Think about a loved one who wants to live at home, surrounded by family and familiar places, but struggles to manage daily life alone. Without the right support, simple routines can become overwhelming, families often feel exhausted trying to balance care with their own responsibilities, and independence slowly fades away. This is why home- and community-based care is so important-it allows people to remain in their own homes, stay connected to their communities, and live with dignity, while families gain peace of mind knowing their loved ones are cared for.
Carrying this vision forward are leaders who see beyond business and focus on people, building organizations rooted in compassion, skilled caregiving, and strong relationships. Among them is Michael Kotzen, President and CEO of Amivie, who has dedicated his career to creating systems that place people at the center.
At Amivie, he leads with a focus on helping individuals live independently while ensuring caregivers and families feel supported. His responsibilities include setting the company’s strategic direction, overseeing operations, shaping its culture, and guiding mergers and acquisitions—carefully bringing new businesses into the Amivie family while preserving their legacy.
Under his leadership, Amivie has grown from serving just a few hundred clients to supporting over 8,000 individuals across six states with a dedicated workforce of more than 8,000 caregivers. Revenues are approaching $300M, and the company has successfully completed 46 acquisitions, each one strengthening its ability to deliver high-quality care.
Achieving national accreditations through CHAP (Community Health Accreditation Partner) and CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) further reflects Michael Kotzen commitment to quality, showing that Amivie consistently sets standards higher than industry requirements. These milestones highlight how his leadership has turned vision into reality, blending operational expertise with a deep commitment to relationships and making Amivie a growing business and a trusted name in compassionate care that transforms the organization and the lives it touches.
| Metric | Value |
| Initial Scale | ~300 clients and caregivers |
| Current Client Base | 8,000+ clients across six states |
| Revenue | Nearly $300 million |
| Team Size | ~8,000 members |
| Mergers & Acquisitions | 46 businesses integrated into Amivie |
From Finance to Healthcare
Michael Kotzen began his career in administrative and finance roles at Virtua Health, a major hospital system in Southern New Jersey. Over the next 25 years, he steadily advanced through leadership positions and played an important role in transforming the organization from a traditional hospital system into an integrated delivery network that offered everything from preventive care to post-acute services.
During the final seven years of his time at Virtua, Michael Kotzen served as Chief Operating Officer, where he was responsible for overseeing strategy, operations, and organizational culture. This role gave him broad experience in guiding large-scale change while keeping people at the center of decision-making.
In 2017, he embraced a new chapter in his career and moved to North Carolina to lead Community Based Care, which later grew and evolved into Amivie. What attracted him most to the opportunity was the mission—helping people live their fullest lives in their homes and communities.
While his professional journey prepared him for the responsibilities of leading Amivie, it is Michael Kotzen personal belief in dignity, independence, and compassionate care that continues to shape his leadership style. For him, success is not only about growth but about ensuring that every individual supported by Amivie is treated with respect and given the chance to thrive.
Helping People Live Their Fullest Lives
Amivie’s story began with a simple but powerful mission-to help people live their fullest lives. Originally founded as Community-Based Care, the company was built on the belief that individuals thrive best when they can remain in their homes and communities rather than rely on institutional care. From the very beginning, the focus was on building lasting relationships, understanding each person’s unique goals, and providing personalized support through skilled caregivers and clinical supervision.
The early days reinforced an important lesson: true impact comes from delivering care and from doing so with compassion, dignity, and respect. These values shaped Amivie’s direction and continue to guide its evolution, forming the foundation of its mission.
Mission
- Provide personalized support that helps people achieve their best health and live life to the fullest.
- Connect individuals with the right team of professionals in their own communities.
- Deliver care with compassion, dignity, and convenience.
Vision
- Deliver exceptional home and community-based services across the country.
- Create meaningful and fulfilling careers for team members.
- Honor the unique aspirations of every individual served.
Today, Amivie continues to expand while staying true to its purpose-supporting independence, fostering dignity, and helping every individual thrive in the place they call home.
Principles That Define Amivie’s Culture
Guided by its mission and vision, Amivie is anchored in a set of core values that shape every decision, interaction, and relationship:
- Collaboration: The team believes in working together through open communication and shared goals, knowing that true success comes from collective effort.
- Inclusion: They create a safe and welcoming environment where every person is respected for their inherent worth and dignity.
- Compassion: They care deeply about the people they support, their families, and their colleagues, always treating others with kindness and understanding.
- Safety: The health and safety of those they serve and their teammates remain a top priority at all times.
- Integrity: They are committed to doing the right thing for the right reason, consistently and without compromise.
Together, these values form the heart of Amivie’s culture, ensuring that every action reflects its purpose and its promise to the people it serves.
Voices That Reflect Amivie’s Impact
Amivie’s mission and values are not just words on paper-they come to life every day through the dedication of its team members and the impact felt by the people they serve.
One surveyor captured it well:
“The team members do an outstanding job of working together for both the individual and the greater good of the organization and community served.”
