How Jennifer Sheets Found Her ‘Why’ in Home Health Advocacy

These are phrases we hear over and over again from owners, employees and others in this industry. It’s easy to feel that things are hopeless, especially in the face of dramatic change.

But there’s another constant, and that’s the people who show up to make a difference. Industry advocates use their voices to explain the value of providing care and equipment in the home, speaking on behalf of everyone who works in homecare.

There are dozens of them working at the local, state and national level. And it’s not as hard as it looks for anyone to join their ranks. In this special feature, we share a few of their stories—and some tips if you’re inspired.

That sense became personal when her father ended up with an anoxic brain injury due to a hospital error in 2010.

“My father, who was a larger-than-life company CEO, ran five miles a day, 159 pounds … spent 15 months in the hospital before he passed away,” Sheets said. “And in that moment, it became so clear to me that there’s a reason that best practices are in place, and there’s a reason that things are supposed to be done. I could get mad, I could bring litigation … but that wasn’t going to change and impact care delivery for the better.”

Instead, Sheets dove headfirst into advocacy. Starting with the National Quality Forum, she advocated in Washington to make best practices a standard based on diagnoses and procedures. She worked with accrediting bodies to change standards for gold seal hospital requirements.

“That’s really where I felt like I made the first impact from an advocacy perspective,” she said. “(It) doesn’t matter if somebody looks like the healthiest person in the world, you follow best practice every single time, because if you don’t, people die.”

Since then, Sheets said her advocacy has been focused on the Alliance’s main areas of interest—making sure people can access the care they need at home. The call for more care at home connects with her desire to make the health care delivery system work for the patient, instead of the patient having to work it out themselves.

“The future of care really is in the home,” she said. “So the more care that we can deliver in the home, both from a preventative and a curative and a rehabilitative standpoint, the better for everybody, including the hospitals, right? The hospitals want to care for people when they’re in an acute episode. They want to stabilize, and they want to discharge, but they want to make sure they’re discharging to somewhere that can actually keep these people happy and healthy at home.”

To Sheets, advocacy often means having the same conversations over and over again, continuing to fight despite losses and during wins because you believe deeply in the cause. But believes if you don’t take a stand for the causes you feel are important, you are part of the problem.

“Sometimes you’re going to feel like you’re beating your head against the wall, but you still have those conversations,” she said. “So I think that’s important, and really the success for the Alliance, from an advocacy perspective, is really built again on making sure that we are all focused on advocacy and that it may shift from moment to moment, or it may shift from year to year, but there are fundamental pillars that we’re going to always talk about.”

As she has stepped into her role at the helm of Alliance, those pillars have been her core message. The organization has built a strong foundation in bringing together the National Association for Home Care & Hospice and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, Sheets said. Now they are focused on united advocacy, coordinated care across the continuum, shaping policy, community access and investing in specialized programs such as the We Honor Veterans program.

Sheets acknowledged there are challenges in the industry that the group is looking to address and change as well. Program integrity is top of mind for 2026, especially as funding cuts across all sectors take place. Fraud must be combatted intentionally and with a balanced approach, aiming to preserve access for vulnerable individuals, she said. Other challenges include payment rates and inadequate reimbursement for both home health and hospice care providers, combatting future cuts and the workforce crisis

That list of challenges can feel overwhelming, especially to those new to advocacy who don’t know where to start. , Sheets believes if you don’t take a stand for the causes you feel are important, you are part of the problem

“The first thing I would say is, get involved with the Alliance,” Sheets said. “Obviously, there’s a ton of resources. We do a lot of work. Everybody has a voice at the Alliance, and I think that’s really important. The other thing I would say is make your voice heard. What’s important to you, and what are you saying? Listen to the people in your community and talk to beneficiaries, talk to family members. That’s where the best lessons are from my perspective … I think that’s where you get your energy. I always tell my team to find their why and connect to their why and use that to fuel them. Where do you draw your source of strength to fight the good fight?”

Advocacy is hard work. In her downtime, Sheets draws strength from her husband and her four sons. They’re a competitive bunch, she said, playing pickleball, volleyball, soccer or fighting over a board game.

“That’s a lot of my ‘why,’’ she said. “That’s the people we’re fighting for. One day they’re going to be in the same situation I was in with my mother and father.”

That’s why building a better health care delivery system is so important, because one day it will impact us all, she said.

“Health care is not theoretical—It’s personal,” Sheets said. “It’s about dignity, it’s about trust, it’s about presence.”