Dr. Elias Ferrer's Narrative
DR. ELIAS FERRER
Educator, Entrepreneur, and Civic Leader
Dr. Elias Ferrer’s philosophy in life is to inspire, lead and train others to become competent and productive citizens in society. He is actively supporting people’s need for education so they may succeed in contributing to the healthcare needs of their communities.
In 2004, Dr. Elias Ferrer implemented an agency of caregiving services to take care of senior citizens and individuals with special needs. His business “The Caregiver for Hire USA” was a full-service agency that first operated in 2004 in Los Angeles, California. The agency specialized in the placement of caregivers who are experienced in elderly care and for people with special needs.
In 2007, Dr. Eli Ferrer, requested his brother, Jose Ferrer, who is based in Seattle, Washington, to develop and manage a caregiving agency to meet the state’s growing needs for the elderly and those with disabilities. As an educator, and entrepreneur Dr. Ferrer established this as a trade school to train and produce quality caregivers to meet these increasing community demands for adult family homes. Dr. Eli Ferrer’s trade school is a comprehensive training for people who would like to work as caregivers in the State of Washington. He implemented this school, because Washington is the only state in the U.S. that requires 75 hours of training in caregiving. At the end of which, requires them to pass the written and clinical skills exams, before they can be employed as caregivers. The trade school is licensed by the Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), and by the Aging and Disability Services Administration.
One of the primary goals of this school is to help new immigrants in the U.S. integrate productively in their communities, thereby contributing to the economic growth of the state. The Caregiver for Hire USA has educated a culturally diverse student body of Filipinos, Mexicans, Africans, Asians, Europeans and other nationalities. About 90 percent of the students who took the training passed the state test. The other 10 percent either did not submit their application, or did not take the state test at all. One of the notable groups of successful caregivers have been the Filipinos, who are very much in demand all over the United States.
Eli overcame many challenges with his caregiving school, particularly from 2007 to 2013 when the trade school was newly founded. At this time, he did not have the staffing to help him manage the day-to-day operations of the school. Dr. Elias Ferrer was the instructor, receptionist, secretary, treasurer, accountant, janitor of the school. At the same time, he was working as a resident manager and caregiver in Monina’s (His brother’s wife) Adult Family Home. In a way, this was convenient because the school was in the living room of the same house, above the Adult Family Home. Another challenge was that some of his students could not afford to pay their tuition because they had only recently arrived in the United States. However, because Dr. Elias Ferrer understood his students’ situation, he still let them attend the classes. This shows a great concern for others' welfare and that Eli has a resilient and relentless desire to train his students to the highest level of caregiving. And he goes the extra mile to provide employment opportunities for his students to assist them even after they graduate.
Because of his perseverance and passion in teaching and providing quality education to his students, Dr. Elias Ferrer is now a well-known name in the home health care training program. Today, he is known for his contributions as an educator and entrepreneur in the City of Seattle and surrounding cities in the State of Washington. The population of his students has grown from only a few to 60 or more per month. In June of 2017, Eli’s school “Caregiver for Hire USA” moved to a new location in an office building in Federal Way which is now equipped with dedicated classrooms, a reception desk, a clinical room, private offices and storage. Additionally, in May of 2019, Dr. Elias Ferrer has founded another school in Tacoma called “Dr. Eli Home Care Training” to allow easier access for students who live further south of Federal Way.
Dr. Elias Ferrer served as an officer of the Filipino Nurses and Healthcare Professionals Association which granted him recognition as a lifetime member of the Filipino Community Center in Seattle, Washington. He received the Doctor of Humanities Award- Honoris Causa, from the International Institute of Leaders and the World Christian Fellowship Ministry in 2017 because of his contribution to human services. Dr. Elias Ferrer is our honorary educator, entrepreneur, and civic leader in the community.
