Working with any government agency may require cutting through a lot of red tape. Still, home care providers interested in caring for aging veterans have various opportunities to partner with the Veterans Administration (VA) and make a difference for those who served.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2023, there were an estimated 17.9 million veterans in the United States, and nearly half of them were 65 or older. This aging veteran population needs benefits and services to address changing health conditions and their corresponding financial challenges. The VA offers assistance with personal care benefits through the Aid and Attendance and Community Care Network (CCN) programs.

VA medical centers coordinate home- and community-based services (HCBS) alongside community partners aimed at the most vulnerable veterans to reduce nursing home and medical center stays. A single program or combination of HCBS can assist veterans and their caregivers in remaining in their homes, optimizing their chronic health or rehabilitation potential, and preserving the home and family atmosphere.

“What we’ve learned is that when veterans remain in their homes, their outcomes are better, and this is critical in maximizing veteran health and overall wellbeing,” Terrence Hayes, VA press secretary, told Home Health Care News.

When setting up home care service, VA medical centers are required to use contracted network providers, if available. Providers are encouraged to work with third-party administrators, Optum and TriWest, in the appropriate region to inquire about joining the network and receiving veteran referrals.

The third-party administrators complete a review to determine if a need exists for that provider based on the availability of those in the existing network. If a need is determined, the provider begins the credentialing process to join the CCN. This ensures the organization meets the VA’s qualification requirements before caring for veterans.

For Betsey Morthland, owner of a Visiting Angels franchise in Bettendorf, Iowa, becoming involved with the VA held benefits both personally and professionally.

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania-based Visiting Angels is a nationwide provider of home care services to older adults, including assistance with daily tasks, companionship and specialized care.

“Offering this specialized care and helping navigate the process is a way of giving back to our veterans,” Morthland told Home Health Care News. “Another benefit is that once a veteran is in our system and we provide care for them, we know those are guaranteed weekly hours, which assists us with staffing and predicting our income stream.”

Aid and Attendance

Aid and Attendance is a tax-free benefit available to veterans who have served 90 days of active duty during a period of war, have less than $160,000 in assets (excluding a home), require assistance with two or more activities of daily living and meet the required income to medical expense ratio.

However, filing the necessary paperwork to receive this benefit can be difficult for veterans and their families. In that case, providers can partner with companies like Lake St. Louis, Missouri-based Veterans Care Coordination (VCC) to help navigate those hurdles.

VCC’s model centers around helping veterans age in place. Owner Kyle Laramie started the company in response to his grandfather, a World War II veteran who missed out on benefits that could have helped him stay home rather than move to a long-term care facility.

“We find families who need care and take them through a screening process to determine if we think we could help them access this program, which could pay for their care,” Laramie told HHCN. “The Aid and Attendance program can be confusing because it is not designed for families who are low income and need care. It’s set up for those currently paying for care month after month and then are reimbursed. This isn’t the way the world works.”

Laramie said that families often find their loved one needs care and must quickly figure out how to pay for it. They are then faced with either paying for it out of pocket or not receiving it.

“We teach providers how to instruct the referral sources, the social workers, discharge planners or rehab centers to ask if the client is a veteran or a spouse and let them know that there may be funding for them, and then they come to us,” Laramie said.

Laramie said that once a client is accepted to receive care, they often still aren’t sure who will fund that care upfront. In that case, VCC created the Advanced Care Program to finance the cost of care while the VA processes the claim.

“These families can’t wait for care,” Laramie said. “The way the program is set up is that VCC will pay for the care monthly until the VA provides the reimbursement, and then the client pays us back for the services rendered. We maintain that monthly medical expense to income ratio, working with the client and the home care agency to ensure adequate care.”

Laramie said that while VCC isn’t necessarily in the business of providing loans, the client does sign an interest-free loan document.

“We serve many different purposes,” Laramie said. “We teach home care agencies how to market veteran’s benefits in their communities. We help navigate the maze of benefits for families. If a family can’t afford care, we fund the cost while the VA processes the claim. Often, because we are used to working with the VA, we can get the claim to move through faster.”

