When is it Time for You to Consider Non-Medical Home Care?

One dilemma often faced by families is deciding when elderly parents require the help of senior caregivers. It can be easy to miss the signs that your parents are struggling to cope with daily living. Of course, nobody enjoys being told that they are incapable of caring for themselves. Furthermore, many seniors are reluctant to request assistance, out of concern they will be taken from their homes.

Grown children should involve their parents in the decision to use a senior care franchise. This way, the parents will feel in control rather than powerless. Fortunately elderly people can still live independent, active lives at home, with the help of a home care professional. These compassionate workers provide the one to one assistance that allows favorite activities and essential tasks to be completed easily.

So, how do you know when it’s time to consider in-home care? There are numerous warning signs to be aware of that suggest your parents may need a senior caregiver. These include a decline in personal cleanliness, such as body odor, fewer showers, and a more unkempt physical appearance. Also, if your parents are ill, they might not be eating properly. Check their fridge for junk food, or food past the sell by date. They might have an empty fridge as well, or experience unexpected weight gain or weight loss. Booking an appointment with your parent’s doctor is recommended, if you notice any of the above signs.

As we get older, completing household chores often becomes more of a challenge. If your parent’s house starts to look untidy, or smells unclean, it may indicate that they require a bit of help. Also, many people have to manage their time carefully, to pay bills, keep appointments, open mail and pursue hobbies etc. If your parents are struggling to get everything done, this could be cause for concern. Moreover, if your elderly loved ones have been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, a home care franchise can be particularly helpful. These agencies specialize in caring for those suffering from various forms of dementia.

Professional care for seniors provides real hope to older people who need a little help with their daily lives. Often, with this kind of non-medical assistance, seniors can retain their independence and enjoy life to the fullest. Obviously, this is the type of thing you can't put a price on, although thankfully in most situations in-home care is a very affordable option when compared with the alternatives.

5 Helpful Tips for Hiring In-Home Caregivers

When running a senior care franchise, one immediate challenge you will face is the need to hire staff. Throughout the first phase of your venture, you will probably end up completing a whole range of tasks, until your business takes off. Ultimately however, you will have to hire staff, because you only have one set of hands. Here is some proven advice on how to recruit the most suitable employees for your senior care franchise.

Plan Your Strategy Correctly

All good entrepreneurs realize that success is normally achieved only when an effective plan is in place. This certainly applies to recruiting caregivers for your company. Prior to the recruitment process, decide how you will choose the people you work with. You should research salary and benefits packages, because this will attract better quality applicants. You could also use an incentive program, because this will improve your staff retention rate immeasurably.

Know the Needs of Seniors

Take the time to learn what your customers need and want, with regards to their care. Listen to what they ask for. Note the types of personalities they react well to. Be aware of the particular challenges faced by your group of seniors. By evaluating and comprehending the unique requirements of your customers, you can recruit caregivers who are best qualified to satisfy those requirements.

Get as Much Exposure as Possible

Although you will save money and time by restricting your marketing and hiring efforts, you will only sabotage your home care franchise over the long term. Find out where best to hunt for new recruits, and exploit these marketing avenues as much as possible. Don't forget that you should use both conventional media platforms (such as employment publications and newspapers), as well as more modern methods (online job boards, forums and social media, etc). This way, you will be found by a large number of high caliber candidates.

Prepare for Interviews the Right Way

Decide what questions to ask, and be ready to respond to the applicant's questions about your company with confidence and an abundance of knowledge. However, do not spend the whole interview looking down at your notes, because it is important to maintain eye contact and engage with candidates directly. By doing this, you can judge whether they have the necessary people skills to add value to your organization. Take heed of the above advice, and you will be well on your way to finding the top talent, who can take your business to the next level.

Great Caregivers are Key to Your Home Care Franchise

The average age of citizens in American cities is rising. This fact has inspired people to open businesses geared towards an aging population. Most seniors live in their own homes which can be excellent for their health, but also good for the entrepreneur who has a heart for older people. Now might be the perfect time to consider opening a non medical home care franchise.

What is a Franchise?

