Business Briefs: All Metro Health Care, Fresenius Medical Care

All Metro Health Care Acquires Massachusetts Home Care Provider

All Metro Health Care acquired Independence Healthcare Corp., a Worcester, Massachusetts-based provider of non-medical home healthcare services.

All Metro, a home care provider headquartered in Valley Stream, New York and a portfolio company of middle market private equity firm One Equity Partners, serves patients in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida. With the acquisition of Independence, it expands its reach into Massachusetts.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Independence will operate as a subsidiary of Lynn, Massachusetts-based Multicultural Home Care, a subsidiary of All Metro.

The transaction marks the second acquisition that Metro has made since One Equity Partners gained a controlling stake in the business in February 2016, according to a press release. The previous acquisition was Multicultural Home Care, which offers home health care services in the Boston area.

German Dialysis Service Provider Buys American Company for $2 Billion

Fresenius Medical Care has agreed to purchase NxStage Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTM), a U.S. maker of home dialysis devices, for around $2 billion cash, according to a press release.

Fresenius plans to acquire all outstanding NxStage shares through a merger for $30 per common share.

NxStage, like Fresenius Medical Care North America, is headquartered in Boston. The producer of medical devices has about 3,400 employees and, in 2016, NxStage delivered $366 million in revenue.

Completion of the merger is subject to approval of NxStage stockholders, but it is expected to close in 2018, according to the release.

National Home Care Franchise Partners with the Muscular Dystrophy Association

SYNERGY HomeCare and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) announced a national partnership aimed at improving the lives of those living with neuromuscular diseases. SYNERGY HomeCare, based in Gilbert, Arizona, is a national franchise of non-medical home care.

Together, the two parties plan to develop improved educational and training materials for caregivers to meet the needs of patients with neuromuscular diseases, a press release states.

The care guide will be distributed to patients and their in-home caregivers; SYNERGY HomeCare will also provide specialized training for its caregivers.

AccentCare Completes Joint Venture with Texas Health Care System

Texas Home Health, a subsidiary of Dallas-based home health provider AccentCare, has completed a previously announced joint venture with Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not-for-profit health care system in Texas.

Together, they formed Texas Home Health Group, effective August 1, which operates in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and much of north and central Texas, according to a press release.

Staff and home caregivers from the legacy Texas Home and Baylor Scott & White Health Home Care agencies are now employees of the new joint venture, with operations being managed by Texas Home Health.

Nebraska Health Care System Selects Home Health and Hospice Partner

Memorial Community Hospital & Health System (MCH&HS) in Blair, Nebraska, has chosen the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA), a nonprofit, mission-based organization headquartered in Omaha, to take over its home health and hospice services.

Declining reimbursement rates for home health and hospice contributed to the hospital’s decision, Tim Plante, president and CEO of MCH&HS, told the Washington County Pilot-Tribune and Enterprise.

MCH&HS had 6,025 outpatient home health visits and 913 outpatient hospice visits last year, the Washington County Pilot-Tribune and Enterprise reported.

VNAA Partners with Information Analytics Company to Produce Online Clinical Skills 

The Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) entered into an exclusive agreement with information and analytics business Elsevier to develop online Hospice Skills from the VNAA’s Clinical Procedures Manual.

The VNAA content will be delivered to the competency management platforms of Elsevier Home Health Care and Elsevier Clinical Skills. Home health care organizations will then have access to the information and can use it to increase safety of care, standardize practice and ensure competency, a press release states.

The first resource produced will be the Hospice Skills Collection, released in the third quarter of 2018.

Home Care Assistance Partners with the Parkinson’s Foundation

In-home care provider Home Care Assistance has partnered with the Parkinson’s Foundation to bring the organization’s research and expertise to home caregivers.

The Parkinson’s Foundation will provide Home Care Assistance with research findings that will help inform care plans, a press release states. For example, the Foundation points out that timing meals to coincide with peak medication effectiveness helps patients get nutrition and feed themselves as best as possible.

Health Care Technology Provider Partners with New York Health Service

Netsmart, a health care technology company, partnered with Jefferson County New York Public Health Service (JCPHS) to foster stronger communication between home health providers and HealtheConnections, a New York regional health information organization.

Netsmart provides electronic health records, health information exchange, data analytics, mobile clinical and consumer engagement solutions to behavioral health, social services and post-acute communities.

The technology company will assist JCPHS and home health providers in sharing health information with other health providers through HealtheConnections for a continuum of care across different care settings.

Written by Elizabeth Jakaitis