Community of Care Network

VA uses the CCN to provide home care services to veterans. CCN benefits specifically assist with home health care costs. Qualified veterans are assigned a service care coordinator who determines how many hours per week the veteran requires care and will help the family connect with caregivers in their area. CCN benefits are paid directly to partner organizations.

By collaborating with a network of qualified health care providers, the VA’s system improves access to medical, mental health and specialized care, enabling veterans to receive personalized, timely treatment locally.

“Using the CCN allows for a broader network, decrease in wait times for services and high quality care,” Hayes said. “By joining the network, providers have the ability to expand their customer base which includes serving our nation’s veterans.”

The program prioritizes a patient-centered approach, focusing on each person’s unique needs and preferences and fostering a collaborative relationship between the veteran, their VA care team and community providers.

The network maintains the highest standards of care, ensuring all participating providers meet rigorous quality and safety standards. The VA continually refines and optimizes the program to improve health care outcomes and streamline the process of accessing care.

“Home care providers can find VA and contracted network provider processes complex and time-consuming,” Hayes said. “Optum and TriWest may determine they have a sufficient network for a particular geographic area and decline to add new providers. To ensure a high-quality network, providers sometimes experience delays in the credentialing process. Providers also experience challenges with following required protocols to ensure timely service and reimbursement.”

While joining the VA’s CCN can be challenging, it is worth the effort, according to Morthland.

“When the VA contacts us for care, everyone stops what they’re doing because they are such an important referral source that we want them to know we’re there to make their jobs easier by offering a quick response,” Morthalnd said. “We’ve got the attitude that we’re going to say yes to whatever they ask us because once you’ve said yes enough times, the VA schedulers know to call you first because you will make their jobs easier.”

Kerin Zuger, Caretech’s chief operating officer, agreed and said it’s all about relationship-building.

Caretech, based in Omaha, Nebraska, provides non-medical home care services such as personal care, companionship and household assistance.

“Like anyone else, VA case managers are busy, so if you manage some of the headaches for them, the better off you’ll be,” Zuger said. “Create a partnership and make sure that whatever their pain points are, you fill in the gaps and remove the headache.”

Zuger recommends smaller franchises or independent companies partner with a company like VCC to navigate joining the CCN. This gives clients access to dollars they didn’t know they had, and makes care management easier.

“If you’re an independent or a small franchisee, partnering with someone like VCC removes the hassle, so you don’t have to worry about applications, follow-up and management. You worry about providing quality care to the client,” she said.

Zuger also recommended reaching out to contacts to find out who might be affiliated with the VA and willing to make an introduction.

“Don’t be too proud to tap into your existing resources,” she advised. “Partner with the VA, volunteer, provide sponsorships or get on a board. Relationships matter, and no matter how many home care companies stand up, there will always be more veterans to help and support.”

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Staci Rogers, the vice president of operations at Visiting Angels, has been named a 2024 Memory Care Innovation Award Winner.

To become a Memory Care Innovation Award winner, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be a high-performing employee who knows how to put vision into action, and serve as an advocate for those living with memory-related disorders and the committed professionals who ensure their well-being.

Rogers sat down with Home Health Care News to talk about the need for more stakeholders to be familiar with dementia care, and why that matters.

What drew you to working in memory care?

I have always loved helping others. I had the opportunity to work very closely with a family who had a loved one diagnosed with early-onset dementia. I was able to learn so much from this family and dementia from the early stages of her diagnosis through the progression of the disease. Helping the family navigate the disease process and life changes for the entire family taught me a lot and I have been dedicated ever since.

What’s your biggest lesson learned since starting to work in memory care?

It is difficult to get others to look beyond the basics of physical care someone needs, and tap into the connections we can make with those living with cognitive impairment. Always be the voice for those who no longer have one, and music is medicine!

If you could change one thing with an eye toward the future of memory care, what would it be?

A world where people are educated about dementia and memory care. Not just those directly impacted by it but our entire communities — health care systems, first responders and community members. This would allow more people with memory impairment to live a life safely in our communities long term with the right support.

