If you own or manage an in-home care franchise, specialized care programs are an excellent way to attract new business and generate revenue. More importantly, these programs allow in-home care providers to reach under served individuals. By providing these seniors with the specialized care they need, your franchise can be a literal lifeline for seniors and disabled individuals with unique needs.

You’ll find no better example of this than the field of in-home transitional care. After hospitalization, many seniors require non-medical assistance to help them transition back home. In many cases, this care can actually be life-saving, providing seniors with crucial support during the early stages of recovery.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult for in-home care franchise owners to build a transitional care program from the ground up. That’s why Visiting Angels^® developed a proprietary transitional care program for use by our franchisees.

This program, called “Ready-Set-Go Home” gives our franchisees the resources and materials they need to provide non-medical transitional care. This program places special emphasis on the first 30 days after a hospital discharge, which is the period when seniors are at the highest risk for a hospital readmission.

Why In-Home Care Franchises Should Offer Transitional Care

When we first introduced our Ready-Set-Go Home program for Visiting Angels in-home care franchises, we were addressing an urgent need for U.S. seniors and healthcare organizations. Roughly 20% of seniors on Medicare who are discharged from the hospital are readmitted within 30 days of their discharge.

That number is a huge concern for seniors and healthcare professionals alike. Seniors who are re-hospitalized within 30 days of their original discharge have a far lower chance of a full recovery and a much higher rate of mortality. Hospitals, meanwhile, take a huge financial hit when patients are readmitted within 30 days of discharge for the same reason (or a related reason) as their original hospitalization.

This is especially concerning in light of the fact that many, if not most, of these rehospitalizations are avoidable through in-home care. Seniors who receive non-medical care and support during this period have lower rates of readmission, with higher rates of recovery.

Needless to say, there is a clear need for transitional care programs from in-home care franchises. That is much easier for in-home care franchise owners to do when they have the right framework in place.

Ready-Set-Go Home: Reducing Hospital Readmissions

Thanks to our Ready-Set-Go Home program, Visiting Angels in-home care franchise owners have access to the framework they need to provide non-medical transitional care. We provide franchisees with detailed information on how to run an effective transitional care program, plus training modules for care staff.

Our program takes a three-prong approach to transitional care. While the senior is hospitalized, caregivers support the family, while care directors coordinate with discharge planners. After the discharge, caregivers provide non-medical support to seniors, in accordance with any directives and recommendations from healthcare professionals. Meanwhile, the franchise office provides additional assistance, tracking seniors at high-risk of re-hospitalization and helping family members coordinate additional support and services.

Ready-Set-Go Home is an attractive program to in-home care franchise owners for a number of reasons. For example, transitional care is an excellent way to generate professional referrals. Hospitals have a big incentive to reduce readmissions, so discharge planners will often recommend transitional care to their patients.

Transitional care is also a great way to connect with long-term clients as early as possible. Even if seniors are not readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge, many never fully recover from the injury or health event that resulted in their original hospitalization. In these cases, seniors often choose to continue receiving care from the in-home care franchise that provided their transitional care services.

Since the introduction of our Ready-Set-Go Home program, countless Visiting Angels in-home care franchise owners have made transitional care part of their agency’s repertoire. Whether you’re a long-time franchisee or a new franchise owner, we think you’ll find great value in this unique transitional care program.

Looking for the perfect in-home care franchise opportunity? Call 800-365-4189 or request information online to learn more about franchise opportunities with Visiting Angels.