Paul and Lori Hogan founded Home Instead Inc. in Omaha, Nebraska in 1994. Paul cared for his grandmother for 12 years. It was through this personal experience that he recognised the need to support seniors to live independently where they want to be, in their own home. With a desire to meet this unmet need Paul and Lori started Home Instead , providing home care and companionship services to older people in their community.

In June 1995, the company began franchising. By 1998, Home Instead had grown to 99 offices and was recognised by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the 100 fastest growing franchise companies. Today, the Home Instead  franchise network is the world's largest and most trusted source of home care for seniors, with more than 1000 franchises globally.

In June 2005, Ed Murphy and Michael Kearney opened the first Home Instead  office in Ireland. There are now 24 local offices throughout the country.