Senior population continues to grow and the desire to stay at home continues to increase. With the over-65 population projected to double by 2030 in America alone, more and more families around the world are in need of in-home senior care. One of the continued trends in healthcare today is for hospitals to reduce costs by getting people back into their homes faster and helping them stay there longer. People aren’t just growing older; they’re also living longer thanks to an increased commitment to health and wellness, as well as advancements in medicine. Increased life expectancy rates among men and women mean many will need medical and non-medical assistance in order to remain independent. Fulfilling this crucial need community by community are several senior care franchise networks.
The aging population presents an opportunity to own a franchise business that offers not only growth potential, but also the personal satisfaction of knowing your services make a difference for seniors who want to stay in their homes as they age.
Here are some successful senior care franchises:
BrightStar Care.
Ranked the No.1 Fastest-Growing Women-led Company in 2012 by Wall Street Journal, BrightStar is a unique international franchise brand that can provide the full continuum of care — including companion care, personal care and skilled care—answering the call to meet the growing demand in multiple market segments, from children to seniors. In 2012, BrightStar also was named among the 25 Best Franchises for African Americans by Black Enterprise, for those brands and concepts that offered the best business opportunities based on minority participation, veteran incentives, franchisee satisfaction, growth industry, low to medium cost of entry and store success rates.
J.D. and Shelly Sun founded BridghtStar in 2002 after their own poor experience with caregivers. The company provides what it calls a “full continuum of home care” that includes adult and elder care services, child care and medical staffing services for individuals, families and health care facilities. BrightStar looks for franchisees with strong management experience or marketing and sales experience. Medical expertise isn’t required. Franchisees spend between $95,000 and $163,000 for startup.
Right At Home
Also ranked among the 25 Best Franchises for African Americans, Right At Home is a medical and non-medial franchise that provides care for people who don’t need an institutional setting, but still need some assistance to live at home. Franchisees receive ongoing training and support, including recruitment and staff development. Startup costs range from $70,000 to $120,000.
Former hospital administrator Allen Hager founded the company in 1995, after having watched many elderly patients leave the facility and return home, but not necessarily return to health. After researching what were the different kinds of challenges seniors faced and what kind of care would help, he then became a Certified Nursing Assistant so he could work people still living in their home but who needed some professional assistance. Today, Right at Home has more than 300 locations that serve tens of thousands of clients in the United States, Canada, The United Kingdom, Brazil, China and Ireland.
Sitters Etc
Its franchise program is both affordable and scalable servicing mid-size towns and counties to meet the growing demand for private care outside metropolitan areas. The company’s “4-Phase Training Program” teaches franchisees how to recruit, motivate, and retain the best caregivers. Sitters Etc Training ensures that each franchisee is able to meet the daily demands within their local market, whether non-medical or Alzheimers’ care.
Sitters Etc. was founded by Beau Brothers in 2002 and has experienced a tremendous 12-year run as a family owned, non-medical in-home care organization serving Tennessee and Arkansas. Beau’s first experience with in-home care came when his grandmother could no longer live at home alone. Frustrated and disappointed by the lack of screening and training among the caregivers available to his family, he realized an opportunity to greatly improve upon what the senior community was forced to accept. Sitters Etc has employed over 300 Experienced Caregivers in the South East U.S. since 2003, providing the full range of services from staffing nursing homes to 24/7 in-home care. Total investment ranges from $50,000 to $100,000.
Home Instead
Lori and Paul Hogan founded Home Instead in 1994 to provide non-medical in-home care services for seniors. The company is the largest senior care franchise, according to FranchiseHelp, a resource for entrepreneurship and franchise opportunities. Home Instead operates more than 900 franchises in the U.S. and internationally, with more than 65,000 caregivers in its network.
Their caregivers provide basic support services — personal care, medication reminders, meal preparation, light housekeeping, errands, incidental transportation and shopping — to allow seniors to live in their own homes as long as possible. An all-in investment for a new Home Instead franchise is between $100,000 and $120,000.