What is the biggest obstacle to being innovative in memory care, and how do you try to overcome that obstacle?

The biggest obstacle to being innovative in memory care is conveying to others the passion and emotional impact it evokes without first-hand experience. It’s challenging to teach and explain to others the profound feelings that can be created, and the deep connections we can make using technology, especially for engagement purposes.

In a word, how would you describe the future of memory care?

I would describe the future of memory care as “visionary.”

What quality must all Memory Care Innovation Award winners possess?

Creativity, tenacity, positivity, a loving heart and open mind.

If you could give advice to yourself looking back to your first day in the industry, what would it be and why?

Always have an open mind and heart. There is something to be gained with every connection you make, big or small. Never give up if you believe in something.

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The list is based on last year’s global systemwide sales — total sales for both franchise and company units — performance.

In order to earn a spot on the list, a company needs to be a legal U.S. franchise. It should also own at least 10% of the company’s total units.

At-home care franchise companies Home Instead Senior Care, Right at Home and Interim HealthCare managed to crack the top 100 portion of the list, alongside big name companies like McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), Dunkin’ (Nasdaq:DNKN) and The UPS Store (UPS:NYSE).

Home Instead Senior Care

— Rank: 44

— System Sales: $2,400,000,000

— Total Locations: 1,217

— Home Instead is a Omaha, Nebraska-based personal care franchise company that has locations in over a dozen countries. In 2021, the home care technology company Honor acquired Home Instead.

Interim HealthCare

— Rank: 65

— System Sales: $1,288,000,000

— Total Locations: 655

— The Sunrise, Florida-based company – a part of Caring Brands International — provides personal care, hospice care, palliative care, pediatric care and staffing services.

Visiting Angels

— Rank: 90

— System Sales: $900,000,000

— Total Locations: 697

— Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania-based Visiting Angels is an in-home senior care company that provides companion care, personal care services and more.

Right at Home

— Rank: 100

— System Sales: $778,386,711

— Total Locations: 712

— Omaha, Nebraska-based Right at Home is a home care franchise company with locations in the U.S. and six other countries.

BrightStar Care

— Rank: 117

— System Sales: $653,907,370

— Total Locations: 370

— Chicago-based BrightStar is a provider of home care, senior living and supplemental staffing. The organization has been deliberately increasing its company-owned footprint of late.

Comfort Keepers

— Rank: 124

— System Sales: $625,000,000*

— Total Locations: 645

— Irvine, California-based Comfort Keepers is one of the largest personal home care providers in the U.S. It recently was acquired by The Halifax Group.

Senior Helpers

— Rank: 176

— System Sales: $387,243,000

— Total Locations: 327

— Maryland-based Senior Helpers has a national personal care network, as well as adult day centers. The company was acquired by Advocate Health Enterprises in 2021.

ComForCare Home Care

— Rank: 225

— System Sales: $238,000,000

— Total Locations: 223

— ComForCare is a home care franchise organization that has 270 territories independently-owned and operated in Canada and the U.S. ComForCare operates as At Your Side in Houston, Texas.

Home Helpers Home Care

— Rank: 230

— System Sales: $231,856,454

— Total Locations: 304

— The Cincinnati-based Home Helpers is a home care franchise that provides personal care, nutrition and companionship services, among others. It serves over 1,000 communities in the U.S.

Synergy HomeCare

— Rank: 236

— System Sales: $223,257,894

— Total Locations: 417

— Synergy is a Gilbert, Arizona-based non-medical home care franchise. The company offers companionship services, in addition to personal assistance, housekeeping, live-in care and 24-hour home care services.

Always Best Care

— Rank: 245

— System Sales: $212,591,506

— Total Locations: 232

— Roseville, California-based Always Best Care is a home care franchise company that operates across 225 territories in 30 states and Canada.

Homewatch CareGivers

— Rank: 246

— System Sales: $211,550,548

— Total Locations: 224

— Denver-based Homewatch CareGivers is a home care franchise company that operates in over 30 states and seven countries. The franchise employs over 4,500 caregivers.