A large company will sometimes sell to business owners the right to use their name, slogan, and logo to operate their own business. In this arrangement, the original company regards the franchise as independently owned and operated. Many home care facilities are organized as franchises.

With home care businesses, the owner earns money by providing non-medical home care. They also help consumers find accredited, high-quality assisted living.

Support for the Franchise

You won't be on your own if you work with a strong home care organization - one that supports its team of franchise owners. There will be support from headquarters and from a local branch as well. They help prepare new branch owners for licensing and assist in finding training programs for staff.

Hiring the Right People

Various levels of training and certification are required by employees. Some just need a first aid certificate and screening for a criminal record. For a non-medical caregiver, compassion and patience are more important than a degree. Skilled caregivers must be compassionate and have obtained some nursing qualifications.

Keeping Good Care Givers

Your in HYPERLINK "http://www.franchisewithalwaysbestcare.com/"home care franchise will do well with excellent people representing you, but the turnover rate in this industry is extreme. Caregivers are left to deal with traumatic situations but not given enough training and support to grow professionally or to cope. Clients are sometimes injured in the presence of the home care worker. Death is a reality when one's clients are elderly. Emergencies occur even when safe guards are in place. A non-medical employee wants to feel confident helping a client who is seriously injured in his home.

With support from head office, franchisees know where to access programs to upgrade and maintain employees' skills. This way, they never feel overwhelmed by situations or fearful about handling emergencies.

Examining the Details of Elder Care Business Opportunities

Home care franchises have seen a phenomenal growth spurt during the past six decades. Senior care franchises are among the fastest growing business entities today. One reason home health care franchises witness tremendous growth is because they do not cost large amounts of money to open. A person can start a senior care franchise for as little as $150,000, in comparison to more than $500,000 for a food-related franchise.

Low Initial Start-Up Costs and High Revenues

Besides the fact that elder care business opportunities cost less money as start-up businesses, they also tend to yield high revenues for budding business entrepreneurs. With more and more baby boomers reaching ripe old ages, the average home health care franchise witnesses a whopping $2 million revenue per year.

Senior Care Franchises Seek Opportunities Abroad

Home care franchises are not limited to American-based locations. On the contrary, as other countries witness growing elderly populations in need of additional care in their own homes, more home care businesses are open to international expansion. 

Insurance Companies Recognize Home Health Care Franchises

Senior care franchises are more readily recognized by insurance companies obligated to follow complex laws proposed by various governmental agencies. Recognition means that franchise owners have improved chances to receive help from lobbyists who influence legal regulatory changes.

Franchises Enable Seniors to Live in Their Own Homes

Senior care services enable older seniors to avoid living in nursing homes or similar facilities. Instead, seniors can stay in their own homes and receive needed care. The chance to live at home instead of in a nursing home is an opportunity every senior welcomes. Consequently, people who start a senior care franchise perform good deeds that benefit older senior citizens.

Check out the Different Available Franchises

Of course, a person who is interested in finding the best senior care franchise needs to do homework that involves extensive online research. Some franchises provide skilled nursing services needed by chronically ill seniors, while other non-medical home care franchises do not offer these types of services. Interested persons can read online reviews written by current senior care franchise owners.

Are Your Home Care Business Blogs Brimming with Info?

Franchise home care business owners who want to successfully promote their services need to become established locally as the "go to" expert on current issues related to in-home senior care services through an active website.  Your website should have an informative and entertaining blog that is updated often. The best senior care franchises provide blog content for their franchise owners but that content, when used by 300 or more national franchises, is no longer original. What you need is not this duplicated content, but original content that is fresh and locally focused.

How do you accomplish this? 

In-home senior care is serious business, but your writing style needs to be engaging enough to keep your readers interested in perusing each article and returning for more.  That's assuming you have the writing skills necessary to create your own blogs. If you don't, you need to hire someone to write them and be your business’ "face" for the purpose of marketing.  Consistency in your messages and accountability for your content is vital. The reputation of your business depends upon it. Check what your writer produces before posting it. Keep the posts to between 300 to 700 words long. 