-CARF Surveyor
A client also shared heartfelt gratitude:
These reflections highlight how Amivie’s commitment to compassion, teamwork, and excellence directly touches lives, reinforcing the values that guide the organization every day.
Commitment to Excellence
Quality and compliance are at the heart of Amivie’s work. The company has built strong systems and structures to ensure caregivers receive proper training and mentorship. It also closely tracks performance through quality indicators, making sure that every client receives the highest level of care possible.
Welcoming New Talent and Navigating Role Transitions
As Amivie continued to grow, its leadership structure needed to evolve as well. This meant welcoming new external talent while also transitioning some existing team members into different roles within the organization. The process was not always easy-especially for those moving from long-standing, prominent positions into new responsibilities. Yet many of them not only adapted but thrived, demonstrating resilience and commitment. For Michael Kotzen, this experience underscored the importance of transparency, open communication, and supporting people through change-principles that continue to shape his leadership approach today.
Growth also required strengthening the organization itself. As Amivie expanded, its operations, systems, and processes evolved to meet the demands of a larger scale. Despite these shifts, the company’s mission and culture have remained constant. By keeping clients and caregivers at the center of every decision, Amivie has built a strong foundation that enables it to thrive even during times of change and challenge.
Relationships at the Heart of Care
At Amivie, relationships form the foundation of everything they do. The company places a strong emphasis on building trust with caregivers, clients, and families so that care is effective, personal, and supportive. This commitment extends to case managers as well, with improved communication and responsiveness making the process of securing services smoother and more reliable.
Mergers and acquisitions have also been central to Amivie’s growth, and here too relationships remain a priority. The leadership team approaches every partnership with deep respect, honoring the legacy of sellers while seamlessly integrating their companies into the Amivie family. By doing so, they preserve what has been built and expand the impact of that work to reach more people in need.
The Growing Shift Toward Home-Based Care
Michael Kotzen sees a clear and accelerating trend in the healthcare industry toward individuals receiving more care at home rather than in institutional settings. This shift reflects client preference and broader changes in how healthcare is being delivered nationwide. Amivie is well-positioned to adapt to this transformation, with plans to expand its workforce and extend its reach to meet the rising demand.
The company is also exploring new and innovative services designed to help clients thrive in their homes, ensuring they maintain independence, dignity, and a higher quality of life. By staying ahead of these trends, Amivie is preparing to influence the future of care while remaining true to its mission of supporting people in the communities where they live.
Recognition and Accreditations
Amivie’s impact is recognized by the people it serves and through formal industry validations:
- Client and Family Appreciation: Clients and their families regularly acknowledge the team’s dedication and the positive impact of Amivie’s services, making this the most meaningful recognition.
- CHAP Accreditation: Amivie has achieved CHAP accreditation, demonstrating adherence to nationally recognized standards of quality and care.
- CARF Accreditation: The company is also accredited by CARF, further confirming the high standard of its service delivery.
- Trusted Third-Party Validation: These accreditations serve as independent validation, reinforcing Amivie’s commitment to consistent, client-centered care.
Client Success Stories
One inspiring story comes from Amivie’s IDD services program, where a determined individual recently secured a job at the new Whataburger in Greensboro, North Carolina. After working hard to build his job readiness skills at home and in the community, he was hired and invited to a special VIP event, where he proudly received an award for Pride, Care, and Love-recognition of the positive impact he is already making.
According to his mom, none of this would have been possible without the amazing team of staff and support behind him, who have guided and encouraged him every step of the way.
Another example comes from Rhode Island, where a branch manager connected with the son of a veteran who had recently been under Amivie’s care before passing away. The family expressed heartfelt gratitude for the support they received, noting that even though their father was with Amivie for only a short time, the care made a meaningful difference in his life and theirs. A thoughtful card from the team after his passing further demonstrated Amivie’s genuine compassion and commitment to the people they serve.
Responsive Care Through Feedback Loops
Amivie actively gathers feedback from clients and their families, informally and through structured surveys. One of the most important insights they received highlighted the need for continuous and consistent communication with family stakeholders. In response, the company implemented specific processes to ensure updates were more frequent, clear, and timely. This change strengthened trust, improved satisfaction, and reinforced Amivie’s commitment to delivering personalized, attentive care.
The Cornerstones of Effective Leadership
Michael Kotzen believes that the most important quality of a leader is embracing a servant leadership mindset. He views integrity, authenticity, and humility as the hallmarks of strong leadership. While challenges are inevitable in business, he emphasizes that it is a leader’s consistency and transparency that guide an organization through difficult times. For Michael Kotzen, people look to leaders for their words and actions-and it is when actions align with words that trust is earned and others are truly inspired.
Michael Kotzen’s 5 Impactful Business Mantras
- Put People First: Focus on supporting clients, families, and teams.
- Lead with Integrity: Align actions with words to build trust.
- Serve to Lead: Empower others and prioritize their needs.
- Pursue Excellence: Strive for quality, growth, and continuous improvement.
- Build Strong Relationships: Foster trust, collaboration, and lasting connections.
