Editor’s Picks: Grandparents and Online Dating

This week, Home Health Care News readers were especially curious about a new, bipartisan bill that could expand home health telemedicine. Readers also learned about two new transactions: St. Joseph Health’s acquisition of 26 Nurse Next Door locations, and Kindred Healthcare Inc.’s agreement to purchase the state of South Carolina’s home health operations.

Here in the newsroom, we were pleased to find out more seniors have embraced online dating.

In honor of Presidents’ Day, HHCN will be out of the office on Monday, Feb. 15. We will return to our regular posting schedule on Tuesday, Feb. 16.

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New Bill Could Expand Home Health Telemedicine—A bipartisan bill that would expand telemedicine services and remote patient monitoring through Medicare is making headway in Congress with a projected cost savings of $1.8 billion over the next 10 years. The legislation could also help cut down the 7.88 billion miles home care workers traveled in 2013 for patient visits.

Health System Acquires 26 Private Duty Franchises—One of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health systems has turned to franchising in a big way to expand its home care services. Irvine, California-based St. Joseph Health is acquiring 26 Southern California locations from Vancouver-based Nurse Next Door, with an option to buy another 12, the companies recently announced. The move is being described as an industry first.

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Kindred Buys State’s Home Health Operations for $18 Million—Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND), the nation’s largest home health provider, has acquired home health licenses to cover the whole state South Carolina, in a transaction totaling about $18 million. The agreement with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control took effect Jan. 1.

Weekend Reads

5 Steps to Selecting a Personal Care Aide for Mom and Dad—Linda Wooge, director of Asbury Home Services in Maryland, Marc Spector, president and CEO of the Florida nurse registry Best Care, and Wendy Adlerstein, director of client care services for FirstLight HomeCare in the western suburbs of Boston, discussed five steps people can take to find the right personal care aide or other in-home provider for their older family members.

Grandma Swipes Right: Seniors Embrace Online Dating—Grandma and Grandpa are getting in on Internet-based romance, according to this Wall Street Journal article. Among U.S. adults ages 55 to 64, online dating use has doubled since 2013, a Pew Research Center survey revealed.

Written by Mary Kate Nelson

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