History and Achievements

Founded in 1997 in North Carolina, Preferred Alternatives, Inc. (PAI) is a privately-held health service provider and home care agency that provides a full array of supports to people with disabilities, psychiatric disorders, and other handicapping conditions.

PAI is the vision of a group of professionals dedicated to the concepts of inclusion, choice, and person-centered services. This vision is two-fold: 1) To create a company that provides the highest quality services to people who would be at risk of institutionalization without these supports; and 2) to create a work environment where employees feel they are validated for the meaningful contributions they make to the lives of the people they support.

In the last seven years, PAI has accumulated a long list of achievements. We have grown from a handful of employees supporting less than a dozen people into an organization that supports more than 300 individuals in two states with over 800 employees. We provide residential supports as well as day services and other wrap-around supports. We have demonstrated the ability to put services in place quickly. This is especially important to people who are in, or about to go into crisis.  The accomplishment of which we are most proud is our participation in the lives of dozens of people who have transitioned from hospitals, congregate living environments, and other institutional settings to the community where they live successfully in their own homes with supports provided by our agency. These people now have lives that reflect outcomes they have chosen.

In 2001, the Division of Mental Retardation Services invited us to become a full-service provider in Tennessee; Preferred Alternatives of TN was incorporated and now supports people in counties across the Middle and Eastern regions of the state. Our successes there have kept pace with those in NC. In the beginning we assumed operation of large, multi-bed group homes from a company in Eastern TN. Within a matter of weeks, we had successfully transitioned those folks into small homes of their own. In 2001, we supported 35 people; today, we support over 100. Behavior supports became our signature service. We successfully support many individuals with challenging behaviors and dual diagnoses (MI/MR). Again our greatest accomplishment has been helping the people we support transition to life in the community. Many people are experiencing successful lives outside an institution for the first time.

As we examine our future growth, PAI remains committed to providing the highest quality services to the people we support. We have always tailored supports to meet the needs of the individual, and we do this one person at a time. We encourage people to become independent and to use skills as they are acquired. Our mission is to support people in such a manner that allows them to be heard when it comes to making choices that impact their lives and their future.