Marketing Long-Term Care

Abstract

The long-term care (LTC) market can be differentiated on the basis of the locations at which seniors in need for health and personal care receive these services. The at-home care market appears to be the fastest growing in popularity. It largely consists of highly-specialized niche markets of professionals or organizations providing narrow lines of services. In recent years, these organizations have been creating alliances to achieve synergistic effects of efficiency, better serving the patients’ preference for receiving healthcare and personal care from one source. The trend towards integration of healthcare with personal care services for similar reasons is also evident in adult day care facilities. In contrast, nursing homes have been scrambling to find ways to survive, and many are forced to go out of business or find niche markets with special needs. As a result of greater understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD) sufferers and their care requirements, special care units have been developed to provide optimum care for the increasing numbers of people with this progressively debilitating disease and to offer some relief from the burden of caring for victims of Alzheimer’s disease. The LTC market will continue to experience opportunities for diversification with home health care, adult day care and sub-acute facilities offering viable alternatives to consumers.