Legal: Preferred-Provider Arrangements Between Home Health, Hospice and Private Duty Agencies, and Assisted Living Facilities and Retirement Communities

Managers at assisted living facilities (ALFs) and retirement communities are often committed to keeping residents in their facilities for as long as possible. There are, of course, costs associated with filling vacancies. In addition, if residences remain empty for any length of time, then the profitability can be severely adversely affected.

Consequently, to the extent that agencies can assist residents to remain in their homes, ALFs and retirement communities may be extremely interested in establishing ongoing relationships with these types of providers. ALFs and retirement communities can be valuable referral sources for companies, both in terms of the volume of patients and the types of patients referred.