Starting your own home care business in Pennsylvania is one of the fastest growing home care businesses today. Basically non-medical home care services consist of assistance with daily living tasks, meal planning, housekeeping, personal care and transportation. Such services can be vital for elderly people to stay comfortable and safe in their own homes. Private pay instead of 3rd party paying sources are most common form of paying for home care in Pennsylvania.
To start a home care business in Pennsylvania you need to acquire non-emergency business licenses. The best place to get started is at the county clerk’s office where you can just fill out an application and wait for a response. Some counties in Pennsylvania also require a background check, credit check, financial statement and a health inspection before being allowed to operate a business. However, some counties do not require any health inspections or background checks. Call the county office to find out if this is the case where your home care agency is located.
When operating a home care business in PA you will need a few important pieces of equipment. For example, there are portable massage tables which are usually made from plastic, vinyl or metal, have headrests and come with rollers or casters. These are very useful for providing massages or hand therapies to those who are confined to beds, wheelchairs or are limited in their range of motion. There are also handheld massage chairs that provide both head and body massage. There are also portable heated towel rails that allow clients to dry themselves after a visit to the skilled home health agency.
After determining what home health care business you want to start you will need to create a business plan, or a marketing plan. Your marketing plan will include how you will advertise your services and attract potential clients. Advertising is very important as it is the key to drawing clients into your home health care agency. One way you can advertise is by creating fliers that can be distributed to homes, offices, or schools. Handbills can also be a great way to advertise if they are printed and are stamped or folded. Stickers and door hangers are other ways you can advertise your home health care agency.
It may also be helpful to get professional assistance when starting up your home care business model. You may want to speak to someone at your local college to find out if the business department can help you with your needs. Another option would be to use an established business model that has proven to work in the area of home care and see what resources they have to get you going. Most of these models are already set up and have the necessary paperwork in place for you to use to start up your business. Once you have obtained all of your tools and materials you will be ready to officially start up your non-medical home care agency. You may want to do a small advertising campaign to drum up business before you actually go live.
When setting up your home care business license you will need to take care of anything that does not seem right. If there are any legal matters, you will need to hire a lawyer who will handle everything for you. You will also need to make sure you have a business license for whatever your non-medical home health care agency does. There is also a state filing system in place so you will need to go through this entire process before you can open your doors. This can be a lengthy process, but it is worth it to set up a business that can really help people when they need it most. This is one of the few home care business models that truly makes it personal for everyone involved.