Six months after the medical care news count in the home to balance quality care with limited refund rates of Medicaid, it was one of its main challenges, the CEO of comfort goalkeepers, Natalie Black, is closely observing the potential of the Medicid policy.
The Executive is monitoring the situation of Medicaid while pursuing two main objectives: completing the company’s transition to a fully franchisee business model while Simultanerouse expands to new markets in the United States.
With only four locations owned by the company that dates back to the conversion pipe, the company based in Irvine, California, hopes to achieve its goal of becoming 100% franchisee in the next girls, while the transition is soft for it.
As Comfort Keepers approaches the finish line in the transition of her franchise, Black seeks to eliminate what she calls one of the most important “time of time” of the company, the company’s management operations, redirecting all the resources of the headquarters towards the support.
HHCN recently updated Black to discuss the growth of the company since January, how the company attracts and retains both customers and caregivers and the need for technology in the personal care industry.
The interview has been edited by length and clarity.
HHCN: When he spent for the last time with HHCN in January, he said that the process of re -franchising the locations of the Comfort Porters Company was a “success”, but not yet 100% complete. What is the State now?
Black: It is still successful, and it is not yet 100% made. We have some employees who are now our franchisees, which is wonderful. We have a group of franchisees that have additional territories, which is also wonderful. We have seen many of these transitions, some have some, not many, but some. Everyone is in some form of progress at this time, but they are not yet complete.
We have four left [to transition]. That number will change in a few weeks. It will be reduced to three, and hopefully, in the coming months, that will go to zero. But we will see how things are going. As with everything, regulation plays a role in all this. So, some things are a bit out of our control. Different states have different types of regulations. It only branches in state details.
But we are working almost as a 100% franchise at this time, and that is a great change for us in terms of how we operate what we focus on. The greatest change was internally for our HQ team. Unfortunately, Company Ops is a great advantage, and it was a great moment for us. What we found is that we were divided in terms of where we were paying our attention. About half of our attention went to franchisees and half to the company’s operations. Now we can have all our athense for our franchisees, and that has meant much more support for them, so it is very popular.
What are the benefits of moving to a 100%franchise model?
It is something really good for our customers. Home care is a local business and people because working with people with whom they feel comfortable, and that is local for them, and resonates very well with the franchise for that reason. We are lucky enough to have incredible franchisees that take care of our clients in all their local areas, and change them back to them has allowed it.
I hope that our customers from our existing company operations have not felt a great change. That they feel that the presence is one of the benefits of having a great national brand, which feel that the comfort of the guardians is quality, then the quality now, and do not feel a great change there.
To follow up on Comfort Keepers’s growth plans, how has franchisee growth in the last six months?
Growth has gone well, we continue to grow. We are focusing a lot on the support of our franchisee. That is the first and main one, and it is a continuous conversation of “What are the additional tools they need to do what they do?” Because we do not want them to focus on things we can help them, in terms of tools.
We also continue to focus on growing in areas where we do not have a presence of comfort. Because we have a national footprint, but there are still points in the United States [where] We do not do it, and we are focused on that and making sure to have total coverage nationwide.
In January, he highlighted the challenge of balancing quality care with the medicaid refund limitations. HHCN has been closely covering possible changes in the future of Medicaid since then. What is your opinion about what should happen at the state or national level with respect to Medicaid to help people obtain access to home care?
It is a very difficult question, because I am very supported to make sure that the quality is there and that the standards are there. Regulation is still something important for home care. Ultimately, we are taking care of customers, and regulation must be there to guarantee the best for all customers. That is an important piece. At the same time, I am also obviously a great defender of people who need care receiving the care they need and trying to find the correct balance there. There is no correct answer. That is why I think it is such a hot conversation, and I don’t have the right answer. But as much as we can obtain resources to support people capable of staying at home, which is what people want. I will always support myself.
What can suppliers do in terms or defense?
We have the Association of Attention of the Home of America (HCAOA), and our Operations Director, Ramzi Abdine, is at the Hcaoa Board. I think it is a great body of people who are very focused on this piece of “How do we help people stay at home?” We will continue to support from that address.
What regulation or policy news are the most shocking for the personal care industry at this time, in your opinion?
The Medicaid is still [the most impactful]. We are seeing that from a political perspective, and that is still likely. I would also say that making sure that veteran affairs (VA) funds remain strong, continue supporting our veterans and being able to stay at home is also important.
HHCN threw in January that Franchise should focus both on the recruitment and customer retention, and the recruitment and retention of caregivers. Can you share specific strategies or tools that you are using at this time to manage that double challenge?
We are seeing many different things from a technological perspective, and I think technology will continue to evolve to help it. There is only so much technology to replace, he thought. We are a business of people. Both when he talks about customers and when he talks about caregivers, the best people who take care of their customers and take care of their caregivers. We are focused on training and resources to allow our franchisees to do it.
What has changed, if something, has changed in the panorama of the caregiver’s workforce since January?
Care is becoming more prominent in our society, since we have a population that ages. More and more people are involved in a form of care, one way or another, and that has allowed us to bring the conversation more and more to the public.
What I am seeing is that people are more interested in how we support our caregivers, so that is not so silent, and that is really important for us, because they are the bar of our clients, or for this for the family, that for comfort guardians. They are taking care of their family. We need to be able to support all different caregivers. That is what I am seeing a little in the landscape at this time, I do not see that it changes.
Demography continues to change, where we have more and more people aging, and we need to continue providing more and more support for our caregivers.