Griswold

— Rank: 251

— System Sales: $199,100,000

— Total Locations: 178

— The Blue Bell, Pennsylvania-based Griswold is also a home care franchise. It provides personal care services in 30 states.

FirstLight Home Care

— Rank: 257

— System Sales: $188,207,247

— Total Locations: 195

— Cincinnati-based FirstLight Home Care is a provider of non-medical home care. The company also has a specialized care program aimed at seniors with dementia.

Assisting Hands Home Care

— Rank: 299

— System Sales: $124,305,162

— Total Locations: 175

— Assisting Hands Home Care offers both medical and non-medical assistance for seniors, including meal preparation, companionship, chores and more.

Caring Senior Service

— Rank: 475

— System Sales: $35,050,000

— Total Locations: 51

— San Antonio, Texas-based home care franchise company Caring Senior Service offers personal care, meal preparation, transportation, companionship, housekeeping and more.

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That’s according to the latest Top 200+ ranking from Franchise Times, an annual compilation of top-selling franchises based on systemwide sales. Other home care franchises winning the sales game include Interim HealthCare, Visiting Angels and Comfort Keepers, among others. 

At No. 72 overall, Omaha, Nebraska-based Home Instead once again led all home care agencies in systemwide sales, with global sales of $1.77 billion in 2018. Home instead previously checked in at No. 77 in last year’s Top 200+ ranking.

At least part of its sales success can be traced back to its creative advertising approach. In October 2018, the franchise company teamed up with advertising powerhouse Energy BBDO on its “The Third Stair” video, an evocative and informative ad that earned lofty praise from AdWeek, Biz Journals and other outlets.

“[Home care] is a service that you don’t think about until you really need it,” Katie Cox, Home Instead’s director of advertising and marketing research, previously told Home Health Care News. “The oldest boomer is 72 and the average Home Instead client is about 78, so we’re just on the edge of this demographic shift. One of the challenges we face is really getting across this idea of choice and that there’s this option to stay at home.”

Home Instead’s sales success can likewise be linked to its embrace of technology to complement in-person care. In January, CEO Jeff Huber informed HHCN that the franchise company made a “significant” minority investment in senior-friendly tablet startup GrandPad.

“We’ve been looking at the macro picture and understanding where technology is going in the aging space,” Huber said at the time. “We’ve been looking for the right solution for many, many years to bring together high-tech capabilities with our high-touch approach to caregiving.”

Home Instead has more than 1,000 franchise locations, with more than 600 in the United States.

With about $1.17 billion in systemwide sales, Sunrise, Florida-based Interim took the No. 92 spot on the latest Top 200+ list from Franchise Times. Interim, which actually held the No. 91 spot on last year’s ranking, has more than 600 franchise locations worldwide, with more than 340 based in the U.S.

Interim’s staffing business, data initiatives and new overarching strategy focused on holistic care will be keys to the franchise company’s growth moving forward, CEO Jennifer Sheets recently told HHCN during a Disrupt conversation. 

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania-based Visting Angels — an in-home senior care franchiser that provides companion care and personal care services — recorded systemwide sales of $725 million in 2018, good for the No. 120 spot on the Top 200+ list. The franchise company has 584 locations, the vast majority of which are based in the U.S.

Comfort Keepers (No. 138), Right at Home (No. 140), BrightStar Care (No. 175) and Senior Helpers (No. 188) rounded out home care franchise placement within the top-200 spots. The companies had 2018 systemwide sales of $545 million, $540 million, $434 million and $362 million, respectively, according to Franchise Times.

Although it’s called the Top 200+ list, Franchise Times recognizes a total of 500 companies in its annual ranking. In addition to the previously named home care franchises that all fell within the top 200, a handful of other providers made the trailing section of the list.

They included, for example, ComForCare (No. 247), Home Helpers (No. 256), Synergy HomeCare (No. 274) and Always Best Care (No. 281).

