The First 72 Hours: What Makes or Breaks a Home Care Referral

The First 72 Hours: What Makes or Breaks a Home Care Referral

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Hello and welcome to CareSmartz360 On Air. I’m Dennis Gill, Senior Sales Consultant at CareSmartz360. Today, we’re bringing together two perspectives on one of the most important growth engines in home care: building referral relationships that actually last. For families transitioning home from the hospital, finding the right non-medical support can be a critical part of that next step. And for home care agencies, earning referral partners’ trust takes more than being available when a referral comes

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In. In this roundtable, Adam and William will both share their views on what referral partners really value from home care agencies, what agencies need to get right once a referral arrives and how strong relationships are built beyond the initial introduction. We’ll also explore one of the biggest challenges in business development: building genuine relationships without making every interaction transactional. And we’ll look at where AI can help agencies respond faster, communicate more effectively and manage referrals

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without taking the human element out of the relationship. Most importantly, we’ll look ahead at what will separate the home care agencies that build strong, lasting referral networks from those that struggle to grow. Welcome to the roundtable discussion, Adam and William >> thank you for having to be here. >> Thank you. We are glad that you were able to take out the time today for our listeners and I hope this is a pretty fruitful session for all the listeners from all over the world where there will be. All right. So without

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wasting any time I’ll jump in with my first question that’s for you Adam. So Adam when someone is transitioning home from the hospital and needs non-medical support what makes you confident that a homecare agency will be able to step in and follow through? So, uh, from my perspective, I’m not the individual that actually makes the referral. That would be more the case manager or the hospital, but from just working with them in all in all, I just feel like the biggest thing that would

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give them confidence in these home care groups is just knowing that they’re going to do what they say they’re going to do. Uh, the biggest thing is they’re all going to promise you the world. They’re going to promise to be able to staff uh cases within 24 hours. Uh >> that their rates are the best, but at the end of the day, are they really going to follow through with everything they’re saying? Are they just selling you on a dream that truly isn’t what they say it’s going to be, but they just

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want the actual referral? Uh biggest thing I’m looking is how fast they would be able to respond to a referral. If uh a hospital is looking to discharge someone, they’re not safe to go home by themselves. Uh >> how quickly is this liaison uh or home care group going to respond to the referral and do all the research needed prior to staffing the case? Uh are they going to wait a little bit, or are they going to be literally a turnaround almost immediately? That’s the biggest

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thing. Uh I just feel like when you leave the hospital, all the case managers care about is getting someone home safely, whether they’re going to impatient rehab or back to their house. >> Yeah. >> Uh so just like the hospital doesn’t want people staying too long in the hospital, they don’t want them to re uh readmitting into the hospital. So, the biggest thing that they want is to know that this group’s going to be able to get out there as soon as possible and get in there and ensure this patient

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does not go back to the ER as the hospitals are trying to avoid all those rehospizations. So uh I think that would be the best thing for a good partner. Uh essentially just being there, being prompt, responsive, and getting in as soon as possible. >> Getting as soon as possible. and you’ve made building relationships throughout the hospital a personal priority. So, what have those relationships taught you about what referral partners value most from the homecare organizations they work

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with? >> Uh, I mean, relationships are big. Uh, essentially, you need the hospitals to know who you are, what you represent, what you could do. Uh, I think there’s so many home care groups that are just going in and just dropping off treats and stuff like that, waiting and asking for referrals, but they’re not truly partnering with the caseworker or the social worker as to understanding there, I guess you could say, pain points is the best way I like to put it, and trying to be a resource for that,

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uh, transitional care navigator. uh essentially, they’re just trying to sell their stuff, but they’re not trying to really partner with uh with who they need to get the best out of them. Um so when I really think about it, I think it comes down to being responsive, being dependable, and making the transition as easy as possible. Uh and that’s how I approach my own relationships uh in the subacute rehab uh post-acute space that I’m in right now. Uh so essentially, we’re sending people home too not from

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the hospital but from an inpatient rehab. We want to make sure that if this person is not a safe discharge uh, we’re going to get dinged if they go back to the hospital as well. So, I really feel like the relationship of knowing that that person is going to be able to help you and that relationship is a trustworthy one. Uh some groups have turnovers of their liaison where literally it’s a new person every two or three months. You don’t know >> who exactly you’re going to be talking

