The Home Care Franchise’s Back-Office Support Reduces Risk and Upfront Expenses
Brothers David and Stephen Savitsky have learned a lot about what’s required for a home care franchise to be successful since they entered the field with their first company more than 40 years ago. They’ve applied those lessons to CareBuilders at Home, which not only offers compassionate non-medical care and innovative services for clients of all ages, but also provides franchise partners with a full suite of back-office support and extensive training.
“Franchise owners have a true partner in CareBuilders, which is unique in this industry,” says Lori Yount, vice president of operations. “The end result is that the franchise owner can focus on the things that are most important to the growth and development of their business – recruiting the right caregivers, overseeing the care, making sales, and building those referral relationships with people that are going to really help build the business.”
Back-office support provided by CareBuilders at Home includes:
- Helping franchisees open faster by assisting with state-specific licensing and regulatory compliance.
- Setting up contracts with insurance providers including Medicaid, long-term care policies, the Veterans Administration and others.
- Processing billing and collections.
- Serving as the employer of record for caregivers and funding payroll, insurance and other expenses up front.
- Providing general liability and workers compensation insurance for caregivers.
“Franchise owners don’t have to hire multiple people to fulfill these functions,” says Jessica Cornelius, director of franchise development. “We have entire departments that do all these things for them, and they’re very, very good at what they do. And owners are never going to be in a situation where they’re upside down, waiting to get a payment and needing to pay a caregiver, because we outlay all the cash for them. So, this really allows them to reduce that operating cost and be able to keep servicing people without having their own cash tied up.”
Bryan Ricks, who opened his CareBuilders at Home franchise in 2016 in Oakland, Calif., says the back-office support won him over. “The thing that really intrigued me about CareBuilders was that I could be relieved from having to do payroll, billing, collections, insurance and all those things because that takes away from my ability to go out and develop the business,” he says. “And having an employer of record makes a lot of sense. It dissipates a lot of risks.”
Demand for In-home Care
Ricks, who previously worked in sales and marketing for PepsiCo, wanted to invest in his own business to gain more control over his future. He recognized the increasing demand for home care based on the growing elderly population. “In my work with Pepsi, we’d have meetings with futurists who gave insights into the incoming ‘silver tsunami,’ and I got very interested.”
The U.S. home health care market size was valued at $142.9 billion in 2022 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 7.48% from 2023 to 2030, according to Grand View Research. Factors driving the market include the growing geriatric population, increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, favorable reimbursement for home health care equipment, advances in technology and cost effectiveness of home health services, according to Grand View.
Ricks also understood the challenges faced by the elderly, including his own parents, in making decisions about their health care needs. “There was a lot to be desired with home care options, and this gave me a sense about how we could do something better,” Ricks says.
Passion and Tenacity Required
Yount estimates that 90% of CareBuilders at Home franchise owners have no health care experience, “but they have this passion for making a difference in the life of another person.” Although there’s no commonality in terms of background or education among the most successful franchise owners, they do share a common trait, she says. “At the end of the day, it comes down to tenacity, a willingness to go 100 miles an hour, hit a roadblock, back up, and go another direction a hundred miles an hour. And it’s that tenacity that we look for.”
Ideal home care franchise owners have strong communication skills, ties to their community, and sales competency or a willingness to hire sales people, Yount says, because sales and recruiting are essential to the growth and development of their businesses. “And sales training is one of the areas where we’re really exceptional,” she says.
Sales training includes help with prospecting for potential clients, building a sales plan and one-on-one coaching. One of the sales trainers is a former Army Ranger with 25 years of health care experience, Yount says. “He really works a lot with our franchisees on general sales skills and in developing those relationships with veteran-affiliated organizations to help drive VA business to their businesses. Franchisees will even call him for last-minute tips before a meeting with a prospective referral partner. Having that resource for coaching and support really gives them a lot of confidence.”
History in Health Care
In addition to sales training, CareBuilders at Home provides in-depth sessions on recruiting and retaining quality caregivers, performing client assessments, care management, marketing the business, financial and operational benchmarks, data-driven results tracking, operational procedures and software training.
“Our team members are health care people first and franchise people second,” Yount says. “We’ve all run these businesses successfully, so we bring that experience and knowledge to bear in all of our training and support.”
As founders of CareBuilders’ parent company, ATC Healthcare Services staffing franchise, the Savitsky brothers echo those sentiments. “Health care is a complex industry and we’ve grown up in this industry. We’ve seen how it’s developed. I don’t know how many other companies could say that,” says Stephen Savitsky, who serves as CareBuilders chairman of the board.
“My brother and I have gone to the school of hard knocks,” adds David Savitsky, CareBuilders CEO. “We’ve made every mistake you can make and we’ve learned from that. So, we’re there to show franchise partners how they can do things the right way the first time.”
Revenue-Generating Programs
The corporate team also has focused on creating multiple revenue streams for franchise owners. CareBuilders’ subscription-based virtual caregiver program is an example, utilizing a proprietary device with built-in camera that plugs into a client’s television and can turn it into a voice-activated, on-demand virtual video call.
The virtual caregiver program’s features include enabling the client to speak into the remote to turn the TV on, call the care team at CareBuilders, or call an adult child who will appear on the TV screen for a virtual face-to-face conversation. A client’s adult children also can use a phone app to turn on the client’s TV to make sure he or she is OK, or go into the back end to see if the client has engaged with the TV. The client’s adult children also can call or text to send a message that appears on the client’s TV screen. The virtual caregiver program also enables CareBuilder caregivers to check on the client to make sure he or she has had a meal, taken medication and is doing OK.
Another CareBuilders program is targeted for clients with dementia. This brain health and fitness program is based on Harvard University research and aims to improve cognitive function through consistent physical and/or mental exercise.
An hourly personal assistance services program provides a cost-effective way for clients to get help with a specific task such as housekeeping, transportation or personal care. The personal assistance program also can include weekly in-person check-ins to verify the client’s welfare. Unlike most other home care franchises, CareBuilders at Home does not require clients to schedule a minimum number of hours per visit, but charges a premium rate for visits of less than four hours.
“We’re continuously seeking ways to not only serve our clients,” Yount says, “but to ensure our franchise owners’ success.”
Visit the CareBuilders at Home website for more information about franchising opportunities.