To qualify for the Franchise Times’ Top 200+ ranking, companies must be a legally based U.S. franchise, with franchisees owning at least 15% of the company’s total units.

Systemwide sales are defined as the total sales for both franchise and company units.

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While traditional media advertising — such as television and radio — has been essential in helping the Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania-based agency rise through the ranks, the future is social, according to Senior Vice President of Global Operations Dave Ritterling.

“Geotargeting, Hulu, Youtube,” Ritterling told Home Health Care News. “Those really are the next extension for all of us [home care providers]. We need to be where the people are, and they’re on phones.”

Ritterling shared those insights with HHCN at Visiting Angels’ annual conference last week in Nashville, Tennessee, where he said the importance of social media and emerging technologies took center stage.

“The days of the Yellow Pages are over,” Ritterling said. “What people are doing is using social media. I think we’re just going to see that trend really go quickly.”

The prominence of online advertising is nothing new.

But with studies showing that 86% of consumers read online reviews and 67% of adults age 65 and older use the internet, online advertising is becoming increasingly important in capturing clients.

Specifically, the average person seeking senior care online is a woman between 50 and 70, according to third-party market research compiled from more than 4,500 respondents and used by Caring.com. Most often, that person is the care recipient’s adult child (39%) or spouse (29%).

Lately, Visiting Angels has been researching new — and better ways — to capture those audiences.

“A lot of our strategies have been with cable, but now that cable’s changing, we’re going to a lot more digital sources,” Ritterling said. “We’re on NPR now, which is unique for us. We’re finding new areas where listenership trends are happening.”

Beyond bringing in new clients, social media has also been hailed as a way to recruit caregivers, as retention is at an all-time low and demand for services is at an all-time high.

“It has become table stakes — an effective multi-channel marketing effort,” Hireology CEO Adam Robinson previously told HHCN. “Recruiting via social media certainly includes potential applicants that read your post, click on a link and apply to a job, but equally important is brand building. Word of mouth is heavily influenced by a company’s online employment brand.”

Medicare Advantage play

Beyond digital advertising, another area of interest for Visiting Angels is Medicare Advantage (MA), Ritterling said.

“The more we think we know, the more we find out we don’t know,” Ritterling said. “I think there’s a lot more work to be done in that area for us to get our arms around it and figure out how we’re going to approach that. We see it as an opportunity but as we learn more and more, we’ll engage that more.”

While Ritterling declined to go into specifics, he said Visiting Angels is “looking at, developing and discussing” MA partnerships.

“We’ve got our feelers out,” Ritterling said. “We’ve got such a great experienced director group, many of which have lots of experience in that area. We’re working with them and sort of helping them chart the way as we approach this.”

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That’s according to a list compiled by Franchise Business Review, a market research firm that focuses on satisfaction and performance in the franchise industry. From June 2017 to November 2018, the firm surveyed more than 30,000 franchisees from more than 300 brands on qualities such as leadership, training, values and more.

Visiting Angels took the No. 1 spot when compared to other home care franchises, with franchisees responding that they were most satisfied overall. With more than 600 franchise locations throughout the U.S., the private duty home care company is the most frequently searched for home care name on Google, according to the company’s page on Franchise Business Review.

The total startup investment for a Visiting Angels franchise location is between $84,085 and $125,885.

This recognition comes after Visiting Angels also made its way onto Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 Rankings earlier this year.

To create the list, the magazine reviewed more than 1,000 companies. For each, editors weighed “five pillars”: costs and fees; size and growth; support; brand strength; and financial strength and stability. Visiting Angels ranked No. 2 in senior care and No. 169 on the list overall.

Meanwhile, FirstLight Home Care was another strong performer on Franchise Business Review’s list.

Since its creation in 2010, the home care company has grown quickly, with a 29% increase in revenue and 24% increase in location growth in 2017 alone. Now, with about 260 franchise locations across the country, the company is also seeking franchisees to open offices in select countries.

The total startup investment for a FirstLight franchise location is between $99,681 and $152,926.

