In the highly competitive provider agency space, Thompson Total Home Care, Inc. has no website. No Facebook Page. Not too many pictures posted publicly. Even the facility is tucked away inside a Hill Avenue plaza.
Publicity is just not who Greg Thompson is.
“I retired from the City of Toledo. I’m all set. This is what God had me do. This is not a job,” he said. “This is something I enjoy doing. I don’t need the billboards and the social media. I’m just a small-time guy and I’m just here to service people with disabilities and that’s it.”
The Toledoan was a highly-touted football recruit who ended up at San Diego State University before a knee injury derailed those dreams and sent him back home.
Now 51 and still built like a football player, he is President/Director of Operations of an agency born out of a place of love for people, especially those who are underrepresented.
“I had people in my family with developmental disabilities and I was always helping with them,” he said. “I always said one day I’d love to serve people with developmental disabilities to see they are being treated right and let them understand that just because they had a disability that they don’t have just a specific crowd they have to be around.”
That started in 2008 when he became an independent provider while also working for the City of Toledo. His career at the City spanned 21 years working with at-risk youth as a youth advocate for kids on probation and in the Public Utilities Department working on safety training and as an alternate maintenance supervisor.
After retiring from the City, the independent provider became a full-fledged agency in 2018.
“My background has always been in management,” he said. “The No. 1 thing I deal with is safety. Training, compliance, integrity. Even though this is my company, I make sure every staff person gets trained to the fullest. We stay on top of the training, on top of what’s new, and try our best to implement them. Compliance is everything. I’m persistent and consistent in the nicest way that I can.”
Thompson Total Home Care is one of more than 600 providers Lucas DD works with to serve the nearly 5,000 individuals in Lucas County with developmental disabilities.
“Greg shows up,” said Nichole Longeway, a service and support coordinator at Lucas DD. “He always ensures that the individuals he serves feel heard, respected, and valued. Working with him inspires me to do this work well, because of his complete devotion to our individuals.”
About 10 employees work for Greg, whose agency serves more than 30 individuals. Ask him for a success story and he’ll give you more than 30 stories.
“I’m proud of all of them,” Thompson says the individuals served. “All of my individuals are a success story to me. It’s about changing their outlooks and their ways and trying to be better to do better things for themselves.”
Greg Thompson is a people person. You can see the joy he has in what he does as walks around the individuals attending his day program. The old running back still moves quick, getting his truck ready to take individuals to their activities across the city.
“I love Toledo to death and that’s why I came back home,” he said. “I’m going to continue to be here and work with my individuals and have my agency for a long time. I love seeing their smiling faces in the morning. It’s a joy for me. It’s something that I love to do.”