When I say “caregivers are the platform,” I mean it literally. Our outcomes, our costs, our reputation—they all sit on the daily experience of the people who show up in patients’ homes.

The stat that keeps me honest: industry research estimates home care turnover was nearly 75% in 2024. Let that sink in. Three out of four workers cycling in a single year is not a staffing problem; it’s a system problem.

Now add demand pressure: home health and personal care aide jobs are projected to grow ~17% from 2024–2034, with about 765,800 openings per year—a huge replacement need largely due to churn. If we don’t fix the work, we won’t fill the roles.

Our human-first thesis

Technology and protocol matter. But the hard truth is that burnout, turnover, and windshield time will erase any clinical playbook you put on paper. Caregivers are not an afterthought—they are the operating system. So at Lydians, “platform” means a place where people want to do the work.

What that looks like in practice:

1) Continuous, practical training (not another binder)

• Short, role-specific refreshers tied to real cases (wounds, CHF/COPD, med reconciliation).

• “First-72-hours” playbooks so new episodes start calm, not chaotic.

• Preceptors with protected time—it’s not mentorship if it’s unpaid overtime.

2) Mental health and safety, out loud

• Normalized debriefs after tough visits; easy access to counseling.

• Clear policies for safety in the home and zero-tolerance escalation paths.

• Leaders trained to spot early burnout—because 46% of health workers reported feeling burned out often or very often in 2022.

3) Density over distance

• Smaller service radii and tighter routing mean fewer wasted miles and more care minutes.

• Predictable days → higher retention → better continuity with patients.

4) Tools that remove friction (not add clicks)

• Routing that respects commute-light territories.

• Assistive documentation checks to prevent denials and late notes.

• Lightweight at-home monitoring kits for high-risk cohorts so clinicians can intervene early.

Why this matters (beyond morale)

• Quality: Stable teams drive timely starts, fewer preventable hospitalizations, and better patient experience.

• Cost: Every mile saved becomes time with a patient—and resilience in a rate-pressure year.

• Growth: In a market adding hundreds of thousands of openings annually, the only durable advantage is being a place people choose to work.

What we promise caregivers (and hold ourselves to)

• Respect the day. Sensible caseloads, realistic drive times, on-time pay.

• Invest in you. Paid precepting, tiered skill paths, and modern tools that actually help.

• Listen first. Weekly huddles where the people doing the work can redesign it.

Caregivers are the platform. When we prioritize them, patients recover better, families feel supported, and agencies stop bleeding talent. That’s the only “tech stack” that scales.

If you’re an owner who believes the same—and you’re wondering how to build this without losing your margins—let’s talk. We’re proving that a human-first platform is the most reliable way to deliver quality, at scale, under today’s constraints.

Sources

• Turnover: PHI estimates home care turnover was nearly 75% in 2024. PHI

• Demand: BLS projects ~17% growth for home health & personal care aides (2024–2034) and ~765,800 openings/year. Bureau of Labor Statistics

• Burnout: CDC Vital Signs—46% of health workers reported frequent burnout in 2022. CDC