Providing medical home care services
Home healthcare agencies provide medical care to patients who don’t need to be hospitalized but do need medical support otherwise. Professional caregivers are assigned to visit the homes of patients and give them the assistive care they need.
While some home healthcare workers are expected to provide medical treatment as well, mostly, they help with daily activities, such as eating, bathing, and more.
There are two types of care that a home healthcare agency provides. The first of these is medical care, which is provided by medical professionals. This can include wound care, monitoring blood pressure, helping with mental state, and more. The other type of care provided is non-medical in nature. This is where professional caregivers help a patient with their day-to-day life, such as providing meals, bathing, changing clothes, etc.
So how do you start a successful home healthcare agency? Here is everything you need to know:
1. Choose your business entity
There are several business structures for you to choose from, ranging from a sole proprietorship all the way to an LLC. The business entity you choose will have an impact on your taxes. Sole proprietors, for example, and their businesses, share the same legal status – they are seen as one entity. If you operate in a partnership, then you and your partner will share in the tax payment.
For this reason, it’s important to consider what the right business structure for your home healthcare agency is ahead of time.
2. Get your Employer Identification Number
Also known as the Federal Employer Identification Number, this is a unique nine-digit number that will be assigned to you by the Internal Revenue Service. This number is provided to all business entities operating within the country.
3. Registering with The Secretary of State
Both your business structure, as well as the state you’ll be operating your business out of, will have a say in how you will register your business. In most states, the process is easy. You’ll simply need to fill out your business name with the local and state governments and provide the necessary details.
It would be a good idea to check the website of the Secretary of State’s website for your state to see if your business name is available. You should also check to see if a domain name is available for your website. Once your business name is approved, you can go ahead and order letterheads, business cards, and brochures printed for your business.
4. Write your business plan
A business plan is a corporate dossier that contains various important details about your business. You start with an executive summary, provide a company description, write down what the services you offer are, and more. You should also think about your marketing plan, operational plan, as well as the financial plan.
5. Get a business bank account
Having a separate bank account for your business can better help you to manage and organize your business finances. Consider keeping your private and business bank accounts separate.
6. Finances and funding
During your initial startup phase, you should have all the funds you need to start your business. If you don’t, then you can secure funding by approaching banks as well as investors. They may ask to see your business plan first, which is why writing your business plan is an essential step.
7. State licensing requirements
The licenses you’ll need to offer non-medical home care can change from state to state. Aside from checking your local and state regulations to ensure that you have all the licenses you need, you may also have to attend training courses. This is to become certified in CPR or AED. Some states don’t require you to have special licenses. Depending on the state, you may also need to complete additional courses to provide home care services.
8. Create a website
As a home healthcare agency, you should have a professional website that potential clients can access with ease. The website should be easy to navigate and should provide clients with essential information about your services and how to reach you. The website should also be SEO optimized so as to rank higher on search engine pages.
9. Develop a marketing plan
You should first consider who your target market is. This should be older people and seniors, their adult children, as well as other relatives. Getting new clients can take time, but setting up a referral program by approaching institutions capable of providing you with referrals can speed things up. These include long-term care facilities, hospital discharge social workers, local physicians, senior centers, and more. Also, use Google Ads and Facebook ads to better target the market.
You’ll need social media business pages, and you’ll also need to update these regularly with quality content. Finally, gets reviews and testimonials from satisfied clients to draw in more clients.
10. Create a recruitment plan
You should both be able to hire quality caregivers, as well as retain them. To do this, you’ll need to provide them with training and recognize them for the good work they do. You can also train older employees to train newer ones.
11. Use software to automate processes
Accounting, billing, payroll, and other back-office processes can be automated using the software.
12. Formal policies and procedures
Creating formal procedures for everything, from scheduling to orientation, client billing, and more will help establish the procedures people need to follow.
13. Hiring founding staff members
Consider hiring employees that reflect your mission and vision. You want your employees to provide the best possible care to your clients. Hire certified nursing assistants, home health aides, and more. Consider bonding all your employees, if possible.
14. Compliance with caregiver training
The compliance requirements you need to meet can vary from state to state. Ensure that you have all the licenses, as well as caregiver training, needed to provide your home healthcare agency services.
Conclusion
These fourteen steps will help you set up a successful home healthcare agency. You should also consider home healthcare agency insurance. This is as, as a home healthcare agency owner, you’re exposed to certain career risks. You could, for example, be sued by an unsatisfied client and end up facing legal proceedings. During such times, home health business insurance can provide your business with the financial coverage needed to successfully deal with the situation. Home health agency insurance can help you protect your business, as well as your finances. Learn more about home healthcare business insurance.
