“By 2020, 117 million Americans are expected to need assistance of some kind, yet the overall number of unpaid caregivers is only expected to reach 45 million.”
—Caregiving Innovation Frontiers study, AARP, January 2016.
The massive baby boomer demographic has been impacting industries like housing, travel, pets and healthcare for years, yet one of the biggest boomer-related market expansions is yet to come: senior care. Some seniors will receive necessary care by moving into a facility, but many will be aging at home with the assistance of homecare companies. There may be an opportunity for your company to participate in this enormous rising tide of opportunity.
Having dealt with this question during the last years of life with both my mother and father-in-law, I can safely say that many if not most seniors will prefer to stay in their own homes for as long as possible. I know I will when that time comes. That said, at a certain point my mother required a higher level of care which necessitated her move into a facility that could address her needs. Of course, the number of senior care facilities will increase as this demographic ages; however, the biggest increase in senior assisted living will be with in-home care.
There are currently many in-home assistance companies that serve this population. Future demand will be met by the expansion of existing companies and the addition of new entrants. Mary Bowman, Executive VP Marketing Communications for Comfort Keepers in-home care service explains, “We have been in business for 18 years, and we now have 500 franchisees running 750 offices. That’s not nearly enough coverage to handle the coming demand.” Bowman also describes the current sentiment among the adult children who are making these decisions. “Most children who are dealing with these questions want their parents to stay at home as long as they can. They just want to make sure that the in-home option is safe, reliable and flexible.” So it’s not only the patients who want to remain at home, that’s also the desire of family members who will be making purchase decisions along with, or in behalf of parents.
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Because of the burgeoning number of aging people who will need care, better technology must be a part of the overall solution set. A visit by a nurse can cost around $100 and a lower level caregiver can run $22 to $25 per hour. But technology will replace some of the functions of a professional much more cost-effectively. Here’s where companies will be providing new tech solutions through, as just a few examples, wearable products that monitor and transmit vital signs, apps that remind patients to take medications and track whether they do, voice recordings from a daughter that will help mom remember to eat lunch, and many more ideas that haven’t been thought of yet. This area of senior home care is perhaps the largest opportunity for future growth. With facility-based care costing around $5,000 per month, and in-home service at $1,500 to $2,000 per month for 5 to 8 hours of daily care, there will be strong market pressure to reduce end-user costs through technology.
Better technology notwithstanding, we shouldn’t lose sight of the main goal of in-home care (the operative word being care). Anna Holden, a Comfort Keepers franchisee in Wheeling, Illinois for sixteen years, puts technology in perspective. “Our practices incorporate the latest in tech solutions, but those solutions are only a means to the end of better care at a better price. We do our best work when we keep customer needs and family budgets in mind.”
Here’s another surprising statistic: There are 10,000 people turning 65 every day in the US. Clearly, this is a tide that will raise every boat in these waters. How can your company contribute to and prosper in this market?
