: The Rise of In Home Care One of the hottest trends of the 21st Century is the rise of in home care

agenci es in the U.S. Statistics show that the number of home health care agencies in A merica today is roughly 33,000. That s a 57% increase from only 10 years ago, when t here were only about 20,000. There are two main reasons for this trend: 1. An aging population that is increasing the demand for health care across the board. 2. The increasing awareness of the benefits of in home care. The first primary driver of the in home care trend is the overall demand placed on the health care sector by a population that is getting increasingly older. Th e amazing thing is, we ve really only scratched the surface on this demographic chan ge. The first of the baby boomers (those born in 1946) began to turn 62 in 2008, and this same group is turning 65 this year. There are still millions more boom ers (those born between 1947 and 1964) that have yet to enter retirement. This a ssures that the demand for all types of health care will most certainly be on th e rise for at least the next 3 or 4 decades. And with this growing demand, the n umber of in home care agencies 10 years from now may be more than double what th ey are today. The second reason for the rise in home health care agencies is the growing aware ness of them by the general public. Once aware of their presence, it s easy to reali ze the benefits of an in home care agency. For one thing, they are normally less expensive than hospital care. Secondly, they are far more convenient as they al low the patient to recover from their illness or receive long term care without having to travel anywhere. Thirdly, most home care agencies allow their clients to customize a personal care plan around their individual needs. This feature is nearly impossible to deliver in a large and bureaucratic medical facility.