Other home care companies ranked on the list among the best franchises to invest in include:

• Qualicare Family Homecare
• Home Helpers Home Care
• Homewatch CareGivers
• Amada Senior Care
• Care Patrol
• Senior Care Authority

Across all categories, the top-ranked franchises are Kona Ice, Wild Birds Unlimited and MaidPro, according to Franchise Business Review.

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Since 1980, the annual list has evaluated the strength of franchise opportunities in industries across the board. To create this year’s rankings, the magazine reviewed more than 1,000 companies. For each, editors weighed “five pillars”: costs and fees; size and growth; support; brand strength; and financial strength and stability.

Founded in 1966, Sunrise, Florida-based Interim attributes its ability to climb the ranks to its strong fundamentals: providing quality care using top-of-the-line caregivers.

While those qualities have long been paramount for Interim, the franchise giant recently increased its storytelling efforts to better highlight company strengths, Senior Vice President of New Franchise Support Steve Turner told Home Health Care News.

“Our corporate marketing team has focused on supporting our franchise owners and getting our message out to the right people at the right time,” Turner said in an email. “Interim HealthCare has amped up its social media, public relations and content marketing efforts to share the value of our home care services and franchise opportunities.”

Additionally, in 2018, the company introduced new programs to position itself for future growth. Some include programs for dementia, specialized care and a franchise owner network.

The Franchise 500 news comes during a time of transition. On Monday, Interim announced it named a new CEO: Jennifer Sheets, who most recently served as a chief clinical officer and senior executive of clinical operations, innovation, education and quality at Bayada Home Health Care.

While Interim beat out its competitors, home care overall ranked lower on the Franchise 500 list than it did in 2018.

This year, Interim came in at No. 144, as opposed to No. 102 last year. Meanwhile, Right at Home, which led the home care pack in 2018 with an overall ranking of 49, took the No. 211 spot in this year’s rankings.

Overall, 18 home care franchise companies appear on the list this year, as opposed to 16 last year. Other highly ranked home care companies on the 2019 list, which Entrepreneur has now compiled for 40 years, include:

• Visiting Angels (No. 2 in senior care, No. 169 overall)
• BrightStar Care (No. 3 in senior care, No. 184 overall)
• Nurse Next Door (No. 4 in senior care, No. 190 overall)
• Senior Helpers (No. 5 in senior care, No. 192 overall).

The top-ranked 2019 franchise opportunities are McDonald’s, Dunkin’ and Sonic Drive-In.

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Right at Home repeated its 2017 showing as the highest-ranked home care franchise opportunity, coming in at No. 49. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company was No. 55 last year. It has about 475 U.S. franchises and about 80 outside the United States.

“We couldn’t be more pleased to receive this high ranking on such a reputable list from a top business publication,” Pat Boyd, vice president of marketing at Right at Home, said in an emailed statement to Home Health Care News. “We are continuing to provide clients with care that can be trusted across the world, and we are always looking for franchisee partners and caregivers who want to join our growing team.”

These are the home care franchise companies appearing in the top 100 of the 2018 edition of the list, which Entrepreneur has now compiled for 39 years:

49. Right at Home

50. Nurse Next Door

65. FirstLight Home Care

74. Visiting Angels

75. BrightStar Care

Interim HealthCare just missed the top 100, at No. 102.

Overall, 16 home care franchise companies appear on the list this year, compared with 22 last year. For the 2018 list, competition was fierce, with the number of submissions exceeding 1,000 for the first time, according to Entrepreneur. To create the rankings, the magazine weighs “five pillars”: costs and fees; size and growth; support; brand strength; and financial strength and stability.

The top-ranked franchise opportunities overall are global behemoths McDonald’s, 7-Eleven and Dunkin’ Donuts.

View the complete list.

Written by Tim Mullaney

The post Right at Home Still Leads Pack On Franchise 500 List appeared first on Home Health Care News.

And if you haven’t yet, make sure to catch up on our overall top posts for 2017.

