Our Manifesto

It’s good to be home.

It’s our center. We know it. It’s our safe place. 

So when we are met with a health challenge we naturally want to deal with it at home. It’s less stressful. It avoids an additional layer of unfamiliarity and tension. And it drives better health outcomes. There’s plenty of research validating homecare throughout a health issue not only improves health outcomes, but also lowers costs. It’s a better experience for the patient, and it lowers impact on the healthcare system.

But this critical role of homecare in the healthcare ecosystem has never been as defined or recognized as it needs to be. And in fact its role and criticality is only growing and intensifying as our population ages, rising rates of chronic diseases persist, and post-pandemic ripples are still being felt.

If we truly want to have a comprehensive health system and capability, then homecare necessarily plays the core, foundational role within it.

And at the heart of homecare it is, and always will be, about people. It’s about getting the optimal match between the client and the in-home caregiver. Over time, as the client’s situation evolves this matching needs to be adaptive, predictive and to also have the capability for judgement calls by the care-manager. This combines as a trusted health navigator who has a comprehensive understanding of healthcare steps and players, and helps the client across the health journey, guiding and supporting where needed.

It also demands ongoing education of the client around their condition and its management. Clients including families must become their own advocates for communicating their issues and needs. This rises above defaulting to an institutionalized or infantilized environment for our elders or those in medical recovery. It enables ageing gracefully in the community for longer, while also providing support and respite for family members.

On the Caregiver side, the homecare model only really works if there is personal growth and learning. Continual education, development and certification means that it is a career opportunity, and not a transient gig. So whether it is infection management, or dealing with dementia or a host of other key certifications, it is an ongoing journey and progression.

Linked to this is the financial incentive and rewards of having this skill and certification. It means a dynamic, not stagnant roadmap for a fair and equitable compensation for a very challenging profession.

And when it is needed, there needs to be community and support for caregivers, helping avoid burnout, and maintaining the passion to make a difference in clients’ lives.

This symbiotic relationship between client and caregiver doesn’t operate in a vacuum. There is a large, complex ecosystem and industry that interacts and impacts on comprehensive health at home.

Consider medical records and its timely exchange and access to help client outcomes. This is still far too complex and slow, with clinics, specialists, hospitals and homecare often working with only fragmented, isolated segments of information. It needs to evolve to more a centralized and personalized infrastructure across healthcare players to support homecare and client health outcomes.

Industry also needs to step up and recognize that caregivers or “PSW’s” are a massive, critical sector that lack formalized recognition as a trade and service. Being a hairdresser or barber has more structure and accreditation than homecare professionals providing critical support. This formalization and structure needs to encourage, and not restrict growth in the PSW profession. It needs to encourage professionalism, consistency, and continuity of homecare professionals. And in turn compensation, work environment and recognition must continually advance.

This new era recognizing the opportunity for Comprehensive Health at Home has never been more pronounced. The pandemic and its after-effects accelerated this, but understanding and formalizing homecare and its foundational role will drive improved health outcomes. It takes pressure off hospitals and primary care. It frees up beds. It lowers cost across the healthcare ecosystem.

It is integral to our health management and experience because there is nothing more personal than our health, and there is nowhere as safe, dignified, personalized and comfortable as our home.

And so we know this to be true: It’s good to be home.

At SAHN we understand this deep connection to our home, as well as its crucial role in a truly comprehensive healthcare experience. We’re not only building a team and company to deliver on this promise but are passionate about being part of the bigger change…about making a difference in individuals’ lives, but also helping drive change at scale, to make comprehensive health at home a reality. Come join us. Make a difference. Be part of the home team.