Close to half of the US COVID-19 fatalities are tied to nursing homes, long-term care centers, and their workers.[1] Frightened by the possibility of contracting a potentially fatal disease, seniors with the means to hire caregivers are choosing the safety and security of staying home. With the number of Americans age 65 and older more than doubling from 46 million in 2016 to more than 98 million by 2060, companies are racing to capitalize on the opportunity[2]
Innovative companies need to move quickly to take advantage of this exploding market. Indeed, continuing care retirement community (CCRCs) companies like Sun Health and Springpoint Choice have already launched rapidly growing “CCRC at Home” offerings[3].
While many home health care companies seek to compete on price, for the institutional senior care company servicing the seniors at home, there is an enormous opportunity to compete on quality. Institutional care organizations that focus on providing quality home care can net substantial additional revenue and profits.
Four ways to capitalize on this opportunity:
- Launch or expand a high-quality home care business serving customers and their families
- Enable caregivers with quality programs and infrastructure
- Employ home care technology to attract, support, retain, and grow a base of customer and families
- Expand the business purpose and capture strategic value
1. Launch or expand a high-quality home care business serving customers and their families
Nearly 90% of seniors want to stay in their homes[4] and live under one’s own rules. The senior home care market is twice as large as institutional care[5]. Seniors at home are looking for security and safety. They want quality caregivers who empathize with them while at the same time providing the care that they need.
Papa, a platform that connects college students to senior citizens for companionship and assistance, gained additional investment funding in 2020[6]. With 75 percent of Americans over 65 living with multiple chronic health conditions, ranging from diabetes to dementia[7] they are especially in need of home care for their specific ailments. High-quality care companies need to target the private payer market – seniors and their families.
2. Enable caregivers with quality programs and infrastructure
High-quality care requires high-quality caregivers. Management must focus on attracting and retaining these scarce value creators. Attracting means offering a good salary and health insurance packages. Retaining means mentoring, coaching, and feedback, as well as and incentives for performance.
More and more innovative technology will be a differentiator for supporting, training, and retaining caregivers, especially when that technology improves communication with their customers, family, friends, and co-workers. Primetime, an investment firm backing startups riding the “silver tsunami”, invested in Carewell, a website targeting caregivers that deliver products such as health-care supplies and meal replacements and provides education on home care[8].
Technology can also release Caregivers from many record-keeping duties by equipping customers with wrist band monitors for exercise, temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. With a remote communications hub, this information can be available 24/7.
3. Employ home care technology to attract, support, retain, and grow base of customer and families
A combination of telecare, telehealth, and human care will be essential for quality home care to reduce costs and provide quality services. Features like 24 hour care, connectivity, and security attract customers and families who want to assure loved ones are safe and secure. Low-cost non-invasive technologies can continuously monitor the senior at home.
Artificial intelligence and predictive analysis can anticipate problems before they occur. Anthropos is an example of such an innovative platform that monitors, discovers, and understands individuals’ behavioral patterns in their homes.[9] Home communications hubs enable caregivers, and family members access to the senior and information remotely.
Similarly, the senior has access to care, caregivers, family, and friends. As special conditions develop, telehealth can provide cost-effective home care for dealing with those conditions. More and more seniors will rely on the combined support of caregivers and care technologies. While turnover in caregivers is enormous, quality care technologies provide a concrete base for retaining customers.
4. Expand the business purpose and capture strategic value
The most important prerequisite to capturing strategic value is to understand how to create value. First and foremost, residents perceive value through direct interaction with caregivers. Innovative, high-quality organizations compensate all associates fairly.
They also provide training to help develop new skills for a rapidly changing world and tools to make their jobs easier. Respecting and rewarding employees enables the organization to deliver extraordinary value to residents, customers, and families. Innovative technology supports each constituent.
Good relationships with suppliers and their workers help achieve high-quality service to customers. Fair and ethical deals are critical for providers of goods and services, whether large or small.
Finally, supporting the local community can make a difference. Partnering with community organizations and local schools to offer education and career development for employees or certified caregiver training programs creates a pipeline of qualified caregivers.
Summary
Innovative companies can kick-start efforts to capitalize on the exploding demand for high-quality home health care by focusing on customers and their families, enabling caregivers with quality programs, and capturing strategic value. Those who act quickly and decisively can capture and retain market share
Bibliography
[1] New York Post, Almost half of US COVID-19 deaths are linked to nursing homes, Sara Dorn, June 27, 2020, https://nypost.com/2020/06/27/almost-half-of-us-covid-19-deaths-are-linked-to-nursing-homes/
[2] Fact Sheet: Aging in the United States, Population Reference Bureau July 15, 2019, https://www.prb.org/aging-unitedstates-fact-sheet/
[3] Sun Health At Home, Springpoint Choice Report Increased Interest in CCRC-at-Home Models By Andrew Donlan | August 16, 2020, https://homehealthcarenews.com/2020/08/sun-health-at-home-springpoint-choice-report-increased-interest-in-ccrc-at-home-models/
[4] Why Do Seniors Want to Stay in Their Homes? LeisureCare Senior Living Blog August 2007, https://www.leisurecare.com/resources/why-do-seniors-want-to-stay-home/
[5] Older Americans 2020: Key Indicators of Well-Being pg. 58, https://agingstats.gov/docs/LatestReport/OA20_508_10142020.pdf
[6] Papa pairs older adults and families with Papa Pals for companionship and assistance with everyday tasks. We offer programs to health plans, providers, employers, and consumers. Papa is a platform that connects college students to senior citizens for companionship and assistance., https://www.joinpapa.com/
[7] Healthy Aging Facts, National Council on Aging, Blog & News 2018, https://www.ncoa.org/news/resources-for-reporters/get-the-facts/healthy-aging-facts/
[8] Venture capital firm, Primetime, backing startups riding the “silver tsunami” invested in Carewell https://www.carewell.com/ a website targeting caregivers that delivers products such as health-care supplies and meal replacements and provides education on home care. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-29/primetime-partners-vc-fund-makes-bet-on-aging-consumers
[9] Anthropos – Connected care for remote monitoring of older people at home, The platform is designed to monitor, discover and understand the behavioral patterns of individuals in their homes and other care settings., https://anthropos.io/
Congratulations Sheila and Tom, Nice, short and specific. Each of your four recommendations could be a follow-on blog or short video.
Thank you for this timely article. I am glad to see that innovative companies are providing more seniors the opportunity to stay in their homes.