Page 29 - BusinessWest July 21, 2021

Business of Aging
House Calls
Home-care Businesses Are Back in Growth Mode
While the pandemic may have challenged the home- I
care industry, it certainly didn’t suppress the need for such services. In fact, demographic trends in the U.S. — where about 10,000 Baby Boomers reach age 65 every day — speak to continued, and growing, demand for care services delivered in the home. That means opportunities both for agencies who specialize in this field and job seekers looking for a rewarding role and steady work.
By Mark Morris
n early 2020, Michele Anstett, president and owner of Visiting Angels in West Springfield, was pleased because her business was doing well. As a provider of senior home care, she managed 80 caregivers for 50 clients.
“We were going along just fine,” she said. “And when COVID hit, it was like falling off a cliff.”
The business model for companies like Visiting Angels involves interacting with people in their homes, so when early mandates encouraged people to keep away from anyone out- side their immediate ‘bubble,’ it hit the industry hard.
Even though caregivers were designated as essential work-
Michele Anstett says business was like “falling off a cliff” when COVID hit, but client volume has returned to normal.
BUSINESS OF AGING
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