How to Start an Adult Care Home

With life expectancy increasing each year, it is getting more difficult for some families to take care of aging loved ones. The option for many is to send their family members to an adult-care center. These businesses have sprung up nearly everywhere in the past few years and are great opportunities for those interested to open their own facility. Doing so can open the door to a great amount of income for you and assistance for those in need.

Things You'll Need

• building location
• zoning permit
• medical license
• employees
• insurance

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Instructions

• 1

  Scout out a location to establish the adult-care center. The region surrounding the location should have a high elderly population and little or no competing adult-care-center facilities. Look at census data to find localities that might be in need of adult-care businesses for people near retirement age.

• 2

  Find a building to use or consider constructing your own. Contact your city or county to check for zoning regulations. Opening an adult-care center in the incorrect zoning area might lead to fines or a shutdown. The building should have plenty of rooms to house residents along with a kitchen area and activity rooms.

• 3

  Check with the state and local government to see if there are any regulatory licensing requirements. These will be needed to operate the adult-care facility. You will also need a medical certification to practice medical care in the facility.

• 4

  Hire the appropriate staff members needed to work in the facility. Make sure there are registered nurses and nurse's assistants on hand at all times to care and watch after the residents. Also hire kitchen workers and secretaries to work in the lobby. Ensure the nurses have proper certifications and everyone hired has been through a background check. This will reflect well on your employees and create a sense of trust among the facility, the residents and their families.

• 5

  Set up private medical insurance and billing procedures for your residents. Contact respected insurance companies to obtain the needed information. Additional paperwork should be filled out to accept Medicare and Medicaid. Insurance agencies might conduct an inspection to ensure everything is in order at the facility.

• 6

  Open the building and begin accepting adult patients. Promote your facility by advertising in local newspapers or on the radio. Contact hospitals and doctor's offices so they have you on a referral list for aging patients in need of care. Consider purchasing a small van to transport patients when necessary.