How to Reduce Turnover and Grow

Your Agency Using Specialized

Care
Megan Kujawa

Articles, Attract & Retain Caregivers, Grow Your Agency

 Home care agencies across the country are ghting to stay
competitive. Here’s how to set your agency apart with specialized
care. 

H
ave you ever wondered how specialized care would affect recruitment, new
client intake, and agency competitiveness? While providing specialized care
isn’t going to transform your business overnight, it will help you become a more
competitive employer and care provider.

At Home Care Association of America (http://www.hcaoa.org/) ‘s Virtual Leadership

Conference, Brett Ringold, Vice President at A Long Term Companion
(https://alongtermcompanion.com/) , discussed the need for home care agency owners to

focus on two sets of clients: the clients themselves and your caregivers. Caregivers
are just as much of a client in home care, especially with the current state of
recruitment, retention, and turnover. Treating them as such and providing room
for further growth and learning through specialized care training will improve your
positioning in the market.

As you may already know, Home Care Pulse recently merged with In the Know
Caregiver Training (https://www.knowingmore.com/?
__hstc=25406882.be90eb4cc416145a5c810cd0a41b3c59.1601932918846.1603991846918.1603999155

. We’ve found that to care for an aging population’s increasingly complex needs,
caregivers need a more intentional focus on specialized education to provide
clients with safe, comprehensive care.

Home care agencies across the country are tailoring their models to include
specialized care. How are you going to adapt?

What is specialized care?

Specialized care can take many different forms – which we’ll discuss later – but it’s
important to understand the foundation first.

A Caregiver Specialist is a caregiver with advanced training in a targeted topic that

is relevant to the client population he or she serves.

Whereas most caregivers are trained in basic caregiving methods, specialized

caregivers have in-depth knowledge about a particular condition and ways to
provide clients with the best care possible based upon their needs. Specialized
care goes above and beyond the standard training for caregivers.

While specializing isn’t critical for every agency, some statistics prove that there is
a growing demand as time progresses.

 More than 6 out of every 10 Baby Boomers

(https://www.aha.org/system/files/content/00-10/070508-boomerreport.pdf) have more

than one chronic condition.

 Every 66 seconds (https://www.alzheimers.net/resources/alzheimers-statistics) ,

someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s disease.

 The next decade will deliver about 55 percent more people with diabetes,
and 25 percent more will be obese
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5278808/) .

The advantages of specialized care

Should you offer specialized care to your clients?

There is a lot to unpack with this question, but we can help you get started.
Depending on the size and target of your agency, specialized care might be a great
idea.
Current research supports a broadening need to provide specialized care for
specific clinical conditions, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s, diabetes, behavioral
health issues, and preventing readmissions.

While there are many pros and cons to specializing, here are a few of the ways that
it might benefit your agency.

Personal and professional growth for caregivers

In 2019, we surveyed (homecarepulse.com/surveys) nearly 100,000 caregivers on behalf

of their agencies to see what was going well and what wasn’t. One of the top
complaints (https://www.homecarepulse.com/articles/the-top-ten-complaints-from-caregivers/)
we heard was about the industry’s lack of training and growth. One caregiver even
told our team, “I have clients with specific needs, and they don’t train me on how to
help them. One time they told me just to look up videos on YouTube.”

Home care’s sad reality is that sometimes caregivers can face stagnant
responsibilities with little personal or professional development. No agency wants
to hear this complaint from their staff. It’s important to give your caregiver
opportunities to enhance their skills or learn more about new areas.

This is where specialization can come into play. If a caregiver is excited about a
particular care topic, it might be beneficial to provide them with training to break
into a new arena.

Providing ongoing opportunities for caregivers to grow and learn new skills will
help to limit caregiver turnover while attracting more qualified caregiver
applicants. The more you focus on development, the stronger your agency will be.

Opens a door of opportunities to reach new groups of clients

In home care, specializing can provide a great opportunity to get in front of clients
that other agencies might not be able to. You’ll often find that individuals with
specific concerns and needs are searching for agencies that can specifically cater
to their condition. A generalized agency might not be equipped to handle these
clients, and therefore, you’ll gain new business.

It gives you a chance to choose the type of client you want to work with, rather
than feeling compelled to accept anyone who comes your way.

While it might seem like segmenting the market is not the best idea, we can assure
you that providing specialized care can get you in front of clients that your typical
agency wouldn’t be able to.

Increased competitiveness

Every home care agency offers caregiving services – that’s a given, but unless you
are doing something to stand out from the crowd, you likely won’t be as
competitive as other top agencies.

Types of specialized care

Specialized caregivers have advanced training in common conditions and are
simply more knowledgeable in complex areas of care. When caregivers train and
specialize in certain areas, you’ll likely see a rise in client satisfaction.

Here are a few of the specializations your agency could consider.

 Alzheimer’s and dementia care (https://www.knowingmore.com/wp-

content/uploads/2020/08/Specialist-Learning-Paths-Alzheimers.pdf?

__hstc=25406882.be90eb4cc416145a5c810cd0a41b3c59.1601932918846.1603991846918.1603

 Infection control (https://www.knowingmore.com/wp-

content/uploads/2020/08/Specialist-Learning-Paths-Infection-Control.pdf?

