Amidst the many high-profile stories about home health care in 2025, a few inevitably fell under the radar.
These Home Healthcare News articles represent influential trends and industry expertise, from the “West” of home wound care to Brightstar Care's transformation with new investors, and are worth revisiting.
These articles may not have dominated the headlines, such as reporting on the risks of outdated technology or strategies being used to hire and retain the next generation of home care workers, but they do highlight the challenges and opportunities shaping the evolution of home care.
Here are some of our favorite hidden gems from HHCN in 2025.
Outdated technology in home health care: risks and the need for upgrades (July 8)
In the home care industry, conversations about technology often center around cutting-edge solutions. While it’s important to understand which new tools providers are adopting and how AI will change the face of the industry, the results of bygone era tools and the way providers rely on them are often overlooked.
Home care providers that operate using outdated technology are at risk of facing data breaches, communication breakdowns, and compliance issues.
“Outdated technology limits productivity, frustrates staff and falls short of patient expectations,” Dr. Adam Groff, CEO of New Hampshire-based Maribel Health, told HHCN. “Providing the right care at the right time also becomes difficult, especially as costs rise and reimbursement tightens.”
In home care M&A, the stability of the workforce determines the outcome of the transaction (September 23)
The difficulty of hiring and retaining home care workers has always been an inevitable issue in the industry. These challenges extend beyond your business and can complicate transactions.
Employee-related responsibilities can delay or cancel transactions. Buyers, especially private equity, prioritize a company's ability to attract and retain employees. If the home care business you're considering selling has a high turnover rate, you should expect them to answer the buyer's questions. Providers with robust workforce data and technology designed to support workforce stability are more likely to be popular with buyers.
Professional Schedulers: The Hidden Backbone of Successful Home Health Agencies (April 22)
Coordinating home health visits is a complex task, and the role of the scheduler is critical to ensuring the procedure runs smoothly.
This job is more than an administrative task and, if performed poorly, can seriously compromise both patient care and business performance.
“It really goes beyond that and extends to the whole area of supporting frontline staff, patients and caregivers. We respond to their visit requests, their preferences, and sometimes things that change from day to day,” Daniel Carpenedo, Director of Operations Support at VNS Health, told HHCN.
How VNS Health's Bayada is using research to accelerate its business (July 9)
Running a research department is unusual for a home care organization. However, the two providers have found success with their own research departments. VNS Health and Bayada Home Health Care credit their research arm with improving patient outcomes and generating a wealth of data that can be leveraged in negotiations with payers.
Mike Johnson, Bayada's principal investigator for home health innovation, told HHCN: “Home health agencies have value if they can commit to funding[a research leader role]to the extent that the person in that role can demonstrate that a new model of care has better outcomes and can help improve return on investment.” “Then you go to your payment provider and ask for another fee.”
The Research Department also allows VNS Health to participate in data sharing with other home health agencies, which can contribute to improved health outcomes.
Strategies Home Care Providers Use to Attract and Retain the Next Generation of Workers (May 30)
As home care providers look to expand their workforces, they are hiring more Millennial and Gen Z employees. Younger generations of workers require new recruitment and retention strategies, including social media and gamification.
Additionally, these demographics want clear career development paths and alignment with the organization's values, experts told HHCN. Home care providers must also strive to change the “invisible” nature of home care work in order to recruit employees into these groups.
The expanding world of home care: From NICU support to dermatology (October 6)
As medical care increasingly moves directly into patients' homes, home health providers are beginning to expand their offerings to include services such as pediatric support, dermatology, and dental services.
However, such expansion is likely to be hampered by regulatory and reimbursement issues.
“The challenge will be the financial and regulatory requirements to provide home care,” Dr. Hao Feng, associate professor of dermatology and director of laser surgery and cosmetic dermatology at University Health Dermatology, told HHCN. “We will be able to see more patients in the office and safely provide a wider range of procedures. There are likely to be many patients who would benefit from home care, and the opportunity lies in the recognition of the need for this type of service.”
High rates, high stakes: Inside the “West” of home wound care (July 15)
Demand for home-based wound care services is increasing, and wound care service lines are making home care providers even more attractive to referral sources. Despite these attractions, expanding into wound care can be risky for home health care providers and requires a significant initial investment.
Additionally, although reimbursement regulations are complex, more value-based care models could place home health providers at the core of treatment plans for critically ill patients, including those requiring critical wound care.
Doing “Faster, Better”: Brightstar Care CEO Six Months into PE Ownership (August 19)
One of the most notable transactions of 2025 was the sale of Brightstar Care to an affiliate of private equity firm Peak Rock Capital. Six months later, HHCN spoke with BrightStar CEO Andrew Ray. Ray shared the company's plans to double its size and refranchise the business directly within five years.
Ray also shared the benefits of leveraging private equity resources to run a business and the challenges associated with transitioning a founder-led company from standby.
“The team had never worked for private equity before,” Ray said. “Most of the team has been working with owner-founders for over 20 years. Many of the team have had a natural outgrowth of understanding what it's like to work with institutional investor groups as opposed to owner-founders. Some parts are very good, others are difficult.”