The more frequently you add articles to your home care business website, the more website traffic you attract. One new blog per week is the minimum goal. Make blogging a key component of your overall marketing plan. Make two to four key points in your blog topic. Think about your readers and not generating key words on Google. One key word set is sufficient. Choose a topic on which the adult child of an elderly parent would appreciate more information. Catch your readers' attention by beginning with a question or adding photographs to your articles. Inexpensive photos are available at BigStockPhot.com and other sites.  Engage readers' interest with amusing titles, keeping them to 65 characters or less.

Never discuss your competition or post home care franchise reviews other than your own. Feel free, however, to promote your blog posts on Facebook and other social media sites. Many "likes" on Facebook is a great way to connect with your local community in an open and friendly manner.

Illinois Mandates Training Seminars for In-Home Care Workers

Illinois' Department of Human Services recently mandated that any in-home care worker in the state is now required to participate in a three hour training seminar for such workers. This mandate applies not only to professional home care workers but also to any family members who received monetary compensation for providing care to a relative.

The Movement behind the Mandate

The SEIU began working with Illinois' public officials to have them stipulate that any home health care worker must become part of their union, which set off several lawsuits. These lawsuits eventually led to the Supreme Court's ruling that neither independent caregivers nor paid family members could be forced to pay union dues if they did not want to join the union.

The SEIU was upset by the decision, firmly claiming these workers would benefit from union efforts to increase benefits such as protections and pay and, therefore, should financially contribute to the unions as they would reap the same benefits. The Supreme Court's ruling had blocked a potential source of significant financial support. 

The Mandate and Its Requirements

A contract was signed between the Illinois Department of Human Services and SEIU for the union to provide training seminars to in-home caregivers. The state pays the union $2 million annually to conduct these three hour sessions. During 30 minutes of each session, the SEIU is allowed to promote union membership and activities.

At first, there were few public mentions of these mandated meetings. Gradually, more information became public. Critics complain that the politicians are still just paying back union officials for their political support.  The Illinois Policy Institute now has representatives attending these meetings to make sure they are not attempts by the union to push union membership on unsuspecting care giver participants. They inform all attendees that they are not obligated to pay membership dues (around $600 annually) or join the union.

In Home Care Giver Training

Until the mandate is changed by the state of Illinois, it is still in effect. Search online to learn about the variety of home health care business opportunities available where you may work and receive training. Senior care franchise opportunities allow you to operate your own in-home care business in your local area.

Q & A with a Home Health Care Franchise Owner

As somebody deeply involved in the home care industry, as both a caregiver and a blogger, discussing home care franchises and the non-medical home care industry with a person familiar with this aspect of personal employment proved to be eye opening in several ways. It was gratifying to hear from someone who has enthusiasm for such a business. Keep reading below to see our conversation in-depth.

Q: Why do you believe opening a home health care franchise was the right business decision for you? 

A: After caring for my family elders during my teen years, I realized I had a lot to offer the geriatric community, including patience, respect and understanding for their needs. It is good to live the remainder of life in one's own home, with familiar possessions and memories. Although it is a large financial commitment, I believe in the concept. I have confidence in my education and ability, my work ethic and in being an advocate for seniors.

Q: What have you learned that maintains your interest in pursuing such an endeavor?

A:  I have done my homework, researching and speaking with others who have completed their purchase of a franchise. I learned there are a few things I need to educate myself on, such as marketing, how to advertise, and how to choose the right, trained employees. I believe a home care agency is a worthy path for my life.

Q: What do you think you will like about this work?

A: To assist people in keeping their lifestyle as much as possible by helping them in their homes is satisfying work. Since I have had that experience, I want to share my knowledge and support with others. I hope to build an agenda with like-minded caregivers.

Q: Do you have any advice for those who may be interested in this endeavor?

A: Yes, do your best inquiry, review everything possible about the franchise first.

Q: Have you uncovered any resources that have been helpful?

A: The library is open to everyone. Become versed in the details and prepared to train in all facets of the job.

Q: Do you have any more thoughts to share?

A: Yes. To anyone searching for the right franchise: be patient and research top home care franchises first. If you have the courage to pursue your dream, you will complete it.