Future staffing demand will force industry to rethink care strategies. According to BLS, the industry will need 4.5 million care workers by 2029 to meet the demands of older adults. According to an Argentum staffing report, in 2025 alone another 347,000 caregivers are needed for memory care. The home care and senior living industries draw from the same population of prospective workers. Home care and home health care demand will drive 21% job growth by 2033, but 59% of agencies will experience shortages. What else will help address care needs?
Pre-care – the use of technology and services prior to actual in-home care delivery. Prior to the actual need for home care, which usually requires a sign-up for a minimum number of hours, concerned families can use in-home technology like ambient sensors, providing a form of ‘pre-care.’ This could include check-ins from a nurse but also requests for help with the laundry or help with a bath.
Firms see a more holistic, even hybrid, service offering beyond visits. In an industry built on the billable hours of thousands of home care agencies, there is a limit to what can be charged, whether families pay privately or the government reimburses. But some agencies see an opportunity to differentiate offerings with additional services that incorporate technology and other services to improve care and generate revenue.
AI agents increasingly will respond in the language of the staffer or caller. Language barriers between home care workers, care recipients and families can be a constraint on the availability and quality of care provided, for example, impairing their comprehension, decreasing adherence rates, and diminishing satisfaction.
Behavior in the home will be used as a vital sign. Built on data collected from in-home sensors, tools today can combine that data into a digital twin with other personal information (such as health profiles or medication lists) and enable prompt reaction to worrisome changes in behavior, effectively enabling a vital sign about wellbeing.
[Drawn from the upcoming Future of AI and Home Care report to be published on June 4, 2025]
