Providing care for senior adults who need help has become a growth industry in recent years as the population ages. The baby boom generation will be taxing the extended family’s ability to cope, creating greater demand for professional adult home care services to relieve the burden on working children.

Whether a family is looking for a home providing twenty-four hour care for an elder family member or an entrepreneur sees an opportunity to start a business helping people, it is vital that everyone understand the requirements to operate a home health care business. Taking advantage of free samples of home health care business plans during start up will eliminate costly mistakes and lead to a well run home care business.

Residents

adult home care requirementsMost states have a limit, usually around six or seven individuals, on the number of non-related adults to be housed in a resident care home. These adults are comprised of seniors needing help as they age or individuals disabled physically or developmentally.

Adults who are loud, abusive or disruptive may have difficulty finding a home since the idea is to retain a comfortable and friendly environment for the residents.

Level of Care

Potential residents may need to be screened based on the care they require versus the level of care the home is designed and qualified to provide. For adults requiring more acute care, some homes are staffed with twenty-four hour professional nursing. The care provided by home care facilities will vary but typically the basics are room, board, daily living and personal needs, laundry services, and some social activities.

Home Health Care Licensing

As part of the licensing process, states mandate providers submit to inspections of their facilities by state social services or health department professionals as well as fire department or building inspectors. These inspections are conducted to ensure cleanliness, adequate facilities for the requested number of residents, and a sufficient number of qualified staff.

The qualifications and the time provided to meet them will vary by state. State Health departments should be able to provide step by step guidelines to meet licensing requirements and the associated fees. Don’t forget about obtaining a local business license.

Employees

Background checks will need to be run on all employees prior to hiring and these records are subject to inspection by the state. Most states will require licensing for individual providers working in the home.

Personnel records of employees need to be maintained and there are some excellent home health care programs available. These programs include modules for scheduling, payroll, and taxes.

Payment

Invoicing requirements for insurance companies can seem onerous but once again, there are software programs available to help ensure timely payment of invoices. In many cases, insurance companies will be supplementing medicare and/or medicaid payments from the federal or state governments. Since cash flow is the life blood of any business, creating and maintaining accurate billing records will be of paramount importance to the financial health of the home.

Home Health Care Scheduling Software

Keeping track of everything from medications, physical therapy, lab tests, doctor visits, diets, and billing can be overwhelming. Home health care scheduling software is designed to provide individualized schedules for each resident as well as automated billing processes, allowing the staff to focus their energies on the residents.

The cost and quality of home health care can vary dramatically. Take time to investigate several facilities before making a life changing decision for a senior family member. This will likely be their last home and the goal should be to make this final chapter of their life as enjoyable as possible.