HomeHero is the trusted senior home care marketplace in California.They serve four major cities, employ more than 1,500 independent caregivers, and have provided over 1 million hours of care to families.
But that’s only the warm-up. This year, co-founders Mike Townsend and Kyle Hill are shifting from a direct-to-consumer focus to an enterprise-driven one. Today, they officially announced HomeHero Collaborative, a new care management platform for hospitals and health insurance that will better connect and extend the healthcare system into the home.
It’s a natural and strategic transition for the startup that has always put the people they serve first. “We’ve always envisioned our technology as a way to make services affordable, not to mention enjoyable,” Townsend said. “We’re constantly looking for ways to improve the quality of life and care for our seniors.”
The new platform, which features a HIPAA-compliant mobile app (pictured left) for caregivers and families, is part of how HomeHero will accomplish that. The other components include company structure, local partnerships, and a commitment to the highest standards of care.Company Structure
The shift in market focus requires a change in company structure. “We’re in the process of converting our care providers from independent contractors to W-2 employees,” Townsend said. “It’ll give us greater control and insight into the home, leading to improved care for seniors. It’ll benefit caregivers, too, with greater access to training and scheduling options.”
Local Partnerships
Part of that improvement is facilitating connections with other services. “The premise of HomeHero Collaborative is the right care with the right provider at the right time,” says Mike. “You don’t need a medical doctor to deliver groceries.”
Caregivers use the mobile platform to gather critical patient health data during in-home visits. Once they’ve input the data, the platform analyzes the patient’s health and refers him or her to an appropriate care provider within the Collaborative.
“This doesn’t only affect patient satisfaction and health outcomes,” Townsend said. “It also predicts and prevents hospitalizations. It’s a major, positive shift for the health system. Readmissions cost everyone money, maybe more so for hospitals due to the Affordable Care Act and Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP)."
Preparing to Launch
Businesses and organizations have been more than willing to help. “Honestly, we more often than not end up in an educational role when talking with hospitals and healthcare providers,” Townsend said. “They haven’t always realized the benefits found with home care, or its soundness as a financial investment. So we learn about HIPAA-compliance and HRRP, and they learn about home care. It’s a mutually beneficial learning opportunity."
Those conversations, as well as the shift from independent contractors to full-time employees, has also led to the hiring of a Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nursing Officer.
Off to the Races
Townsend and Hill are applying what they learned from launching HomeHero to roll out the Collaborative platform. They know strategic steps are the keys to success. Because of that, they’ll go local first and cover the cities where they already have a presence. It will act as a sort of pilot, which they’ll use to prove the benefits to patients and reduced costs to the healthcare system.
