Business Briefs: Almost Family to Acquire Home Health Agency, PHI Vice President Appointed to CMS Panel

Almost Family Announces Agreement to Acquire Bayonne VNA Home Health Agency in Hudson County, New Jersey

Almost Family announced on Sept. 29 that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of the Medicare-certified home health agency owned by Bayonne Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) in Bayonne, New Jersey.

The Bayonne agency generated about $4 million in revenue in 2014.

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The transaction is anticipated to close prior to the end of 2015, subject to regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Bayonne adds to our already strong position in Northern New Jersey,” William B. Yarmuth, Almost Family chairman and CEO, said in a prepared statement.

Almost Family noted that while it is continuing the integration of recent acquisitions, it is still seeking opportunities to acquire high-quality home health and personal care agencies that fit the company’s service line, geographic, quality and value criteria.

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Almost Family, founded in 1976, is a leading regional provider of home health nursing services, with branch locations in Ohio, Florida, New York, Tennessee, Kentucky, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi and Alabama. Almost Family and its subsidiaries operate a personal care segment and a Medicare-certified segment.

Almost Family operates more than 230 branch locations in 15 U.S. states.

Quintiles’ James Featherstone Joins Healthcare at Home as COO

Healthcare at Home, the largest home health care provider in the UK, named James Featherstone as its chief operating officer.

Featherstone, who spent seven years at Quintiles, most recently served as Quintiles’ senior vice president of integrated health care solutions.

Healthcare at Home also named Tony Graff as its chief financial officer. Graff previously served as chief financial officer/chief operating officer at financial technology firm Risk First.

Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services Receives $23,000 Grant From Verizon Foundation To Expand Home to Stay Program

Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services (OPRS)the biggest nonprofit provider of continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) in Ohio, announced a $23,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation intended to help expand their Home to Stay program, which was designed to help patients discharged from hospitals remain healthy at home.

“This gives us an opportunity to partner with other key stakeholders toward innovation that supports the use of technology for the senior population,” said Wendy Price Kiser, executive director of OPRS subsidiary Senior Independence in Toledo.

Home to Stay launched in July 2013 through OPRS’ subsidiary, Senior Independence, and is offered free of charge to patients of the Northwest Ohio Accountable Care Organization.

As part of the program, a licensed practical nurse or a registered nurse visits a patient within 72 hours after being discharged from the hospital, with a follow-up visit within seven to 10 days. The nurses take vital signs, review patients’ medications, confirm appointments, establish health records and more.

In the first year of the program, participating patients experienced a 3.4% hospital readmission rate, compared with a regional average of 14.5%.

Every year, OPRS serves over 73,000 individuals through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, OPRS Communities and Senior Independence. OPRS Communities operates 12 retirement communities. Senior Independence provides community- and home-based services, manages six senior centers and operates five adult day centers, in partnership with local governments.

Danielle Dyer Becomes Partner in Right At Home of Southwest Florida

Danielle Dyer, vice president of Right at Home of Southwest Florida, joined the company’s Founder and President Peggy Baker as a partner and co-owner of the business. Dyer is set to transition into the role of the company’s president when Baker retires in the next few years.

Dyer has been an employee of Right at Home of Southwest Florida since it opened in 2003, and she is expected to continue in her current role overseeing the day-to-day operations and heading the company’s community outreach and marketing efforts.

Right at Home of Southwest Florida is a locally owned and operated franchise of the Omaha, Nebraska-based Right at Home corporation. Right at Home operates 350 offices that serve tens of thousands of clients in the U.S., UK, Canada, Brazil, Ireland and China.

PHI Vice President Robert Espinoza Appointed to CMS Advisory Panel on Outreach & Education

Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI) Vice President of Policy Robert Espinoza has been appointed to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to serve on its Advisory Panel on Outreach & Education (APOE).

Espinoza’s appointment to the APOE began on Sept. 8.

The APOE is responsible for making recommendations to the secretary of HHS and CMS administrator on optimizing education and outreach strategies for Medicaid, Medicare, the Health Insurance Market and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

“Robert Espinoza brings a wide breadth of expertise to the Advisory Panel on Outreach & Education, including strategic communications, outreach to marginalized populations and labor issues,” said PHI President Jodi Sturgeon. “We commend CMS for recognizing the valuable contribution that Robert will make to improving access to public programs that make it possible for underserved people to access care, including millions of direct-care workers, older people and people with disabilities.”

PHI is the leading authority on the direct-care workforce in the U.S.

Written by Mary Kate Nelson

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