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week after week. Uh I think the good companies are the ones that can maintain and keep their liaison for a long period of time. Essentially, they sell good products. Yeah. >> Uh and they’re doing what they say they’re going to do. I know Bill’s been with his company, Senior Helpers, for quite some time now, uh, and is probably one of the top guys that builds those relationships with his group. That’s why I felt like he would be an asset to really speak on behalf of senior helpers

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and the private duty sector, uh, firsthand from how he does it. Uh but definitely I definitely think home care organizations that approach relationships that are that way are the ones that ultimately earn the trust that really the ones that are going to communicate let them know good and bad not just take but be there for those difficult cases and know that the good ones are going to come with the bad ones. >> Oh okay. Okay. So before I go to William, just one more thing I wanted to know, Adam, that beyond getting the

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Initial referral, what can home care agencies do to build the kind of trust that turns a referral source into a long-term relationship? You did answer some of the points out of that. Anything you want to add? >> Uh, I mean to get the initial referral in general. >> Yep. In general, >> I feel like it comes down to their presence. I mean, not just stopping once a month and just giving cookies. Uh, there’s a lot of cookie pushers, I call them. Uh, but there’s actual ones

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that are strategic and resourceful. Those are William Agenoff, the guy who’s on the call right now, uh, who literally doesn’t want to do that, but just wants to be a true partner. Uh, and I think that first referral is a difficult one to get, but at the end of the day, if you’re not cherry-picking and you’re getting someone that could afford it, may not be the best case, but coming through clearly with that one and a success story, I feel like so many more are going to follow right after.

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>> Okay. Okay. I’m coming to you now. So, William, you have worked across healthcare and homecare. So, from a business development perspective, what makes a non-medical homecare agency stand out to referral partners when so many agencies offer similar services, >> right? Yeah. And I know Adam kind of touched on that before, and Dennis, you’re aware too that, you know, there are a lot of home care companies that offer the same thing. You know, you can get a for a few hours a day to 24 hours. It’s all the same. you

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know, when you’re talking to families and things like that and you know, there’s a lot of times when I go in, you know, a hospital or a sniff and I’m talking to a case manager or social worker and they’re like, “What makes you different?” >> Um, and I tell them, you know, our service lines are essentially the same as a lot of other companies. There are similar differences that are a lot smaller, but you know, you don’t really care about that. Um, I tell

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that whatever we say we’re going to do, we’re going to deliver on. Um, and I make sure that happens. So, I know, I’m all about speed to referral. So, I say if you guys send me a referral, I’m always on my phone. Everyone is connected to their cell phone. So, communication is my biggest thing. So, I know if they’re going to send me something, I’ll respond within minutes. Um, >> you know, right now I’m in my car, I’m driving, and you know, it’s like my

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mobile office. >> I saw that. >> Yeah. It’s like I live here. But if a referral comes in, you know, I’ll pull over to the side of the road, take a look at it, and then send it to my intake team, and they take it from there, and I communicate with the sniff or the hospital or it’s just living wherever the referral is coming from that we’re on it, you know, so they know, you know, that team’s on it. We can trust them. they’ll respond quickly because there’s a lot of times when

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cases come in and they’re kind of dire situations. They need help, you know, that same day or maybe the next day and there’s a lot of moving parts to that, you know, and if you they know your teams on it right away and they’re doing everything they can to get that client on service, um, you know, they look to you. So, I think just being able to deliver on what you say you’re going to deliver on is the biggest thing that differentiates, you know, a lot of these companies because Adam was saying

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before, you know, they could promise you the world and say, you know, we could take every referral, you know, we can get and do this and that and we have the best aids and, you know, we can, you know, um, put an aid anywhere, but in actuality, it’s not always the truth, you know. So, I don’t go in and promise things. I just give them things that I know I can back up with facts. >> Okay. Okay. And once a referral comes in, what does a home care agency need to get right operationally to create first

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strong impression and keep the relationship moving? >> So, I think the biggest thing is expectations right off the bat. Um you know because there’s times where there’s a lot of moving parts in the sniff or in assisted living just in healthcare in general. So, you know if the social worker gives the family a phone number and they reach out to me and you know they didn’t give them the full story of what home care is, but they don’t truly understand it. I’ll go in and I’ll give

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them that education aspect and say, “Hey, you know, this is what you can expect from our team, this is what we offer.” And that way when I send it into my team, there’s no road bump, you know, there’s no road bumps in the way that prevents the case from starting or the family’s expecting something completely different. Um, there’s a giant misconception between the skilled side and the private duty side. Um, and you know, I like to make that known to the referral source, too, that you know,

