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Recession-Proof Healthcare Jobs

(September 09, 2009 – Orlando, FL) 

As the number of employees on company payrolls continues to decline, the healthcare field is seeing a different trend. Although 216,000 jobs disappeared from the overall economy in August, the industry added 28,000 positions. There are 544,000 more healthcare jobs now than there were at the December 2007 start of the recession.

While healthcare job prospects will attract many people planning their careers, the industry’s business opportunities inspire entrepreneurs. Their firms help supply healthcare’s growing demand for workers.

Growing Staffing Market

“The healthcare market is one of the few verticals that continue to grow in this economic environment,” says Harold F. Mills, CEO of Orlando, Florida-based staffing company, ZeroChaos (No. 6 on the B.E. Industrial/Service list with $664 million in revenues [1]). “This growth is driven not only by federal stimulus money and efforts to digitize healthcare delivery but also inherently by the significant shift in demographics. As such, ZeroChaos is actively taking a leadership role in delivering innovative solutions to this marketplace, that in many cases is transforming how our clients do business.” 

“Staffing companies that are much smaller are also involved in the industry. With revenues of $1.5 million, the Home Instead Senior Care [2] franchise in Oak Park, Illinois, provides non-medical services to elderly women and men living in their homes, assisted living facilities, or nursing homes. Husband-and-wife owners Tia and Richard Harrison purchased the franchise in 2002 and now have. Eighty employees completing personal care attendant tasks such as meal preparation, medication reminders, errands, incidental transportation, and light housekeeping. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [3] (BLS) ranks personal and home care aides as the country’s No. 2 fastest-growing job category. Home health aides rank No. 3. By 2016, demand for these caregivers is expected to jump more than 50%.

Large staffing companies that field healthcare professionals face unique challenges. “On the clinical side of the business, there are special requirements for staffing these resources, not only in how you source the talent, but also in managing the talent,” says ZeroChaos CEO Mills. “These requirements include special insurances and very specific [practices], including credentialing and document management.”

Salary and Job Opportunities

For both entrepreneurs and individuals making career choices, the numbers for the healthcare industry are impressive. .

“Non-professionals such as personal care attendants and home health aides can not act as independent contractors under federal tax and labor laws. They would need to be an employee of either the consumer or an entity,” says William A. Dombi, the NAHC vice president for law. To legally do their work, many home health aides are employed by a company that is licensed as a business providing home health services. “In reality, we are aware that consumers will hire independent contractor aides and not treat them as employees. There has been little enforcement of the laws in this area,” adds Dombi.

In contrast, a medically oriented home health agency can take more a year to start because of essential state licenses and Medicare certification. “It is not difficult to start a home care agency that provides only personal care services,” says Dombi. “Licensure requirements should be checked, as about 20 states require licensing. The key to such a businesses success is great employees, limited turnover, and a business plan on how to get clients,” says Dombi.

Since Home Instead Senior Care provides non-medical services, its employees do not need to be certified. The company does require prospective employees to have prior experience, and it tests them for competency. Before working in the field, the firm’s state license requires that its caregivers receive four hours of training that includes safety, communication, overview of general client conditions, and what to do in an emergency. Employees must have a total of eight hours of training every year covering topics such as body mechanics and transferring patients, dealing with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, incontinence, meal preparation, and activities for seniors.

Finding and keeping good employees is always hard work, Harrison says. “There are a lot of people looking for jobs, but we have high standards, and a lot of them miss the mark. As a business owner, my greatest challenge is managing all that I have to do. I handle operations, which encompasses quite a bit in our business,” she says.

Competency testing, reference checks and background checks help select good employees, the NAHC’s Dombi says. Anyone with a criminal background or unstable work history should be avoided, as well as individuals who do not understand that it is a privilege to serve home care clients.

Finding Networks, Getting Results

Dombi says limited capital is needed for businesses that provide health-related services in customers’ homes because these firms need minimal “bricks and mortar” facilities. However, six months’ operating capital is generally recommended. “There is no benchmark on insurance coverage, but most companies carry general liability insurance and professional liability insurance in the $1 million to $3 million range,” Dombi says.

The franchise route for operating a staffing business has significant advantages over starting a business independently. “The franchisee gains the expertise of the franchisor on all fronts, from marketing to human resource management to payroll management to scheduling of services and quality assurance. A neophyte in the home care business is often lost,” Dombi says.

The benefits of being a franchisee for Tia Harrison are operating with a proven business model and having the support of a network of business owners willing to share resources and tools that help her build her business. “It is a worthwhile investment, and the rewards are far greater than the expense,” she says.