Healthy Returns

Entrepreneurs who are up to the task find ample rewards. Not only is this market growing, but it's moving in new and intriguing directions.

For Rosen and Infu-Tech, marketing to managed-care companies seems most promising. "We were marketing to physicians, but for the last two years, we've been concentrating on managed-care networks," says Rosen. "We believe the managed-care industry will control more and more patient referrals in the

future." To entice HMOs, Rosen "bundles" his company's services with those of other home-care subcontractors. "Managed-care companies don't want to deal with a lot of small providers; they want one-stop shopping."

With maternity care in the spotlight, Morley is lobbying legislators and insurance companies alike. Her goal: "Doula care will become an accepted norm in the insurance industry." And then? "I have the formula for a successful business," she says. "It's possible we'll expand."

Would-be entrepreneurs should heed Kaye Daniels, president of Hospital Home Health Care Agency of California in Torrance, California, and chair of the National Association for Home Care: "Set up your business with the community in mind, and change your services as cycles in the community or industry demand."

Daniels says entrepreneurs with the right combination of flexibility, vision, skill and humanity can find a unique success in this industry. "Home care is not just a way to make money," she says. "It's a way to take care of people."

This article was originally published in the February 1996 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Healthy Returns.