Undertaking to construct a nursing home is an exhilarating adventure, but it is also a long and complex operation that requires advice and assistance.
During this initial preliminary study phase, we examine the technical, economic, demographic and sociological feasibility of your project; we study your market in order to define the offering that is to be developed and communicated.
The French model of care and support for the elderly can act as a source of inspiration for other countries. However, it will not work unless it is adapted to the local market and its specific characteristics, as well as to the needs, expectations and capacities – in particular at the financial level – of the facility’s future clients.
This preliminary study phase is essential. It determines the future creation and functioning of your nursing home.
At the end of this study phase, you will have all the tools you need to assess the viability of your project, define an appropriate business plan and decide whether or not to embark on the undertaking.
1. Knowing your future client base
The aim here is to determine the size and nature of the population in your region that might constitute future clients/occupants of the nursing home.
While the need for a sufficiently large client base often seems self-evident, it is also vital to possess an in-depth analysis of fundamental contextual considerations. These include the existence (or not) of a culture of family and public solidarity, the isolation of elderly persons, the socio-professional categories concerned and their ability to pay for the services provided (rent, income, pensions, etc.).
The question is not so much to find out the number of elderly people in the region but to determine whether they are likely to enter a nursing home and, above all, how much they can pay to do so.
2. Evaluating the investment costs
The task here is to analyse the investment costs by examining, in particular, the construction costs observed for recent operations, the labour costs, for example in the form of average building worker remuneration.
More generally, the investment cost analysis must also take account of current interest rates on loans as well as any specific taxes and insurance that might have to be planned for.
3. Determining staff and training costs in advance
How many qualified staff have been identified in the region? And what are their profiles: physicians, nurses, care workers?
What are the average salaries: accommodation staff, service agents, care workers, nurses, physicians, managers and administrative staff, etc.?
What is the job catchment area? And what education programmes are available for this job catchment area?
By answering these questions, it will be possible to assess the payroll and training costs associated with your project.
4. Constructing the legal and financial framework
It is important to study the health and welfare system in your country in order to identify the right legal and financial framework for your project.
The aim here is to identify the procedures applicable to the authorisation and creation of nursing homes, as well as the regulatory constraints relating to their functioning, regulations applicable to foreign operators, whether investors or managers, and staff qualifications (in compliance with standards).