__hstc=25406882.be90eb4cc416145a5c810cd0a41b3c59.1601932918846.1603991846918.1603

 Behavioral Health (https://www.knowingmore.com/wp-

content/uploads/2019/11/Specialist-Learning-Paths-Behavioral-Health.pdf?

__hstc=25406882.be90eb4cc416145a5c810cd0a41b3c59.1601932918846.1603991846918.1603
 Preventing readmissions (https://www.knowingmore.com/wp-
content/uploads/2019/11/Specialist-Learning-Paths-Readmissions.pdf?

__hstc=25406882.be90eb4cc416145a5c810cd0a41b3c59.1601932918846.1603991846918.1603

 Restorative care (https://www.knowingmore.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Specialist-

Learning-Paths-Restorative.pdf?

__hstc=25406882.be90eb4cc416145a5c810cd0a41b3c59.1601932918846.1603991846918.1603

 Palliative care (https://www.knowingmore.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Specialist-

Learning-Paths-Palliative.pdf?

__hstc=25406882.be90eb4cc416145a5c810cd0a41b3c59.1601932918846.1603991846918.1603

In the 2020 Home Care Benchmarking study (benchmarking.homecarepulse.com) , we

evaluated the top specialty services offered by home care agencies.

After looking at the data, it’s clear that behavioral health care, compared to other
specialty services, is a very small segment of the market. According to the CDC
(https://www.cdc.gov/aging/pdf/mental_health.pdf) , even though senior care clients often

“seem okay,” almost 20% of people over 60 suffer from some type of mental health
issue – including depression, anxiety, OCD, hoarding disorder, PTSD, bipolar
disorder, or schizophrenia – with less than 3% seeking outside help.
How to implement a specialized care
program
Creating a specialized care program isn’t difficult, but it does take a little bit of
planning upfront to make sure the transition is smooth. Here’s where to get
started.

Decide what specialty your market demands

As you evaluate your current client base and target market, what similarities do
you see? Across the board, do your clients have conditions that are similar or do
you have inquiries about a certain type of specialty care?

Maybe you have individuals reaching out to you about caring for their diabetic
needs or family members who want a caregiver for their loved ones with
Alzheimer’s.

No matter what, you are ultimately the expert on your market and know what sort
of specialization would benefit both your community and your bottom line.

Seek training

Specialty care can quickly take your organization from good to great. In the Know
Caregiver Training provides opportunities for home care agencies to specialize in
areas beyond the basics.

They also offer Specialized Learning Paths that are pre-built and ready to use.
Current In the Know subscribers can simply search the library for “ITK’s Caregiver
Specialist Training (https://www.knowingmore.com/specialist-learning-paths-3/?
__hstc=25406882.be90eb4cc416145a5c810cd0a41b3c59.1601932918846.1603991846918.1603999155

” to see the complete list and then assign courses to caregivers with one click.

The platform is extremely easy to use and will help give your caregivers the
leverage they need to perform better care for those with distinguished conditions.
Promote your newly specialized services to the community

In home care, competing with other agencies for referral partners

(https://www.homecarepulse.com/articles/home-care-marketing-101-how-to-create-a-referral-

marketing-strategy/) will always be one of the biggest challenges faced in your

marketing efforts. When you begin to specialize, it ultimately helps you level up
against the competition, while making your agency the go-to resource for the
particular type of care you provide. Having referral sources will give your agency
an advantage in having a steady pipeline of new clients
(https://www.homecarepulse.com/articles/home-care-sales-how-spin-selling-can-help-you-get-more-

clients/) .

Specialist learning paths and training

Specialized learning paths are a great tool for helping your caregivers to expand
their knowledge of home care. These paths include pre-built sets of curricula
focused on all the common conditions that caregivers may encounter during their
typical work schedules.

Regardless, helping your caregivers to become more specialized in their craft will
allow for continuous growth, both for the caregivers themselves and your agency
as you hone in on your target market.

Has your home care agency embraced specialized care? Here are a few more
resources on training (https://www.homecarepulse.com/caregiver-training/) and specialty
learning to help you get started:

 Need a Marketing Advantage? Try Specializing!

(https://www.knowingmore.com/2020/01/14/need-a-marketing-advantage-try-specializing/?

__hstc=25406882.be90eb4cc416145a5c810cd0a41b3c59.1601932918846.1603991846918.1603

 Specialist Learning Paths for Your Care Team

(https://www.knowingmore.com/2019/08/14/specialist-learning-paths-for-your-care-team/?

__hstc=25406882.be90eb4cc416145a5c810cd0a41b3c59.1601932918846.1603991846918.1603
 The 5-Minute Guide to Better Caregiver Training
(https://www.homecarepulse.com/articles/5-minute-guide-better-caregiver-training/)

Oct 14, 2020 | Categories: Articles, Attract & Retain Caregivers, Grow Your Agency

About the Author: Megan Kujawa

Megan is a Content Marketing Specialist at Home Care Pulse with experience in digital and
traditional marketing methods. Before working at Home Care Pulse, she assisted nonpro ts
and startups to secure funding and develop operations. Megan is passionate about helping
small businesses grow from the ground up, while utilizing all digital and social channels.