1. February 28—HomeHero Closure Casts Shadow Over Home Care ‘Disrupters’

California-based HomeHero ceased its home care operations after raising $23 million in venture-backed investments. HomeHero was one company in a class of “disrupters” that garnered serious attention throughout the industry thanks to multi-million-dollar funding rounds, and its closure left many open questions, including if the startup model can make it.

2. November 13—Comfort Keepers Pilots Affordable Home Care Robot

A Washington, D.C.-area technology company teamed up with a private duty home care franchise to deploy a new robot at a price many seniors can afford. Hernon, Virginia-based Comfort Keepers of Reston rolled out its first model, “Rudy,” a multifunctional robot companion designed to help seniors as they age at home.

3. March 20— 2 Marketing Opportunities Home Care Agencies Are Missing

Marketing in the home care industry goes beyond finding clients. While home care is a patient-focused industry, forming partnerships with other types of health care providers plays an increasingly crucial role in business—and home care agencies should know how to leverage data through marketing to gain ground with providers.

4. March 1—States Where the Registered Nurse Shortage Will Be Worst

Home health agencies consistently say staffing is their greatest challenge, and the issue is only getting worse. While a potential shortage of home health aides and personal caregivers already has been called a “crisis,” many areas of the country also are staring down the barrel of registered nurse (RN) shortages.

5. March 27—Private Equity Investment in Home Care Hits New High

Private equity investment in the home care and hospice sectors hit a new high in 2016. By the end of the third quarter of 2016, more than 50 home care and hospice transactions involved private equity buyers, compared with fewer than 30 of these transactions in all of 2015, according to proprietary data from M&A advisory firm The Braff Group.

Written by Maggie Flynn

The post Top Private Duty Home Care Stories of 2017 appeared first on Home Health Care News.

The list ranks the 500 largest U.S. franchise systems. Here are the top 10 home care companies that made the list and their ranking:

#79 Home Instead Senior Care—With more than 600 units in the U.S. and nearly 500 abroad, Home Instead is one of the largest home care franchisors. It had more than $1.4 billion in global sales in 2017, according to The Franchise Times.

#89 Interim HealthCare—The nursing, therapy, non-medical home care provider has 550 total units and more than 300 independently owned franchise location in 43 states and seven countries. Caring Brands International, the parent company of Interim, was acquired by Levine Leichtman Capital Partners in 2015. Its global sales top $1 billion.

#128 Visiting Angels—The $600+ million franchise company has 562 total locations. Visiting Angels provides companion care and personal care services, including 24/7 care.

#143 Comfort Keepers—Rising from No. 149 last year, Comfort Keepers has grown to 651 U.S. units. It specializes in services for end-of-life patients, dementia or those transitioning back home. The global sales are estimated to be above $500 million.

#171 Right at Home—While Right at Home dropped slightly from its 168th placement on the list last year, the medical and non-medical home care provider topped $400 million in global sales. With 465 total U.S. units and 63 international units, Right at Home operates independently owned and operated franchises.

#178 BrightStar Care—With 310 total units, BrighStar Care remains one of the nation’s largest franchisors. Global sales were more than $373 million, according to the Franchise Times.

#204 Senior Helpers—In-home medical and non-medical provider Senior Helpers started franchising in 2005. The company has 285 U.S. units and 15 international units, with sales over $280 million.

#275 ComForCare Home Care—With about 200 units, ComForCare rose slightly in the ranks, from 277th last year. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Its global sales reached $160 million.

#279 Home Helpers Home Care—Home Helpers provides non-medical and medical in-home care to seniors and others, such as working parents or expectant mothers. The company had more than $150 million in global sales and has reached more than 315 total units.

#303 Synergy HomeCare—The Arizona-basd provider has 316 units and sales topping $123 million. After opening in 2001, it has franchised locations since 2005.

Other notable home care franchisors that made the list this year include: Homewatch CareGivers; Always Best Care; First Light Home Care; Assisting Hands Home Care; and Caring Senior Service.

Written by Amy Baxter

The post The Biggest Home Care Franchises appeared first on Home Health Care News.