In the hierarchy of home care segments, it seems that personal care perpetually hovers around the bottom. 

Just compare it to the flashy new kid, acute care at home, which includes hospital-at-home and skilled nursing facility-at-home. Given the segment’s incredible medical requirements, it seems to be the most prestigious of all the home care segments. And we can’t forget about primary care at home, which is pretty reputable as well.

Of course there is traditional home health, the medical part of home care that receives lucrative Medicare dollars and, increasingly, (not-so-lucrative) Medicare Advantage dollars. And then there is personal care, the nonmedical care field that encompasses private duty, homemaking and companion care. While this type of care is eligible for Medicaid, Veterans Affairs and long-term care insurance, often it is based on private pay.

Despite the immense demand for personal care in the United States — and the fact that the number of personal care companies (26,000) is more than double that of home health firms (about 11,000)— many consumers and others don’t fully understand or appreciate this aspect of home care or confuse it with home health.

People in the industry know otherwise.

During a panel discussion at the information-packed Home Care Pulse Growth Summit conference on Thursday, participants who represented such well-known home health, acute care at home and personal care firms as Enhabit, DispatchHealth, Amada Senior Care and FirstLight Home Care talked about the growing importance of turning to the nonmedical world to prevent hospital readmissions.

Chad Fotheringham, founder of Amada Home Care, a nonmedical home care franchise firm, emphasized this point. He mentioned that his company has instituted nonmedical interventions for caregivers. Among its efforts are tracking readmissions and sharing information with partners.

He added the company is trying to “push the narrative” with other post-acute partners.

Caleb Johnson of FirstLight also touched on this point.

“Your caregivers need to have the ability to report any change of condition each day,” he said.

There is no question that the continuum of care is flattening — health insurers and hospitals increasingly recognize the value of home care in filling in the gaps and keeping costs in line. Personal caregivers, who arguably do the most important work there is — basic caregiving — may at one point in the not-so-distant future be seen as the healthcare system’s linchpin.

Liza Berger is editor of McKnight’s Home Care. Email her at [email protected].