Assisting Hands Home Care is one of the leading, and fastest growing, in home care franchises.  With over 200 territories, we’ve developed a proven and scalable business model, and a leadership team that is second to none in the industry.

Can the caring business translate into a profitable business?  That’s the question that confronted physical therapists, Jennifer and Richard Ueberfluss, when they continued to see a troubling trend of seniors experiencing multiple re-hospitalizations while living at home.

During their time in various inpatient, outpatient and skilled rehab settings a general theme occurred to them about hospital readmissions. They realized two major factors that led to hospital readmissions the same people kept coming back to the hospital and rehab because they were not safely supported at home; most hospitalizations were preventable with just a little help without the health system being utilized, such as medication reminders and fall prevention.

Jennifer and Richard kept seeing patients experience multiple in-hospital physical therapy department and outpatient physical therapy department admissions. These multiple hospitalizations were signs of something occurring at home.  They were especially concerned about the frequency of falls, which are the leading causes of hospitalizations in the elderly.

They began recognizing this trend while the couple was working in a rural critical access hospital in downstate Illinois. Richard was also an executive for the hospital, and began recognizing the importance of uniting a medical sense with a business sense.

This led to Richard and Jennifer making the ambitious choice to begin their own business.  The couple wanted to stay true to their embrace of working within a caring profession and wanted to help people using their considerable talents.

While the couple was attracted to franchising because they would receive the support and guidance they needed to launch their business, it also offered wealth creation for his family.  Yet, they didn’t want to be a franchisee for a fast food outlet or a business without a strong cause.

A friend of theirs with a financial background recommended the in-home care business, reflecting the demographic trend that showed a large increase in elderly clients needing long-term care as they aged. It seemed like a perfect fit for their physical therapist and management backgrounds, since physical therapists are experts in many facets of senior care: fall prevention, proper lifting, home safety and all the Activity of Daily living needs that caregivers and CNA’s perform with their clients at home. They became an Assisting Hands® Home Healthcare franchisee in the Chicago area.

The message became clear for Richard and Jennifer: home health care makes a huge difference in the standard of living for elderly patients. They learned first-hand about the benefits and opportunities in home healthcare and could see the future opportunities after studying the data that estimated that more than 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day for the next twenty years, and ninety percent want to age in place in their own homes.  While impressive, the baby boomers are not yet our clients, we are however seeing their parents, the 8000 seniors turning 85 every day.  So, the Assisting Hands franchise decision ignited their renewed passion for care, providing in-home care for home bound patients who need help maintaining a safe environment without life-altering injury.

The Future for Home Health Care is Clear

The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that those receiving long-term care will rise from 14 million to 27 million by 2050.   Since most seniors in long-term care prefer to remain at home, there is a growing demand for home aides.

To help keep pace there are 4,500 franchised home care entities in the U.S., making it one of the fastest growing businesses in the franchise industry.  Richard and Jennifer knew this industry was growing and there was demand for home healthcare franchise services.

The couple was attracted to Assisting Hands Home Care®, an in-home care franchise company emphasizing exceptional customer service and personalized care.  They liked the fact that they provide franchisees with a proven business model with endless opportunities and a leadership team second to none in the industry. The management team was accessible and generous with their time and advice.  The culture is one of family and care.

They also appreciated their very thorough training program.  Finally, they liked the fact that their franchise territory was broad, with a marketplace that needs their services and can pay for them.

They have advice for people considering owning a franchise.  Do something you truly like, there are multiple areas to focus your skills on: operations, accounting, sales and clinical care.  Pick a growing industry and do not be afraid of competition.  Choose great territories with favorable demographics, consider multiple revenue streams. Choose a franchise with lots of local hands on support.  Have faith in your ability to succeed and understand that success doesn’t happen overnight, but if you stick with it, you will achieve your goals.

Richard and Jennifer achieved their goals: earning money while earning the trust of older adults and their families and making a difference in the lives of the nation’s most vulnerable population.

Richard is an area developer and he helps with educating and guiding startup and experienced entrepreneurs as panelist at NaperLaunch Entrepreneurs Week.