Ashford Home Care
Orlando, FL home care agency achieves growth and retains caregivers using Smartcare’s integrated platform
Highlights
Ashford Home Care implemented Smartcare in 2017 as a new agency with only 3 active clients. Before Smartcare, they struggled to manage client care with a series of spreadsheets.
With efficiencies gained using Smartcare, the agency grew to over 80 active clients in four years.
With 60 active caregivers, Ashford Home Care has an average annual turnover rate of only 30% – far below the industry average of 77%.
The agency attributes its caregiver retention success to Smartcare’s best-in-class point of care mobile application that gives caregivers all they need to provide and document care.
Ashford Home Care
Home Care Services
Ashford Home Care is an independent, family, veteran-
owned and operated home health agency licensed by the State of Florida to provide non-medical home care for the community’s most vulnerable and cherished who are affected by acute or chronic disabilities.
Challenge
Ashford Home Care was founded as a new agency in 2017 with a mission to provide non-medical home care for the community’s most vulnerable who are affected by acute or chronic disabilities. Durrand Ashford, the agency founder, managed care for his original three clients on a series of spreadsheets, and he thought that was all he needed.
“I was trying to keep track of all this information,” says Ashford, “and I had caregivers contacting me all the time and sending photos of things like timesheets. It was a mess. I had elaborate spreadsheets, and they were beautiful, but it was time-consuming. I had a tough time managing three clients, let alone growing. I thought I could manage without software, but that was not the case.”
Solution
When he first saw a demonstration of Smartcare, Durrand Ashford, the agency’s founder, was immediately attracted to the scheduling capabilities. Quickly, he recognized that the efficiency gained with a dynamic scheduling system would give him the time he needed to rapidly scale his business.
Robust scheduling
“I don’t know how anyone could manage without the ability and flexibility Smartcare offers to change, update or modify the schedule in real-time, let alone grow,” Ashford says. “Without a staffing solution like Smartcare, you could work on a schedule in the morning and still be working at the end of the day. The platform even includes a mobile app that allows me to manage the schedule while I’m on the road.”
Simplified reports and payroll
Ashford points out that the time saved managing the schedule, payroll, and reports required by insurance agencies and 3rd party payers (i.e. OPTUM) for the VA insurance agencies was crucial to his ability to grow the agency. “The ability to print reports and complete payroll with the touch of a button is invaluable,” says Ashford.
“Smartcare reduced the time it takes to complete payroll from a day-and-a-half to 20 minutes.”
Durrand Ashford, President
“It wouldn’t have been possible to grow as fast as we’ve grown without the technology provided by Smartcare.”
– Durrand Ashford, President
Caregiver retention success
Ashford Home Care has an average caregiver turnover rate of only 30%, far below the industry average of 62%. The agency attributes much of this staffing success to the Smartcare charting system, an element of Smartcare’s Caregiver Retention Toolset.
“Smartcare creates an environment where the caregivers can spend more time with the client, less time on the road, and more time with their families,” says Ashford. “They’re not writing things down, there’s no paper, and they can upload files. Caregivers can access the information they need right out of the Smartcare application.”
Billing and invoicing
Smartcare provides agencies with the ability to collect payments easily, as well as keep records, even within complicated billing situations. “Let’s say there is an 8-hour shift, and half of it is covered by VA and half is covered by another insurance plan,” explains Ashford. “Smartcare enables agencies to add tags for invoicing, so when the shift is complete, agencies can run a report and see who gets billed for the first 4 hours and who gets billed for the second 4 hours.”
Human resources management
Smartcare’s complete HR toolset starts right from the application process with its Hiring Hub. Applicants are stored within Smartcare, and, when the agency is ready, can be easily hired and switched to a staff member with one click.
“Without Smartcare, I wouldn’t have been able to grow from 5 caregivers to over 60 caregivers,” says Ashford. “I’ve eliminated paper applications and forms, so I no longer misplace applications and require applicants to re-fill them out. Smartcare has simplified my hiring process, all the way through getting my new staff members in the system.”
Efficiency leads to growth
“Our ability to grant access to information the caregiver needs eliminates the need to contact the office, which means staff in the office doesn’t need to retrieve the information and call caregivers back,” continues Ashford. “Smartcare has increased my efficiency by at least 40%, if not higher.”
“It certainly wouldn’t have been possible to grow as fast as we’ve grown without the technology platform provided by Smartcare,” says Ashford. “We’re Ashford Home Care today in large part because of our partnership with Smartcare.”
Partnering with Smartcare
Smartcare understands that its success depends on the success of its agencies. With a continuous release process, Smartcare’s developers can quickly create solutions to user pain points. For example, with Ashford Home Care’s emphasis on VA clients, the agency felt that having clients sign off on services was crucial. Smartcare had the signature feature implemented within a day of the agency’s request. “The best thing about Smartcare is they listen, and they are truly agency driven,” says Ashford. “We’ve partnered with Smartcare not only to help our business grow but also to help other businesses in their ability to take on VA clients. I consider Smartcare not only a partner but an extension of my business.”
“The best thing about Smartcare is they listen
and are truly agency driven. I consider Smartcare not
only a partner but an extension of my business.”
– Durrand Ashford, President