thornton said all were delighted to be there.

“Our people are super happy to be here,” he said. “Curry has completely redone our space so it is all brand new. Their team has been exceptional to work with and we have really enjoyed every single person we got to work with. It has been wonderful.”

Thornton, who lives in Kearney, gets to spend about half the work week in the new space as he divides his time between the Gladstone and Cameron administrative offices and training facility. “It’s an hour drive but I see it as alone time that I would not otherwise get, so I make the most of it!