The Future of Home Care is in Your Hands: Technology, Untapped Workforce & Ending Social Isolation

Home care is in a transitionary period due to COVID-19 and what comes next is up to you. After watching CareAcademy’s newest webinar series ‘Views From the C-Suite’ featuring Helen Adeosun, co-founder and CEO of CareAcademy, Brian Petranick, President and CEO at Right At Home, and Jisella Dolan, Chief Global Advocacy Officer at Home Instead I am left feeling hopeful for the future of home care.

While COVID-19 often holds a negative light in most people's minds, there is no denying that despite the tragedies and loss — home care, as an industry, is better having lived through it. Brian Petranick touched on this point when saying, while people have suffered a great loss, as an organization experiences such as COVID-19 are what allow for continued learnings and success. In light of COVID-19, home care workers have finally been recognized as ‘essential’. In the words of Jisella Dolan, “home care has its moment right now, where we are being seen as part of the healthcare ecosystem in a way we haven't before.”

Jisella Dolan and Brian Petranick both touched on some very important topics surrounding the opportunities COVID-19 has created for us as an industry as well as the next steps we can take to ensure home care is viewed as a sustainable form of healthcare. Touching on these topics is extremely important for us all to be aware of especially now that states are starting to reopen.

Opportunities

Opportunities that were discussed involved the integration of tech and touch along with tapping into the unemployed workforce. Both of these I felt were great ways to not only elevate home care post COVID-19 but also make sure we are better prepared for future pandemics. One thing COVID-19 has taught us is that we do have the ability to work remote and with the integration of technologies, like CareAcademy’s training platform, we are able to remain productive, meet compliance and stay connected— or at least as connected as one can be in times of social distancing.

If you are looking for new ways to integrate tech and are not yet familiar with CareAcademy, book a demo!

Next Steps

What I found to be the most valuable part of the webinar, especially as states reopen, is the next steps we can take in home care to continue with the momentum we have gained as a result of COVID-19. Thanks to Jisella Dolan and Brian Petranick, viewers were able to educate themselves on steps being taken by Right at Home and Home Instead to address their caregivers needs and securities, how agency operations will change in the home and within the agency as well as the most important point of all — using data we gather from being in the home as a way to push for policy change.

This section of the webinar was especially important because in order for home care to receive the recognition it deserves and for that recognition to remain sustainable, we must first change policies to ensure our job security as an industry.

While at CareAcademy I have been ingrained with the mindset that great home care is great healthcare and with the momentum we have gained from COVID-19 we can educate policy makers on just that. Curious on what else was discussed during the webinar or how your agency can push for change? Watch the webinar replay here.

Allow your caregivers to feel secure with our virtual, mobile-friendly training platform. Your caregivers will be able to meet compliance while still practicing social distancing.