Homewatch CareGivers is growing, from a service line and location-count perspective.
The Denver-based home care franchise company has expanded its network of 427 locations to 33 states and seven countries, employing over 4,500 caregivers. CEO Todd Houghton says the company is on track to open 22 offices in the U.S. this year, along with eight to 10 locations throughout Central and South America.
“We can always fill in more whitespace,” Houghton said. “My mission is to have better access to care across the country. We look at people that are in rural communities. How do we get them access to care so they can age at home?”
Homewatch CareGivers is aiming to provide better access to care through its Total Care Solutions initiative, as well as its Homewatch Connect technology. Homewatch Connect is an in-home monitoring system that the company unveiled earlier this year.
Houghton calls Homewatch Connect the company’s “key differentiator.” It allows clients to access care at home easily through their television and a remote control.
“This is a very age friendly remote control that allows them to have video connection engagement with their family, with their doctors and with their care provider from Homewatch CareGivers,” Houghton said.
The Homewatch Connect technology has numerous other capabilities, including the ability to put reminders for medication, appointments and hydration right on a home care recipient’s television screen.
The company is also testing AI features that will “check in” with home care recipients, analyze the client’s needs and help them decide whether or not to schedule a caregiver visit.
“We’re using AI now in helping develop person-centered care plans,” Houghton said. “It really helps focus on the individual and their needs, rather than just a general care plan that most companies in the home care space do.”
Home care recipients in all stages of life are able to utilize the Homewatch Connect technology to get personal care, transition care and general wellness care.
“We really want to have that full continuum of care for somebody that needs it,” Houghton said. “Homewatch Connect will allow them to live in their home, where nearly 77% of the people over the age of 55 want to live their aging years.”
Houghton admits there is a “fear of technology” that the company is working to overcome. It’s doing so by educating home care recipients on how to use the technology while also providing assurance that the technology, unlike their smartphone, is safe and secure.
Moving fast, the company is analyzing data from a select group of home care recipients using the Homewatch Connect technology. Houghton reports that the company has reduced hospital visits by 33% amongst those currently being monitored.
“Obviously that’s great for the person that’s receiving care,” Houghton said. “It’s also a great savings to the insurer and insurance companies that we can help reduce those costs.”
Houghton sees care costs as the next opportunity for the home care industry to tackle. He believes Medicare Advantage (MA) needs to be expanded to provide more resources to the aging population. He wants to work with other leaders across the industry and pursue access to more payer sources.
“Currently, most of the industry is driven by a private-pay aspect,” Houghton said. “As an industry, we’re really trying to harvest the data to be able to go to insurance companies and get them to understand the benefits of offering homecare as part of an insurance offering.”
Homewatch CareGivers’ strides in the industry have not gone unnoticed. The company recently won the Most Innovative Service Introduction award for Homewatch Connect and was named the Operations and Technology Overall winner at the International Franchise Association’s 2024 Franchise Customer Experience Conference.
Looking towards the future, Houghton says the company’s technology will continue to evolve as Homewatch CareGivers stays committed to providing home care recipients with “a more secure, safe place” to age.
“It’s always been my philosophy that our aging population deserves to be in the place where they’re most comfortable,” Houghton said. “And that’s their home.”
This story was written by an HHCN freelancer, Elizabeth Gregerson.
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