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We’re private duty. We don’t do the skilled side, but there is a need for skilled, you know. We can also help out with that and refer out, you know, to take that off your plate. So, I just think having those clear expectations and knowing exactly what the client wants, um, is the biggest thing because, you know, there’s going to be changes in a case. So, you can start a case at 12 hours per day and, you know, they’ll do that for a few weeks and, >> you know, eventually they’re like, I

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only need four hours now. You know, I don’t need all that care. And, you know, we just make it clear that, you know, they know what they’re getting. You know, you know, you’re getting a need for personal care or companionship. Just making sure everything’s clear and cut from the start. That way, there’s no issues, you know, going forward. >> Got it. Got it. And home care agencies often uh what they do is they want to grow their referral networks, but relationship building can easily become

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transactional. So what we’ve mostly seen, so how can agencies build genuine connections without making every interaction asking about business? So, I think the biggest thing that I found, especially not just in home care, but in healthcare in general since I’ve, you know, been in the industry, is that just being yourself and finding common ground with somebody goes a long way. Um, I’m a big sports fan, for example. I know Adam’s a giant Jets fan and, you know, me and him go back and forth about

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how the Jets aren’t doing so great, you know, and I’m an Eagles fan. I’m from Philadelphia, so we’re doing awesome. Um, but having that common ground allows us to have that rapport, you know, and it doesn’t feel as salesy if that, you know, if that makes sense. It’s like having a friend. We’re going back and forth. We’re talking about sports or, you know, his children, things like that. So I think finding a common ground with somebody >> y

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>> especially like in the beginning makes it easier to go back in and you know talk to that social worker or that case manager or the director of nursing and then you know just being there having that just typical conversation will spark interest in their mind be like hey we actually do have a referral for you without having to ask for it you know um because at that point you know they have so many people coming in trying to get referrals they know what everyone’s there for but if you’re

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coming in from a different you know aspect like a friend and things like that um I think it goes a little bit further for you. Um so I think there’s different layers. So, in the beginning if you don’t know the referral source, if you’re brand new to them, if you’re a new face, I think going in doing a lunch, doing that education of what you guys offer >> is great for the first one. Um but you don’t ask for a referral right off the bat. You know, you just do what you have

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to do. Give them your information, let them know the steps for a referral, all that, what to expect. >> Um and then from there, when you go in, you know, try to have find that common ground and just kind of go in like a a relaxed uh approach. You know, you don’t want to go in and say, “Give me everything you have.” You know, because that’s just going to turn people off and it doesn’t work from me from my aspect. So, >> Got it. Got it. Got it. All right. So, now I just wanted to have one one

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pointer from both of you. Questions are open for both. So, what’s the one mistake that you see homecare agencies make when trying to build referral relationships? Both of you can answer this question. >> Yeah. So, I would say, you know, not being >> Oh, yeah. Not being able to deliver. No, please. >> I was okay. I was going to say not being able to deliver on what they’re saying they’re going to, you know, offer to people. So, you know, if they say we can staff every zip code in

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The area and they really can’t do that, they’re just saying that to try to get the referral, I think that’s a huge problem. Um, you know, I, like I was saying before, I think being able to, you know, deliver on what you’re essentially promising goes a long way. But the biggest thing I see is that yeah, you know, you hear things from, you know, other people in the industry or case managers saying, you know, we referred to them, but they didn’t deliver. You know, they weren’t able to

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staff this. They didn’t have the aids for that. You know, their nurse didn’t come out for, you know, days and we needed the nurse that same day or next day. >> Um, so I think that’s the biggest thing, >> Adam. So, I mean, just like Bill said, overpromising, underdelivering, uh, really saying that you could get in every county because you’re getting hungry, but in reality, you haven’t done your homework. You don’t have the right >> labor to help you to staff these cases

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>> and either it’s going to prolong or delay opening the case or it’s going to be inconsistent with uh, the help that you have. Uh, so that’s the biggest thing. Just make sure that you’re able to fulfill all the needs uh for every case that you have. Don’t just try to take it all because there are a lot of home care groups out there. At the end of the day, if out of 30 groups uh the one that gets it is the one that can’t staff, it’s just such a disservice to that actual patient.

