Senior Housing and Home Care Industry Growth Goes Hand in Hand

The United States Department of Labor is showing two home health care positions as being some of the fast growing occupations in their 2008 hand book. Personal and home care aides (increased 50.6%) and Home health aides (increased 48.7%) were ranked as 2 and 3 in the list of 30 fastest growing occupations.

1. People want to Age in Place. This goes back to study after study that says seniors want to retire and stay as long as possible in their homes. Nursing homes and assisted living centers are increasingly being viewed as “only for rehab,” or “only as a last resort.”

2. The number of seniors is increasing. Simple case of demand. It’s obvious that not only are we are living longer and need more aid at home, the sheer numbers of the Baby Boom generation beginning the road to retirement is going to create even greater demand for in home care needs.

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3. Chasing money. And article in the Colorado Springs Gazette puts it bluntly: “Growth primarily is among companies…that are not certified to accept Medicare and Medicaid patients. Instead, they serve self-paying patients and patients who have long-term care insurance, she said. Home health care agencies in Colorado provide about 3 million visits per year to more than 60,000 individuals, constituting nearly $400 million in expenditures.”

4. The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article that Home Care franchises were one of the country’s fastest growing franchising opportunities. These companies were offering national advertising and training/care standards but looking for ways to expand these brands locally to seniors in areas throughout the country.

Senior Housing will be a small business growth driver for the next 20 years.

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