As COVID-19 numbers continue to rise across the country, it’s clear this new normal will last for the foreseeable future. Serving one of the most vulnerable populations, home care businesses have become more essential at this time. However, like other businesses, we’ve also had to adapt to protect our clients — as well as our care providers.

Steps We’re Taking as a Home Care Business

Social distancing is essential to restricting the spread of COVID-19. However, our clients still rely on our home care business to provide in-person support so they can maintain their safety and well-being at home.

Seniors are one of the most at-risk groups for COVID-19, and we’ve adapted our practices to provide this essential service while minimizing the risk of transmission. This means placing a greater emphasis on cleanliness and hygiene among our in-home caregivers.

We encourage our franchisees to keep up to date with the latest instructions from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect themselves and their clients. Franchisees should also monitor any guidelines provided by their city and/or state.

In general, we advocate for regular hand-washing and cleaning of high-touch surfaces like doorknobs and faucets. As our home care business assists seniors with grocery shopping and other errands, we advise all caregivers to take protective measures by wearing masks and disinfecting bag handles, produce, and other high-contact items.

Socialization is a major concern for seniors in our care. This has never been more true than today, when so many restrictions on visits and group events exist. For that reason, we encourage our franchisees to promote remote resources like our Social Care Program, which helps seniors to use and embrace video chat programs and other digital tools to keep in touch with family members near and far.

Currently, we also advise our franchise owners to conduct care assessments remotely to limit their exposure and that of potential clients.

How Visiting Angels Supports its Franchisees

At Visiting Angels^®, we’re closely monitoring the pandemic and the health recommendations regarding seniors and care providers. We understand our franchisees have concerns, and we are always here to help.

As always, our corporate team is here to answer any questions our location owners may have about the day-to-day management of their home care business during this unprecedented time. Our top priority is the safety and comfort of our clients, so we want to ensure our franchisees have all of the information they need to serve their communities safely and responsibly.

As a franchise owner, if you had any questions about COVID-19 protocols, you could contact your Operations Director by phone or email for guidance. We also encourage our franchise owners to pay close attention to our weekly updates in which industry experts respond to questions from our franchisee community.

As an additional resource, we offer our location owners the opportunity to take advantage of the Angel Resource Center (ARC), a social media network exclusively for our home care business owners. Here franchisees can reach out to other Visiting Angels owners and share strategies.

To find out more about our home care business, contact Visiting Angels by calling 800-365-4189 or requesting details online.