When Shanita Grayer launched Infinity Home Care, she wasn’t just starting a business. She was answering a calling.
The Hattiesburg native has always had a passion for helping others — particularly seniors.
“I know I definitely was put on this earth for that — to be in the field that I’m in,” she says. “I love the elderly; I just love them.”
That lifelong fondness for the older population has influenced Grayer’s life and the course of her career. After graduating from high school, she worked in various caregiving roles in nursing homes and hospitals, and in 2020, she founded Infinity Home Care. The company provides VA, hospice and private-pay services, employing over 60 staff members.
Grayer also is behind All Scrubbed Up Plus More, a Gulfport store offering medical apparel and accessories, and she’s working on a third venture: Infinity Transportation LLC, which is aimed at assisting patients with medical appointments.
Here, the wife, mother, grandmother and entrepreneur shares more about herself and her journey:
Q: WHAT ABOUT THE ELDERLY POPULATION DO YOU THINK THAT YOU CONNECT WITH, OR WHY HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN DRAWN TO THIS WORK?
SG: I love to take care of people, and sometimes I do forget about myself a little bit.
I think that with our seniors, they have lived their lives, and they have taken care of so many of us in the past. Once they get to that age where they are not able to do it themselves, someone’s got to do it, and they still need to be taken care of like family.
Q: DID THINGS GO SMOOTHLY WHEN YOU WERE STARTING YOUR BUSINESS, OR DID YOU ENCOUNTER A LOT OF OBSTACLES AND CHALLENGES?
SG: Things did not go smoothly. … And I had to learn a lot of things myself. I had to format and put a lot of stuff in place just out of my own mind. I didn’t have anybody else … because one thing I have learned about home care and opening up a home care is that you’re going to have to maneuver and figure out this thing by yourself. So even when I received the VA clients, I had to learn how to bill. I had to learn how to schedule. I had to do all of it.
When I was working (for Orange Grove Elementary) as a custodian, I was able to maneuver and still work. Now that I look back, I think I was training my mind on the things that I needed to learn. I was basically studying and pulling up different ways to do things. And I learned – even how to go into different materials and (use) different tools on the computer. I learned the different systems and formatting and how things work.
It’s just God’s grace, because I didn’t have any help along the way. I didn’t have anyone there in my ear to say, “Hey, this is the way you do this.” It was either I learned, or I was going to fail, and failure was not an option for me. I had to learn. I had to make sure that I was going to follow through.
Q: WHAT MAKES YOUR HOME CARE STAND OUT?
SG: We care. We don’t look at them like they’re just clients. We really look at them like they’re family. We’re involved in what’s going on in in their lives. It’s not just about making a dollar. It is about making sure that (we’re taking care of) the ones who have taken care of us when we were young.
A lot of the family members that come to us, they have no one. They’re working. They don’t have anyone to be there with their mom or their dad, and they feel like they have to throw in the towel; they feel like there isn’t anyone else to turn to.
So, when we step in and we’re working for them, we make sure that they are able to work without worrying about (whether) their family member is getting cared for properly. So, if I can take the stress off them, and then they can put it in our hands 100%, we’re going to go hard. We’re going to make sure that their family is receiving the care that they deserve.
Q: THERE ARE MORE ELDERLY THAN EVER BEFORE, AND THAT’S ONLY SUPPOSED TO INCREASE. WHAT IS YOUR BEST ADVICE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH WHAT’S BEST TO DO FOR THEIR LOVED ONE?
SG: Seek a home care provider — that would be my best advice. Don’t throw in the towel and feel like a nursing home is the first place that you have to take your family member.
Look into a home care that’s going to take care of that family member holistically — not just going there to get a paycheck — and that’s what my company stands for. We take care of the client holistically.
Q: WHAT DO YOU FORESEE FOR YOUR COMPANY IN FIVE, 10 YEARS?
SG: I want a location in in every ZIP code. I want a location in every state if I can possibly get that. (My goal is) that everybody will know Infinity Home Care.
Q: WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OR THE MEANING BEHIND THE NAME?
SG: Infinity is eternity; it never ends. So that’s why I say we provide holistic care. Holistic care never ends; it’s forever.
Q: HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?
SG: Success is achieving my goals; the dream of owning and directing my own home care has come true. I’m growing and walking in what I have prayed for, and it’s an honor to be able to provide care for those who are in need.
‘Her care and compassion stood out’
Amy Fields and her mom, Beth, were referred to Shanita Grayer shortly after Grayer started her business — and they have stayed with her ever since.
“From our first meeting, her care and compassion stood out,” Fields recalls.
That relationship is still going strong after five years, and on average, a caregiver from Infinity Home Care visits about six days a week. Fields entrusts them with making meals and all the everyday things that keep her mom comfortable and happy.
Fields adds that Grayer and her team are always available to answer questions and offer support.
“I wouldn’t be able to have my mom living with me if we didn’t have Infinity Home Care,” she says. “I work full time, 12- plus hour shifts, and I rely on her caregivers to give my mom the care and attention she needs when I can’t be there. Knowing she’s in good hands gives me peace of mind.”
Her advice to others who are struggling with finding care for a loved one: “Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”
“As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup,” Fields says. “Accepting help doesn’t mean you love them any less; it means you’re making sure they get the care they need and deserve.”