“We as an industry have a long way to go as we traverse this new territory that is being charted for us,” said Mellard. “We are really interested in capturing families and patients where they need care the most because no one wakes up thinking about home care.”

Daniel Schwartz, COO of Almost Family, said that in each local healthcare delivery market, everybody wants to own control of the coordination of care for the patient.

Jacquelyn Kung, principal of Altruya LLC, who consults with a number of different organizations, is seeing many types of players in the private-pay home space. The first type is a full staff, where you have the care and technology wrapped up in a w2 employee model like Honor. The second type of private pay home care is also w2, what you call the traditional franchise agencies, she said. “Both are able to offer training and do really interesting programs”

Another type gets into the 1099 space, which are doing great, according to Kung, but have some limitations.

Switching gears, when it comes to thinking about partnerships between home care and senior living, Kung said to think about what kind of partner you would want to be. “If you think about how many residents you serve, that is what you present as a partner. Another thing is to look at a track record. Some homecare businesses have had so many lawsuits that they close down and just open under a different name.” She noted that these sound like basics, but there are many criminal records to look into as well. “Thinking strategically is also key, and thinking about who else is investing in it is important,” she added.

This is a unique industry, said Schwartz. You are going to run into home care providers that are into their own self fulfillment and enrichment. Not only do you have to demonstrate that there is an interest broader than themselves, but being able to articulate how to define and measure success is important in considering a partner and should occur before you sign.

SAN DIEGO—The private-pay home care industry is changing rapidly. While the old contractor-agency model persists, more home care organizations are increasingly moving toward technology-enabled, employment-based models as well as online direct-to-consumer platforms. Those thoughts are according to a concurrent session at the NIC Spring Investment Forum.

The panel, titled: Seniors Housing's Role in the Home Care Evolution, talked about how, as home care organizations—and the capital producers who invest in them—experiment with different distribution channels, how senior housing can partner with them.

Moderator Anne Tumlinson, founder of Anne Tumlinson Innovations LLC, first discussed private pay home care versus medicate-reimbursed home health. Kelsey Mellard, head of health systems at Honor, then followed up by discussing more about market issues.

“You need to think about the workforce in your facilities and you need to empower that workforce,” said Mellard. “It isn't just the person that you are addressing, it is the home. There are so many things that empower the care professional so they can perform their job better is really important.” And, another point she touched on was how to bring in the family as well.

“We as an industry have a long way to go as we traverse this new territory that is being charted for us,” said Mellard. “We are really interested in capturing families and patients where they need care the most because no one wakes up thinking about home care.”

Daniel Schwartz, COO of Almost Family, said that in each local healthcare delivery market, everybody wants to own control of the coordination of care for the patient.

Jacquelyn Kung, principal of Altruya LLC, who consults with a number of different organizations, is seeing many types of players in the private-pay home space. The first type is a full staff, where you have the care and technology wrapped up in a w2 employee model like Honor. The second type of private pay home care is also w2, what you call the traditional franchise agencies, she said. “Both are able to offer training and do really interesting programs”

Another type gets into the 1099 space, which are doing great, according to Kung, but have some limitations.

Switching gears, when it comes to thinking about partnerships between home care and senior living, Kung said to think about what kind of partner you would want to be. “If you think about how many residents you serve, that is what you present as a partner. Another thing is to look at a track record. Some homecare businesses have had so many lawsuits that they close down and just open under a different name.” She noted that these sound like basics, but there are many criminal records to look into as well. “Thinking strategically is also key, and thinking about who else is investing in it is important,” she added.

This is a unique industry, said Schwartz. You are going to run into home care providers that are into their own self fulfillment and enrichment. Not only do you have to demonstrate that there is an interest broader than themselves, but being able to articulate how to define and measure success is important in considering a partner and should occur before you sign.