Find and plug into the feeder system’
If you are interested in beefing up your private duty income, one sure way is to become known by and integrated with local senior support services.
Karen Carney, editor and publisher of The Home Advantage Newsletter in Andover, MA, suggests you look for a "feeder system." Start by calling up the local clearinghouse for senior services, she says it may be social services or a neighborhood senior center. "You may be steered toward the local council on aging, a hospital, or a large Medicare-certified home health agency," says Carney. "Find out what is the natural system and plug into it."
If those organizations know who you are and are aware of the kind of services you provide and their quality, you can be sure of getting business.
"Find a way to help them," she says. "For example, maybe the local council on aging is seeing fewer people at its luncheons. Offer to put on a foot clinic at one of those luncheons, and they may get more interest in it."
Another way to gain referrals from these organizations is to fill a niche. "Referral sources usually list three or four organizations over the phone," says Carney. "You want to be one of those. If you do Alzheimer’s respite care, you may make a list. If you just do general care, you may not be one of those three or four. Pediatrics, chronic conditions, respite care these are all centers of excellence you can develop."
Be sure to tell the feeder agencies about any computerized databases you have, too, Carney adds. "It can be a selling point. They like to know you have a list of people they may not have access to otherwise."
JoAnn Sciacca, community relations coordinator for C.A.R.E. Inc. in Hammond, LA, makes great use of this type of referring community.
She has two presentations one on the graying of America and one called "The 12 Steps to Caregiving." The latter is directed at support groups for those who have family members with Alzheimer’s or other debilitating conditions.
While most of her presentations are factual and informative, Sciacca says at the end of the lecture, she has the opportunity to talk about the respite care services C.A.R.E. can provide. "Most places won’t let you in to just talk about your services," she explains. "This gets your foot in the door, and you can provide something valuable to the community at the same time."
For $50 to $150, she provides a memorable lunch. "We serve jambalaya, Caesar salad, bread, and bread pudding not just pizza or submarine sandwiches," she says. And gets her name out to referral sources and decision makers.
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