Celebrating 60 years of excellence: Healthkeeperz reflects on its legacy in home-based care

By Samantha Metheny, posted May 1, 2026 on BizFayetteville.com

Founded by Howard Brooks, Tim Brooks’ father, Healthkeeperz began as a small community pharmacy in Pembroke in 1966. Photo provided by Healthkeeperz.

Healthkeeperz, a company that provides home-based care to community members throughout the state of North Carolina, recently celebrated 60 years in business. Healthkeeperz commemorated this anniversary by hosting their annual Barnabas Banquet in the Grand Ballroom of the Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst, N.C., on Friday, March 20, 2026.

President and CEO of Healthkeeperz, Tim Brooks, welcomed the opportunity to celebrate Healthkeeperz employees who provide clients with quality care, services and medical equipment throughout the state of North Carolina.

Founded by Howard Brooks, Tim Brooks’ father, Healthkeeperz began as a small community pharmacy in Pembroke in 1966. At that time, Healthkeeperz was called Pembroke Drug Center.

“My dad was the local community pharmacist that everybody knew and everybody used. And so I grew up the son of a pharmacist,” Brooks shared. “I saw him many times leaving the house at like nine o’clock to help somebody get their medicine. He would build a lot of community goodwill in many different ways.”

Brooks said that the evolution of Pembroke Drug Center into Healthkeeperz was the result of a gradual addition of services and equipment offered to community members. His father would see the changing needs of the members of his community and adjust his business in order to accommodate those needs.

“Toward the late 80s, he ventured into the space where he sold medical equipment like hospital beds and wheelchairs and adult diapers,” Brooks said. “His first foray into a different line of work was home medical equipment. That had kind of built on itself over the next 10 years. Not long after that, being an entrepreneur, he tried his hand at home care or personal care, which is a licensed service where nursing assistants go into homes and provide support to people who need that support. So he was really one of the first people in this area to develop that business.”

At the foundation of the Healthkeeperz business lies principles for operating with integrity. Healthkeeperz mission is to “care for all people for the glory of God.” Brooks notes that this mission statement drives everything that Healthkeeperz does and even changes the way that the leadership of the organization makes decisions. When similar organizations were faced with difficult decisions related to staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic, Healthkeeperz resolved to use cash reserves to cover payroll expenses in an effort to care for the employees.

Brooks recalled, “We didn’t know what was coming. We didn’t know how we were going to be able to do it. But we said that for as long as we can, we want to help people maintain their salaries or compensation… We made that decision because of that mission statement. So we want to care for people, and this is a way we can care for people in a really difficult time. That’s just one example where our mission statement drove a decision.”

Brooks presented awards to two individuals within the Healthkeeperz organization during the Barnabas Awards Banquet in order to show appreciation for their character, integrity and competency. The Barnabas Award is Healthkeeperz’s internal recognition for team members who embody quality care, encouragement and the company’s core values. The name for this award is derived from a man in the Bible who is known as the “Son of Encouragement.”

Brooks shared, “We believe our corporate culture drives excellence for the quality of care that we deliver, and culture is going to drive the performance and financial sustainability of the company. So we pour a great deal of effort and energy into building and growing a really good corporate culture. That’s what the Barnabas Banquet is all about.”

Every quarter, employees are asked to nominate someone who they believe provides exceptional care for clients or patients and encourages the people around them. The Barnabas Award is given to one employee every quarter, and the annual Barnabas Award winner is selected from the four quarterly award winners.

This year’s annual Barnabas Award winner was Price-Critchley. Price-Critchley is the regional director for the Western North Carolina CAP Division and leads a team of 20 case managers.

Concerning Kimberly, Brooks said, “She’s just one of these people who goes above and beyond in her care for the people she leads… She cares for people, her members, her beneficiaries. She’s a jewel and we’re so thankful she’s a part of the Healthkeeperz team.”

Additionally, Mr. Howard Brooks was also awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Banquet. He was recognized for his decades of faithful service and positive community impact.

Tim Brooks noted the faith and character of Howard by saying, “My dad is so humble. I really want him to appreciate what everybody else is enjoying. Because of his commitment to care for people, everybody else is enjoying this opportunity to work and earn a living in this company that values and incorporates faith. He started that. That was his vision.”

Tim Brooks described Howard’s lifetime efforts to build a legacy of caring for people in his immediate community. Those efforts have multiplied into a home-based care business that provides essential services for roughly 5,000 people per year across North Carolina.

“What I saw my dad doing, and I still see him doing, is caring for people. If there’s a member of my family who is sick, he’ll come see me just to be sure I’m okay. If my kids are sick, that’s when I’m going to get a call,” Brooks shared. “If there’s something that I’ve seen in my dad that’s been consistent, it’s that he cares for people, and he has this great empathy for people and wants to be with them and help them in their time of need. That’s something that I think marks his life.”

For more information about Healthkeeperz, visit their website at www.healthkeeperz.com.

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