Home Care Franchisers Increasingly Looking to Launch Home Health Business Lines
J.J. Sorrenti was picked to lead the Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based Best Life Brands as CEO in April 2020, only a month into the COVID-19 pandemic.
There have been ups and downs for the corporate, which has each house care and residential well being areas in its portfolio. Yet Sorrenti is optimistic about his firm’s future.
The holding firm at present has over 500 franchise areas throughout the U.S. and Canada. Under its umbrella is ComForCare, At Your Side, Boost Home Healthcare and different senior-focused franchise manufacturers.
Best Life Brands has been acquisitive of late and has plans to take the following step in its development plan by integrating extra expertise within the near-term future. That up to date expertise ought to assist the corporate each operationally and with staffing, Sorrenti mentioned.
Home Health Care News caught up with Sorrenti on a latest Disrupt episode to discuss that and way more.
Highlights from the dialog are under, edited for size and readability.
HHCN: How did you first get into the house care recreation? What was the trail that introduced you to Best Life Brands?
J.J. Sorrenti: I used to be within the enterprise for lots of the explanations that every one of us have an interest within the trade at this time: the fast-growing demographics, the chance to present superior care and the chance to actually repair an issue within the house, which could be very tough to resolve.
I used to be the CEO for Huntington Learning Centers, which is a supplemental schooling after-school tutoring enterprise. When a baby’s struggling at school, it actually breaks the house aside. To have the option to assist repair that was in all probability probably the most gratifying factor I used to be in a position to do, till now.
We’ve all handled it at some degree or one other the place we had a guardian that was struggling and wanted some care or wanted placement. I don’t have well being care expertise, however I’ve franchising expertise, and it felt just like the crew would recognize my management type.
Somebody else in your place who was coming into house take care of the primary time may have determined to stick to the bread and butter house care companies. But you actually decided to expand into the medical home care area. Why did you determine to try this?
As I used to be interviewing for the place, everybody that I spoke with on the personal fairness agency mentioned that the house well being care initiative was essential to the senior care platform, and it’s for all the identical causes. There’s a lot want within the market and there’s a lot alternative for individuals.
At some degree, you need to be a worthwhile mannequin, however our mannequin can also be about serving to individuals and having the ability to be obtainable and handy to those who want the care. Our personal fairness agency was very serious about entering into the area and so COVID didn’t sluggish that course of down. Not one bit. In reality, it accelerated it a bit.
Best Life Brands has lots of of areas throughout its community and its totally different manufacturers. I’m most serious about listening to about ComForCare, At Your Side and Boost. Even amid the pandemic, how have these totally different manufacturers grown?
Each one in all them was impacted otherwise. Of course with ComForCare and At Your Side, there have been professionals and cons to COVID. I feel anybody that’s in house care that understands house care, like a lot of the listeners to this podcast, know that. There have been hospitals and amenities that have been discharging sufferers early and so we have been in a position to assist out in that scenario.
We do person-to-person, face-to-face, in-the-market visits within the facility and the neighborhood, in order that was very tough to do. We had to go in the direction of extra of a digital expertise so we have been sluggish for some time, however we have been in a position to rebound and the personal fairness agency made some investments at the moment and we have been in a position to survive and get by the scenario.
What are you focusing on so far as new territories or areas by the top of 2022?
I’ve been in franchising for a extremely very long time, thirty-plus years now. Generally talking, each time any of the companies that I’ve been concerned in began to goal sure geographies, it acquired actually inefficient. What we’re attempting to do is locate the candidates which can be serious about our enterprise, and hopefully the geography that they’re serious about is on the market in our manufacturers.
Every franchise growth director round goes to have a distinct reply to this query based mostly on their expertise. We’ve stayed versatile. That approach, based mostly on the candidates that decision us, we see the place their pursuits lie as a result of 90% of their curiosity is within the neighborhood they stay in and so we wish to have the option to reply to that.
Apart from simply entrepreneurs who’re wanting to get into house care, are you seeing some other kinds of house care house owners that previously, possibly you wouldn’t have seen?
We are. We’re particularly seeing it on the Boost aspect. In reality, a number of of our nurses have determined that they need to run a enterprise for themselves. We’ll have to modify the best way we take into consideration issues.
If you’ve a nurse that’s now the operator, possibly they want somewhat extra assist in gross sales and advertising and rather less assistance on the scientific aspect. You have to be sure to have your working techniques and your ongoing assist modified to just be sure you know you’re supporting the franchisees the perfect you possibly can.
What are you seeing out of your house owners within the Best Life Brands community on the staffing entrance?
We see retention could be very sturdy for us and that’s a great factor. About 94% of our caregivers report that they’re more than happy with their work at ComForCare and At Your Side. That’s a extremely excessive mark. Retention is in a great place. Recruitment is all the time the larger subject.
ComForCare and At Your Side have a caregiver-first initiative that they’ve actually refined. It’s a captivating, fantastic program that kind of units us aside in some ways so we do understand how to assist franchisees discover caregivers on the recruitment aspect.
The different factor that’s taking place is that franchisees have discovered alternative ways to schedule and alternative ways to construction that employees. When any individual finds the actually good math [when structuring and juggling schedules], we’re in a position to share finest practices throughout the system.
Lots of totally different substances go into the retention stew, so to converse. What are a number of the key retention substances that you simply’re actually targeted on because the CEO of Best Life Brands?
We strive to work on being actually clear and ensuring that people which can be on the crew perceive the ‘why’ behind what they’re doing. Most individuals be part of this firm for that cause. Our caregivers are serving to individuals stay their finest lives and serving to households resolve issues. That’s only a fantastic function.
You higher be aggressive on pay scale, PTO, be versatile with a work-life steadiness and all these different issues. Those are critically necessary, however we actually are targeted on the aim, the belief and the transparency.
What subject, in your view, isn’t getting sufficient consideration in house care?
As we’re working down the trail with expertise and determining how expertise goes to interface with house care — how which will assist the labor query in all probability may get much more consideration. There are actually lots of of options on the market at this time and it’s going to be fascinating to watch who finally ends up being the chief. We went by an analysis course of for ourselves as we began venturing into what historically is known as distant affected person monitoring. We’re calling it digital care companies.
I feel COVID at some degree accelerated [this technology push], however there are a number of firms which can be excited about leaping into doing distant affected person monitoring and I I feel there’s going to be some actually fascinating adjustments to the trade within the subsequent a number of years on account of it.
As the CEO of the group, what enterprise alternatives in house care are you enthusiastic about within the again half of 2022 most, possibly even wanting forward to subsequent yr?
We’re somewhat bit sluggish on the expertise aspect, however we’re stepping into full power now. We’ve acquired a market check for digital care companies and we don’t know the place that’s going to take us. We’re testing it in house care at this stage and we’re fairly certain we’re going to find yourself taking it to Boost Home Health.
We’re actually enthusiastic about that and we’re about to go to market with a handful of franchisees to check this and see what the traction goes to seem like.
