Home care is a broad category of services primarily delivered by two main types of companies: home healthcare agencies and non-medical home care franchises or independent agencies.
Opening a home care business can give you the opportunity to help others while also making a living in a thriving industry. Before starting your business, though, you will need to decide whether you want to operate a non-medical home care franchise business or a home health business.
Below, we are comparing the home healthcare business model to its counterpart, non-medical home care.
Once you’re clear on what each model offers, you can determine which type of business is right for you.
Home Healthcare & Non-Medical Home Care: What’s the Difference?
Home healthcare and non-medical home care differ by the services they offer, as well as the types of regulations they must adhere to. Here’s a closer look at what distinguishes these two categories of care.
Defining Home Healthcare Services
Home healthcare can generally be described as nursing, clinical, and medical services delivered in the home of the client. These services are offered to individuals with chronic health conditions or those who are in the midst of recovery from an illness, injury, or recent hospital stay.
In contrast to healthcare provided outside of the home, these services allow the patient to remain in the comfort of their familiar living environment. Home healthcare businesses offer services such as:
- Wound care
- Physical therapy
- Patient education
- Medication administration
- And other medical services
The main goal of this care type is to provide patients with assistance as they manage specific health issues. This in turn helps them avoid spending time in a medical facility, which can be disruptive to their home life and also brings the risk of contracting hospital-acquired infections.
Defining Non-Medical Home Care Services
Non-medical home care, in contrast, is concentrated on supporting care recipients with their daily activities. This form of care is often delivered to older individuals encountering age-related challenges at home due to cognitive or physical decline.
Non-medical home care franchises and independent agencies can offer services such as:
- Assistance with bathing, grooming, dressing, and other personal activities
- Help around the home, including basic housekeeping and meal preparation
- Reminders to take medications, attend appointments, and exercise
- Companionship and transportation for errands and appointments
While non-medical home care does not cover nursing, care plans often utilize input from a client’s healthcare providers. Clients who have recently been discharged from the hospital or are recovering from an injury can still benefit from home care as long as they do not require medical assistance.
Key Considerations for Home Healthcare Businesses
The more specialized nature of the services offered by home healthcare agencies brings about specific considerations. Here are some aspects of this business model, both benefits and challenges, that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Specialized Service Offerings
Home healthcare agencies offer a more advanced level of support and a wider range of services than non-medical home care franchises and agencies. As a one-stop shop for care, they cover a broader spectrum of needs with more numerous income streams.
Demanding Regulations
However, in order to provide the medical services that form the foundation of their businesses, home healthcare agencies are subject to stricter and more numerous regulations than their non-medical counterparts. This often results in a longer, more expensive, and more challenging process for getting the business up and running, as well as concerns with remaining in compliance over time.
Caregiver Staffing Challenges
Home healthcare businesses also require more specialized staff to deliver their services, such as licensed nurses and physical therapists. Recruitment is, therefore, often an issue for employers as the pool of potential candidates is smaller and the salaries higher. This is particularly true considering the current caregiver shortage, which has made recruitment one of the most difficult aspects of running a home healthcare agency.
Lower Market Demand
Finally, while home healthcare businesses are able to offer a broader range of services, they may actually have a smaller market to serve as their increased costs make their services less affordable to families.
It’s essential to conduct plenty of in-depth market research before opening a home healthcare business to ensure there’s adequate demand in your area and that the services you offer will be accessible to the families in your community.
Key Considerations for Non-Medical Home Care Franchise
While non-medical home care franchises offer fewer specialized services than their home healthcare counterparts, this can bring numerous advantages to the business model. Here’s a look at some of those benefits.
Breadth of Services
Non-medical home care franchises cannot offer healthcare services, meaning they are not able to accommodate needs for clinical or skilled care. However, they can still offer a wide range of specialized services covering some of the most common age-related care requirements, including help with challenging conditions.
For example, Senior Helpers® non-medical home care franchises offer a unique Alzheimer’s and dementia care program called Senior Gems®, as well as tailored care for seniors with Parkinson’s disease. Thanks to our non-medical home care franchise, elderly adults coping with difficult issues can remain in the familiarity and comfort of home and feel supported as they do so.
Lower Barrier to Entering the Industry
Non-medical home care franchises also have the advantage of being easier to establish. The process for getting licensed and starting a business in this category is less difficult, costly, and time-intensive in most states when compared to home healthcare businesses.
This is especially true for Senior Helpers franchisees, who have the advantage of in-depth online and in-classroom training, one-on-one coaching, and ongoing access to supportive resources and education programs. In fact, you can open a Senior Helpers franchise in as little as 8 to 12 weeks following approval, a timeline that is significantly shorter than with a home healthcare business. This makes non-medical home care franchises a more attractive option for entrepreneurs who want to jump into this skyrocketing industry as quickly as possible.
Improved Recruitment Opportunities
Recruiting is also an easier endeavor for non-medical home care franchises. As there is a larger pool of potential caregivers and less stringent requirements, you can focus your caregiver recruitment process on making the best hires for your workplace culture.
Senior Helpers franchisees enjoy a simplified process for recruiting caregivers thanks to our caregiver staffing referrals, robust hiring and onboarding systems, and training resources. We are also the only national home care brand that has been Great Place to Work® certified for the past five years, which helps draw in high-quality caregiver candidates.
More Affordable Service Offerings
As the services offered by non-medical home care franchises are more affordable for families with varying budgets, you can open your business up to a much broader market and serve more seniors in your community.
Potential clients could range from elderly adults with mobility issues to families who need help with their caregiving responsibilities, as well as individuals who have been diagnosed with challenging conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Most importantly, they’ll be more likely to call on you for help as they encounter new needs throughout their aging journey when they know they can afford your services.
Open a Non-Medical Home Care Franchise with the Support of Senior Helpers
Are you interested in enjoying the advantages of opening a non-medical home care franchise in a community that is near and dear to your heart? Partnering with Senior Helpers could be the right choice for a smooth path to business ownership.
From our simple turnkey business model to our ongoing support for franchisees, extensive range of services, and stellar reputation among both families and caregivers nationwide, there are plenty of reasons to open a franchise under our celebrated brand name. With more than 600 franchise territories available across the country, you’ll have the chance to start a thriving non-medical home care franchise location in a community near you.
Of course, when it comes to running any type of business that focuses on helping the most vulnerable members of your community, it’s not only your bottom line that matters. We are also a top choice among compassionate entrepreneurs who want to make a difference thanks to our company’s core values. Our people-first focus makes the needs of seniors and their families our top priority day in and day out. This means you can feel confident that we’ll equip you with the skills and resources you need to provide high-quality support to the people in your care and total peace of mind for their families.
Learn More By Contacting the Team at Senior Helpers Today!
If our franchise sounds like a good fit for you, take a quick look at our requirements for franchise candidates:
- A net worth of $200,000 or more
- A minimum of $55,000 in liquid capital
- Excellent communication skills
- A passion for helping others
- A motivated, self-starter attitude
Note that no prior experience in home care or healthcare is needed to become a franchisee or to succeed as a non-medical home care business owner when you partner with Senior Helpers!
Ready to learn more about our non-medical home care franchise opportunities? Contact us today or book a call with the Senior Helpers franchise development team for details about becoming a franchisee.