You create your own home care agency name. We assist you with choosing a marketable name and the associated web domain. We create your logo and marketing materials using your chosen company name. You get to put the “AHI Member” icon on your website to show the world that you are part of AHI Group’s nationwide organization of independently owned home care agencies.

The Joint Commission Accreditation costs around $7,500 to get for each individual agency who wishes to get that certification. The fees are typically split over a three year period of time (approximately $2,500 per year). The process is involved but not difficult to get the accreditation. Like getting a state home care agency license in some states – there are hoops to jump through but it is a process and one just has to go through that process to get the accreditation at the end. If one of our member agencies would like to get this accreditation they are welcome to do that and we assist them with that process.

However, there is no requirement in the non medical home care industry to have this accreditation as it is directed specifically towards healthcare entities that offer Skilled Care Services (Nursing care, etc.). As per the President of the National Association of Home Care & Hospice recent remarks at the 2012 National Conference in Orlando, FL, “…the exponential growth of the home care industry over the next 30 yrs is NOT going to be in the skilled care services – it WILL be in the non skilled home care services.”

Therefore, unless one has inexhaustible budgets and time we do not recommend spending your time and money on getting a Joint Commission Accreditation as your agency will not need it – if you are going to follow the path of exponential growth in the non medical side of the home care industry. People who provide referrals will not expect you to have the accreditation when you are providing assistance with non medical private duty activities of daily living – and not inclined to choose agencies who do have the accreditation above others who do not – as it is an accreditation directed towards skilled care with home health, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, etc. However, as previously stated, if our members want to spend the money and get this accreditation they can do so and we will assist them in the process.

Home Care Agency License requirements vary state to state. We can assist you with determining and meeting the requirements for your state. We guarantee that you will get a license or we will issue a full refund of your up front fee. This is contingent on the owners passing a state background check. Many of our AHI Members open offices in multiple locations and multiple states. The highest number of states that one of our agencies has offices located within is currently five. Unlike home care consultants, we will not charge you an additional $5,000 to apply for additional state licenses if you want to operate in multiple states starting out – those are complementary with your Lifetime AHI Group Membership. We do not currently offer AHI Group Memberships to people in the following states: Louisiana, California, and Rhode Island. Please contact us for information on our AHI Consulting Services in these states.

36 states require non medical home care agencies to get licensed before opening their doors for business. AHI will assist you with this process and will fill out your state’s application form and put it in the mail to the licensing board for you. You will be responsible for any filing fee’s (usually around $500 depending on the state). It usually takes 3 months to get a license. The most costly and time consuming states are Florida, Delaware, Maryland, and Georgia. If you live in one of those four states you will need to budget around $2,000 – $3,000 for your state licensing fees and 3-5 months to get through the process.

You will need to create your legal entity (S-Corp or LLC – we will assist you) before applying for your license. An S-Corp or LLC usually takes 4-6 weeks to create in most states. You must receive your “Articles of Incorporation” from your state before your legal entity is officially completed and approved. This means that you will want to put down your deposit with AHI StartupHomeCare 3-4 months before you plan on opening your doors for business to get these tasks completed so you are not waiting on them after you complete your Boot Camp. If your state does not require home care agency licensing you will only need 1-2 months to get your legal entity setup.

However, we recommend you pay your deposit at least 2 months before you want to attend a Boot Camp to ensure you get a seat because we limit the size of our Boot Camps to 10 parties to ensure lots of one-on-one attention. Our Commitment: If any of our members get denied their home care agency license, AHI Group will refund their full up front fee (must pass a background check).