How to Open a Nursing Home Care Business

A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing facility (SNF), care home, rest home or intermediate care facility provides a type of residential care. It is a place of residence for people who require, as determined by a local hospital social worker and their nursing facility provider, continual nursing care and have significant difficulty coping with the required activities of daily living. Nursing aides and skilled nurses are usually available 24 hours a day, and most are large congregate care facilities with government funding. These facilities are supplemental or competing classes to home care, home health, community services-non-facility, and home and community-based Medicaid waiver services.

Perhaps you love to take care of people’s welfare and you wish to make that a business, but you don’t have any idea how. To add your knowledge, healthcare business is one of the most money making businesses ever.

A nursing home is a wonderful business opportunity especially for those that love to take care of people. However, it is also a challenge to set up because of the many requirements that you have to comply with. You need not be afraid though because this article will guide you through the necessary process of setting up your own nursing home business.


This article will be a useful guide that you can refer while starting a nursing home business. You’ll be up and running in no time.

In order to set up a nursing home you would need the following: 

• Credible staff
• Amenities
• Safety equipment.

Credible Staff for Nursing Home

A nursing home is like a hospital. It is there to take care of the needs of old people as well as other people that cannot fend for themselves. Since you are taking care of people, you need only the best people that can ensure the comfort as well as the well-being of your residents.

For that aim, you would need to hire these kinds of employees:

• Licensed nurses or RNs.
  
• A diet specialist that can take care of assigning the right diet for the appropriate residents.
  
• Social Services Workers.
  
• Sanitary workers like janitors.

Safety Equipment for Nursing Home Business

Residents of a nursing home cannot easily react or notice right away the circumstances that warrant emergency action. Simply put, old people cannot run right away if there is a fire building up inside their rooms. Sometimes, people with dementia do not notice emergency situations at all and cannot cry for help. Because of this, you need to install specific emergency equipment's.

To ensure the safety of your residents you would need to install smoke detectors that will detect the presence of fire early on. You would also need to install fire extinguishers that your staff can use in case of fire. Besides safety equipment, you would have to drill your employees in a pre-arranged emergency procedure so that they can react appropriately and bring your residents to safety. Fire exits should also be designated in order to facilitate rapid evacuation in case of emergency.

Amenities for Nursing Home

Your nursing home should have the necessary amenities that will your residents stay as comfortable as their own homes. Besides the staff, useful amenities would include:

• Laundry facilities, preferably set up on each floor for easy access by your residents.
  
• A flat linen service.
  
• Monthly housekeeping services to assist those that cannot maintain their rooms for themselves.
  
• Individual air conditioning and heating systems, because nursing home residents have different individual needs for these systems.
  
• Emergency response system.

Instructions

Step 1

Understand federal and state regulations and guidelines. The federal government has strict rules governing the operation of a nursing home. The U.S. Health and Human Services Department's Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is the lead agency for these regulations. The rules laid out by the center govern nursing qualifications, patient assessments, facilities, treatment, nutritional and pharmaceutical requirements and maintaining the dignity of the patient. Additionally, the University of Minnesota has compiled the federal and state nursing home regulations on an easy-to-navigate website.

Step 2

Get the necessary qualifications and licenses. As the nursing home administrator/owner, you must hold certain qualifications and licenses depending on the state you live in. For example, in Alaska, a nursing home administrator must establish a governing body to assist with the operation of the nursing home, develop a 3-year budget and coordinate all facility functions with staff, the governing body and consultants.

Step 3

Find a suitable location for the nursing home. The federal and state regulations vary. For example, the state of Washington outlines specifics with respect to the location and other outdoor areas around the nursing home. The state requires that there be shaded areas and firm walkways for the residents to use daily and sufficient space for walkers and wheelchairs to be used. There are no specific federal guidelines for construction of a nursing home, but those regulations should be covered in your community's local zoning ordinances.

Step 4

Market the services and facilities once you have complied with all federal and state licensing and regulatory processes. Your local hospital and independent physicians are good places to showcase your facility's ability to care for the older patients that need 24-hour health services.Offer a tour of the nursing home facility to local media, doctors, hospital administrators and other health care professionals.

Step 5

Establish relationships with health care providers in your area. Medicare and Medicaid provide the bulk of health care money to nursing homes. There are doctors listed on Center for Medicare and Medicaid's website who work with nursing homes to provide preventative, dental and mental health services to residents.

Step 6

Meet the needs of your clients and their families by providing the highest quality health care services you can. The cost of health care has been steadily rising as life expectancy continues to rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the average male lifespan is 75.2 years, and for women, it's 80.4 years. This increase in longevity will encourage the need for nursing homes that provide quality care for their residents and peace of mind for their families.

Reference

• How to Open a Nursing Home Care Business