Starting private duty nursing in Denver

Hi. Welcome to the site and hope you are successful in your new venture. I would print up business cards and flyers and drop them off with the administrators of facilities where people getting discharged might be interested in your services, (LTC, ALF, senior centers), likewise other places that you can think of. Of course, there is the tried and true method of finding private duty cases in the want ads of the newspaper and placing want ads yourself. I know of someone who found a caregiver at church, so word of mouth is also a good avenue to business. You can also place ads in the local version of the Pennysaver publications. I used to live in the Springs many years ago and quite frankly find it hard to imagine doing home care in that area. I hated driving around in the winter and went to great lengths to avoid it.

Welcome. I believe there are many private duty options in the area. I do provide home care and education with the case management consulting that I do. This is ongoing and I usually see the same clients throughout. I had been looking to branch out more into home health and rehab in the form of PD nursing, but thought that this was an area that would benefit from a partnership or co-op of nurses. Basically varying patient specialties paired with the appropriate nursing strengths. For example, I have very little experience with peds (except for my own kids), but I have a cardiothoracic ICU background and feel comfortable working with vents, monitors, and various cardiac meds. We started on rehab from day one in the ICU, so I feel that this is something whether post-op or just a patient that has CHF and is only receiving medical intervention, that I can provide these services. This is just an example of one particular scenario and I wouldn't be limited to cardiac care.

How is the search going?

I've been applying to HH care businesses, I never thought about being an independent private nurse.

How and how much do you get paid? What about liability insurance?

Just apply to the agencies as an independent contractor. Just make sure to come up with a fee (salary) that will cover your overhead. You're paying your taxes, mileage, etc., so don't sell yourself short. At minimum charge 40% more than what they are paying as a salary. You have to remember that if you are an employee then they are absorbing quite a bit of cost associated with your employment, so they are essentially "withholding" this by paying you less than an IC.

If you have liability insurance now (if you don't, then I would suggest getting it even if you are employed with a hospital who states, "we have you covered.") Check with NSO or proliability (Marsh) to see what your rates will be as a self-employed nurse. A drop in the bucket to protect your assets.

Thanks for the info.

My experience with private duty nursing has been with the Medacaid program. This includes providing in home care to patients with either a trach, on a vent or w/ a feeding tube. It is shift work vs. a typical "home health care" visit. You must appy for a provider number through your state's Medicaid program. Like stated above you must remember you are paying your own taxes, transportation, overhead etc. You also must buy your own liability insurance--NSO has the best coverage and is the most affordable. I currently have friends in Denver that are bringing home an infant on a vent and are looking for nurses! Any metropolis has a market for independent nurses. Good Luck!

I would agree with the statement about a metropolis (really any town) has a need for independent nurses.

I have been fortunate to grow my business and experience a lot of great opportunities. Ladies and Gents, this is your time to shine and give it a go if it is inside of you to be an entrepreneur. I'm actually turning opportunities away right now as I just don't have the bandwidth. I'm barely keeping up with what I have. Point being, there is work out there for us all.

Keep at it. Good luck!