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>> Yeah, got the point. All right, the next thing is that everyone is talking about AI. AI is becoming increasingly practical for non-medical homecare businesses now. So where do you see AI making the biggest difference in how agencies respond to referrals, communicate with partners, and manage the business? Anyone of you want to go first? >> Bill, >> Adam, you want to take it away first? >> Yeah, I mean for AI, so we actually use a platform of AI right now for referrals. Uh not home care, but

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essentially, it’s a referral for post-acute. Essentially, AI can seam through every single document, put a whole clinical together to make it almost to the point where you’re seeing everything you need to see all in one little area. Uh, integrating with different portals that case managers are using. Uh, taking that whole burden of trying to go and sign in different portals to make sure you could communicate with the case worker. So, AI essentially is filtering everything to the point where it’s a one-stop shop uh

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expedites everything and helps you to get uh overall metrics and outcomes based on how fast you’re responding referrals uh how many referrals you got lost. So, it’s all in one area. So I really think AI is a huge thing to one streamline it and two make it as efficient as possible. >> Correct. Philip. >> Yep. And I agree many different things that we use personally in my company with AI as well too. Not only, you know, from efficiency, but

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also, you know, ideas. You know, you’re, like I said, I’m always running around the car and your minds in different places. You’re dealing with referrals. You’re dealing with backend stuff with operations. And, you know, you don’t sit down and think of a new, you know, thing I could do for home care to promote the business. You know, what’s new? So, if you go and we go in AI a lot and just get some ideas based off of that and it just like

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wakes you up. You’re like, “Wow, I didn’t even think of that.” And it’s something so simple where AI just makes it, you know, so much easier to find, you know, new ideas and even to do secret shopping, you know, to see what the competition’s doing. We can throw, you know, a certain zip code or a certain area in AI, and it gives you a list of companies and from there, you know, you reach out and kind of do your research on them, see what the competition is doing. So, there’s many

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different ways we utilize it. Um we also like to do a lot of education as well too which differentiates us from knowing the competition as well. Um and from there AI you know can do a lot of things. It can create you know presentations or you know little handouts things like that. Obviously, you know, you go in and you check and you make sure it has all the correct information, but just the efficiency alone makes it so much easier when you’re trying to run a business and, you know, you’re in a million different

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places um is the biggest way we use it is, you know, for that efficiency aspect and, you know, just making our lives easier essentially. >> Absolutely correct. Efficiency definitely comes up with that. All right. So, my final question for both of you, looking ahead, what do you think will separate the home care agencies that build strong lasting referral relationships from those that struggle to grow? And what should agency leaders start doing now? What haven’t they been doing?

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>> I would say, you know, have all your duck. Yeah. Have all your ducks in a row, you know, make sure you can deliver, you know, make sure you can have an aid ready to go, have the nurse ready to go to do the onboarding for that client. um you know, make sure if something comes in late at night and they need it the next day that you’re able to turn that around, you know, um because like we said before, they’re looking for speed. They’re looking for efficiency. They’re looking for communication. So,

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if you’re able to have those fundamental things, I think, you know, that separates you alone. Um you know, companies like to say they do, you know, we’ll get on a case right away, but >> doesn’t always happen. You know, you’ve seen it. Um, so I think just being able to have all your ducks in a row, like I said, and being able to, you know, deliver on what you say you’re going to offer is the biggest thing to, you know, differentiate them because you could have all these grand, you know, handouts

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and, um, you can hand out cookies like Adam was saying or all these different things, but that doesn’t mean anything if you can’t deliver, >> right, Adam? Uh, a lot of everything Bill said in general, just making sure that you have the right people doing what you say they’re going to do. Don’t just hire anyone. >> Make sure you hire the aids that are able to go in certified that actually want to help people, not just doing it because they have to do it. I really think it’s going to come down to who

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they hire. Uh unfortunately, rates are going to be a little higher uh because you want to pay the right people to do it. And at the end of the day that is what’s going to make >> the good ones from the bad ones. Not the cheapest rates but the ones that literally have the best people working for them going from sales all the way to actual clinical operations. >> Okay. Perfect. Perfect. All right. So thank you. Thank you for your time both of you today. It was a lovely session, and we would love to have more

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sessions with you in the future. Thank you. You were able to take out the time. I know you have a hard stop. Adam and William, you did it from the car. Thank you. Thank you for that and uh it was lovely talking to you guys, and we’ll catch up soon with you again. Right. So, thank you everyone. Thank you, my listeners. So, I’m Dennis Gill signing off. So, I’ll be back with you shortly.