Is Community-Based Home Care the Key to Long-Term Growth for Your Independent Living Community?

Historically, Independent Living Communities have been a favored option for older adults (aged 55+) who are still healthy, active, and self-sufficient but looking for a maintenance-free living environment that provides onsite amenities, social activities, and a sense of community. 

In addition to providing the freedom to live independently and pursue personal interests, Independent Living Communities are typically far more affordable than other options available.

However, as seniors who have chosen this living option age, they’ll likely require more support to manage activities of daily living (ADLs) and emerging health issues, which can mean they become less eligible for independent living environments – and need to move to higher levels of care, such as Assisted Living or Skilled Nursing Facilities.

What if Independent Living Communities could find a way to extend the stay of their senior residents, allowing them to live independently for as long as possible and improve their quality of life, while also boosting their business’s bottom line?

In this article, we explore how introducing community-based home care (CBHC) in your Independent Living Community could be a viable option to accommodate the changing needs of the rapidly expanding senior market and retain your residents for longer. 

Creating a non-medical home care service line – to provide your residents with additional support as their needs increase over time – will protect their desire to age in place while also securing the long-term growth of your community.

What is community-based home care (CBHC)?

Community-based home care is a rapidly growing addition to prudent Independent Living Communities, apartments, and cluster homes, where the residents currently have minimal need for personal care assistance or health care support in their daily living. 

It’s typically offered to fill the gaps between any general services provided, like housekeeping and gardening – and can cover a wide range of care options from help with bathing, dressing, and medication management to transportation, pet care, and meal prep.   

Community-based home care can be an especially valuable resource for couples that want to continue living together when one requires more assistance than the other is able to provide.

It can also be a godsend for residents with short-term support needs, for example, after a short hospital stay or during a period of illness like flu or an arthritis flare. In these situations, CBHC not only provides much-needed help with activities of daily living (ADLs) but also gives families peace of mind that their loved ones are in safe hands and receiving the care they need for a full recovery.

The main goal of community-based home care – as with traditional home care – is to provide support services that will promote the residents’ highest level of independence, safety, and wellbeing – with a strong focus on preventative care.

What are the benefits of offering community-based home care (CBHC)?

For seniors choosing to age in place at an Independent Living Community, apartment, or cluster home, CBHC can provide an extra level of support – as and when needed – that has proven invaluable in enhancing health and wellness outcomes.

Key benefits of CBHC for senior residents:

• Provides flexible access to home care services to maintain their dignity and independence.
• Avoids or prolongs having to move into a higher-level care facility.
• Supports couples in continuing to live together when one needs more assistance than the other is able to provide.
• Is provided by trained caregivers, who understand seniors’ needs, which can increase residents’ engagement and satisfaction.
• Brings personal care and other service offerings to their doorstep (without the need to travel), offering comfort and convenience.
• Can often be delivered during shorter visits than traditional home care, making it more affordable for seniors/families (and may be covered by state or local programs).
• Has potential for long-term relationships/companionship between seniors and caregivers, providing emotional support and socialization that reduce the risks involved in prolonged isolation/loneliness.
• Increases safety and wellbeing through a personalized, preventative care approach, which helps reduce the onset of serious health issues, and may minimize hospitalizations or emergency interventions.
• Significantly improves seniors’ quality of daily life without being overly intrusive. 
• Allows for a continuum of care between independent living and nursing homes when the time comes.

Key benefits of CBHC for your senior living community:

In addition to the multiple advantages a community-based home care line can offer your residents, it can also be a real boost for your business, with benefits including: 

• Enhances residents’ engagement and satisfaction by providing continuity of care as residents’ needs evolve.  
• Increases resident retention, and your bottom line, as seniors are able to remain in your community for longer.
• Creates added value to differentiate your community and attract clients from different health backgrounds and a wider age group.
• Provides peace of mind for residents’ loved ones, knowing additional support and care is available if/when needed. 
• Generates new revenue streams for expansion and growth by offering a wider range of services to a potentially broader client base.
• Supports a better quality of life and better care outcomes for seniors, to boost your business reputation and increase referrals.
• Delivers a relatively low-risk strategy for attaining sustainable, long-term growth.
• Puts your business ahead of the curve in delivering a model of senior living experience that defines the next generation of aging consumers.

The main challenges in implementing community-based home care

The challenges involved in implementing a community-based home care line will depend on how you choose to do it. It may be possible to partner with a local home care agency or contract with a PACE program in your area to deliver these services, which can be beneficial in some cases – especially if you want to try out the idea before you fully commit to bringing it in-house.

If you’re considering developing your own CBHC services as part of your independent living business model, there are some clear challenges to take into account so you can avoid falling at the first hurdle.

For example, you will need to factor in recruiting and hiring caregivers, managing and coordinating new staff, scheduling, maintaining open lines of communication across the whole care triangle (residents/families, caregivers, and management), caregiver training, sustaining resident engagement, and regulatory compliance.   

You’ll also need to contend with rising operational costs, timely and accurate invoicing, complex payroll, and potentially securing sufficient funding for growth.

However, don’t let this list of potential challenges hold you back! The purpose of all good challenges in life is to provide us with opportunities for growth – to discover new skills, enjoy new experiences, adapt, and find innovative solutions.

Setting out on this new business opportunity with a ‘growth mindset’ and the right tech tools in place, you (and your residents and families) will soon be reaping the many rewards of adding CBHC in your community – and wondering why you didn’t start sooner!

Aaniie Software – overcoming the challenges of delivering CBHC in your independent living community 

Aaniie’s cloud-based workforce management software is uniquely positioned to provide everything you need to streamline, optimize, and scale every aspect of your new CBHC venture effectively and efficiently.

The all-in-one platform contains all the tools required to successfully implement and manage an extended range of community-based home care options, in any type of community, including:

• Hiring and retaining new staff
• Home care service coordination and caregiver management
• Flexible scheduling
• Secure communication, including a client/family portal
• Reporting, including customizable KPI dashboards, to help you measure and monitor progress and make data-driven decisions
• Resident and family engagement and feedback tools   
• Integrated training and development  
• A robust financial system, instrumental in helping you navigate the complexities of operating an expanding business – including automated billing and payroll
• Managing CBHC across multiple senior living communities, ensuring consistent care delivery across the board
• Regulatory compliance  
• Full marketing automation and CRM toolkit 

It’s also the only home care platform currently on the market that seamlessly integrates with commonly-used senior living platforms, such as PointClickCare, making it simple to log in from any device, manage services, securely share client/resident data, and simplify invoicing.

Our problem was that our two systems didn’t talk with each other. So it was a real struggle to make sure that both systems were in sync and showed the same information for our caregivers and case managers. And from a billing perspective, we needed to make sure that we bill properly and pay our employees properly. Now we don’t have to worry about things being integrated. The information flows accurately and freely between Aaniie and PointClickCare.” — Judy Swiech

Your next steps

As the senior population continues to grow, the landscape of Independent Living Communities is naturally evolving. Your community will need to adapt to this changing demographic if you want to stand out from the competition and reach the next stage of your growth journey.

One approach being seized upon by forward-thinking ILCs is offering a range of community-based home care services, to ensure their senior residents have access to vibrant and fulfilling lifestyles well beyond their retirement years.

To find out how Aaniie can help your Independent Living Community add and manage a range of community-based home care services successfully – and support your business expansion and growth – please give us a call or request a free demo today.