NASHVILLE (February 17, 2021)—The Independent Home Care Alliance is experiencing a renaissance after the challenges brought on by 2020. Founder and Advocate, Kunu Kaushal, has pledged $1.26 million in funding to remodel and repurpose the Independent Home Care Alliance (IHCA) as a business process outsourcing (BPO) organization, with the mission to provide as much backend support to independent homecare owners and operators as possible. The organization’s shift is driven toward increased resources for independents, with an expert advisory council of six to 12 independent homecare leaders of varying backgrounds and geographic locations serving as consultants. In early 2021, the IHCA will also launch the IHCA Headquarters for Learning, an onsite support system of workshops and bootcamps for independent agencies to build up their operations.
When IHCA Founder, Kunu Kaushal, was asked about the new direction of IHCA toward a shared services back office, he said, “The reality is, when you talk about best practices in our industry, there’s an opportunity here to set up this system as a vendor ... where we’re not targeting all 13,000 independent agencies across the country, but the top 10% that’s willing to work together ... even if we were to align just those 1,300 agencies across the nation, we would be the largest network of agencies, beating any franchise or corporate entity. ... I think a coordinated effort makes us a stronger, tighter group.”
While several other organizations have formed over the years to support homecare owners operationally, no organization has solely focused on a small pool of licensed, independent agencies who devote themselves to the same best practices while maintaining their independent brands and community presences. The goal of the Independent Home Care Alliance and the IHCA Headquarters for Learning is to provide owners and leaders with the technology stack, back office shared services, and standardized best practices that allow them to focus their energies on what matters most: the care they provide to clients and the attention they give to their staff.
After a year like 2020, IHCA is determined to rebuild the independent agency foundation as an organized, unified front that can partner with other key vendors, associations, and players in the homecare space. “There’s so much movement there, but [these organizations] want to work with a sophisticated organization. … [IHCA brings] the best of coordination, collaboration, and working together ... we’re not under one brand name, but where it matters, we combine forces,” Kaushal said.
The independent model of homecare provides a much-needed personal touch and perspective, but independence doesn’t mean “every agency for themselves.” Through the Independent Home Care Alliance, independents can remain independent, all while working together and changing the industry from the inside.
Learn more about the Independent Home Care Alliance at indhca.org.
