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Tonya Jackson had a comfortable life as a head nurse at the Washington Hospital Center a few years ago, until her husband, David, gave her a little push to do more with her life — and for others.

"I had attorneys and nursing homes asking me to do consulting, and my husband said, ‘Why don't you start your own business?'" said Jackson, 34, founder and president of Agape Health, a Fort Washington health care consulting and staffing company.

"I was torn because it was very scary thinking about going out on my own," she said. "But he said he had some money saved up and we used about $20,000 to start me working out of my home, and used that for marketing and Web site development and getting all the different certifications I would need."

So the Jacksons stepped out on faith — literally, because Agape has a biblical reference meaning "love" or "charity," said Jackson, who said her father has his own general contracting company and there are other entrepreneurs in the family.

Faith and hard work have helped Agape Health gain a foothold in the growing field of health care, with clients including Maryland Community Connection of Landover, the Montgomery County Medical Assistance Personal Care Program, CHI Centers of Silver Spring and the Arc of Southern Maryland. Jackson, a registered nurse, has a master's in health care administration, and is a certified director of nursing administration in long-term care, among her achievements.

Agape, with 10 employees, specializes in home health care, health care and medical consulting, case management, health care education and staffing, by providing certified home health aides and personal care assistants, homemakers, companions and registered nurses.

In just a few years Agape has seen revenues rise to "about $300,000" last year, Jackson said, with "about $500,000" her goal for 2008

"Tonya's business provides us the medical support we need for our individuals with developmental disabilities," said André Burno Coates, executive director of Maryland Community Connection, a Landover nonprofit that helps individuals with developmental disabilities.

"Sometimes with people in the community, when they got to the doctor, sometimes it's rushed, and the doctor doesn't explain fully what is going on," Coates said. "Tonya goes to the home, explains what medical care is needed, goes over what is needed if the person has diabetes or high blood pressure. She's also helps with health and safety training for our staff to make sure they understand what the individual has, what we should be looking for."

Originally from Wilmington, N.C., Jackson began to feel the call for a career in nursing and health care when she was in college and helped take care of her grandmother. After earning a nursing degree at Winston-Salem (N.C.) State University, she came to Georgetown Medical Center and later worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Washington Hospital Center.

Agape's first contract was "$58,000 … for work as a case monitor for the Montgomery County Medical Assistance Personal Care Program" she said. "I was overseeing the aides who go into the home to work with people who need medical assistance."

Jackson said Agape recently received approval from the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to work with Medicaid-eligible patients in the home.

"The living-at-home waiver program is for adults 18 to 65 who have significant disabilities and saves the state money, for these individuals to be able to live at home and be cared for, because it's so much more expensive if they were placed in a facility," said Dolle Brown, a provider specialist with the department in Baltimore.

"The people who need services pick from a list, of more than 100 agencies and independent providers who serve clients throughout the state," Brown said. "We're glad to have more providers on board because it gives people more choice."

A "constantly growing" part of her business is "our caseload for private pay," Jackson said. "And we are working with trust attorneys, where we assist with the medical planning and medical casework for their clients."

Her husband also helps out, Jackson said: "He handles the business side, the payroll accounting, and I handle the operations."

It has not been easy running their own business, Jackson said.

"We have had hard times, to the point where we thought we would not make it," said Jackson, who lives with her husband and two children in Oxon Hill. "But every time it came to a point where we thought we couldn't make it, something came through."