A Special Section of the Mount Vernon Optic-Herald
E-mail: optic@mt-vernon.com-Thursday.July 29, 2010

The Best Boss in Franklin County in 2010, according to the readers of the Mount Vernon Optic-Herald is Mike Jordan. That distinction is quite remarkable when you claim approximately 11,000 employees, of which approximately 300 are based in Franklin County.

"It is easy to be a good boss when you have such great people working for you," Mr. Jordan said. "When you have as many long term employees as we have, everything works smoothly."

Mr. Jordan graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 1965. He earned his bachelors in business administration from East Texas State University in 1970. He was in the office equipment business in the Dallas area until 1979 when he returned to Mount Vernon to help with the family business.

His parents, Joe and Jean Jordan, began Jordan Health Services in 1975 as part of a pilot program for the State of Texas to try and keep people out of nursing homes. "The economy was bad in 1975. People needed jobs, and others needed care, "Mr. Jordan said. At that time, the company provided service to five counties.

Mr. Jordan bought Mission Manor Nursing Horne from his parents in 1979. They originally opened the facility in 1969. In 2000, Mr. Jordan and his siblings, Dale and Mickey, purchased the Jordan Health Services from their parents. Mike Jordan became the sole owner of the business in 2005, and doubled the size of the company in April 2006 with the purchase of Chartwell Horne Health.

Today, Jordan Health Services provides care from Beaumont up into Oklahoma and from Fort Worth and Waco to all over East Texas. As well as providing home health care, the company operates four nursing homes and four assisted living centers.

Mr. Jordan and his wife, Janet, have been married for 39 years. They have two children. Josh and his wife, Kayce, live in Mount Vernon with their children Emerson and Kate. Julianne and her husband, Jason Evans, live in the Dallas area with their children Gillis and Jordan.

In his spare time, Mr. Jordan likes to shoot skeet and hunt and fish, but he is finding that much of that time is now being spent with his grandchildren.

- Susan Reeves '10

About Jordan Health Services:
Jordan is an industry leader and prominent provider of home health services to both Medicare and Medicaid eligible patients, servicing the citizens of Texas since 1975. The company also services Miller County in Arkansas. Jordan is licensed to provide home care services by both the State of Texas and State of Arkansas. Jordan is continuing to expand its services through acquisitions and internal growth.