Top Private Duty Home Care Stories of 2017

From robots to nursing shortages, Home Health Care News covered a range of topics in the private duty sector in 2017. Here are the top private duty stories for the year.

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