Business Briefs: GreatCall Acquires Healthsense

GreatCall Acquires Healthsense

Connected health company GreatCall Inc. has announced the acquisition of Healthsense, which provides remote monitoring services for seniors. The acquisition will help GreatCall seniors find connected health services in senior living and health care.

“As GreatCall continues to expand in these key markets, Healthsense is a natural fit—with our mission of increasing independence, reducing total cost of care and improving the resident, family and caregiver experience,” David Inns, CEO of GreatCall, said in a press release.”Acquiring Healthsense brings important capabilities in predictive analytics that dovetail with our deep customer knowledge, expands offerings, as well as increases our exposure in senior living and health care.”

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Healthsense’s technology uses wireless sensors to monitor seniors’ activities and then establishes patterns based on daily data. This data can be used by caregivers to review if anything is off and could indicate a larger health problem.

“GreatCall is the ideal partner to take the company to the next level,” A.R. Weiler, CEO and president of Healthsense, said in the press release. “We know that older adults want to age independently as long as possible, and the technology and support that GreatCall can provide will allow more of them to achieve this goal.”

Always Best Care Opens New Location

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Provider of non medical in-home care, Always Best Care has opened a new franchise location in Minnesota. This location will be the company’s third in Minnesota and will serve the Saint Paul area and surrounding communities, including Saint Croix Valley.

The franchise was opened by Ken and Erica Crawford, both of whom have years of experience applicable for running a franchise location. Ken has worked as a facility manager for a non-profit organization that helps people with disabilities for 25 years. Erica has 15 years of experience in corporate account management.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ken and Erica Crawford to the Always Best Care family,” Jake Brown, president of Always Best Care, said in a press release. “Ken and Erica have strong relationships with area hospitals, social workers, senior communities and resources throughout Saint Croix Valley. The network they have established within the community, coupled with their hands-on management style and passion for quality health care, will translate well into their new business.”

Ken and Erica will also have Erica’s mother Judy Gustafson, who is a retired nurse of 40 years, serve as the company’s care coordinator.

“After working within the health care industry for many years, it became clear to me that additional services were needed in our area,” Ken Crawford said in the press release. “Always Best Care is a leader in senior care, which is one of the reasons why Erica and I are proud to offer its award-winning services to local families in need.”

VNAA Partners With CliftonLarsonAllen

The Visiting Nurse Association of America (VNAA) and professional services firm CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) will partner together to offer financial leadership, education and guidance for the home-based care industry by expanding VNAA’s Center for Value Based Transformation (CVBT).

“VNAA sought a strong collaborator to expand financial leadership and educational offerings at this critical time in health care delivery transformation,” Tracey Moorhead, president and CEO of VNAA, said in a press release. “CliftonLarsonAllen demonstrated the recognized expertise and experience to support agency leaders as they navigate value-based payment systems. This new alliance will offer tools and resources to help ensure continued growth and success in home-based care.”

Programs developed under this alliance will also help VNAA transform toward value-based health care delivery and payment models, including performance improvement, operational management, clinical program design and financial success models.

“The vision of CLA’s health care practice is to be thought leaders impacting the future of health care,” Mike Slavik, chief industry officer of CLA’s health care practice, said in the press release. “We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with the VNAA and support its mission of transforming home-based care for providers and populations in the community.”

Suncoast Hospice Forms Strategic Alliance

Suncoast Hospice and its parent company, nonprofit Empath Health, have started a strategic alliance with Tidwell Hospice and its parent company, Stratum Health System. The alliance will be known as Pontus Health, Inc.

The purpose of the alliance is to help with the changing health care landscape and provide insight into best practices, purchasing efficiencies, as well as expanding end-of-life care. In the future, the alliance may add other non-profit, community-based, end-of-life care organizations.

The strategic alliance will not change the day-to-day operations of Suncoast.

Princeton HealthCare To Join University of Pennsylvania Health System

Princeton HealthCare System (PHCS) will become part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, pending state and federal approval.

Princeton Healthcare operates the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro and provides rehabilitation, home care and hospice care.

“We are proud of this exciting opportunity to combine Princeton HealthCare’s strong reputation for providing excellent care in the community with Penn Medicine’s strengths as a national leader in complex and specialty care,” Ralph Muller, CEO of Pennsylvania Health System, said in a prepared statement. “Aligning with PHCS will offer new opportunities for Penn Medicine to expand our services in New Jersey, and enable a mutually beneficial relationship for patients by uniting options for close-to-home care with coordinated access to Penn Medicine’s world-class advanced medicine.”

Prior to the final documents, both companies signed a letter of intent last summer to explore the partnership. Princeton sought  a partnership with a larger hospital, and Pennsylvania Health System was chosen out of 17 potential partners.

“Affiliating with the University of Pennsylvania Health System represents the best means of assuring that PHCS and its affiliates can continue to fulfill their mission and charitable objectives in the future,” Barry Rabner, CEO of Princeton HealthCare, said. “When this partnership is finalized, members of our community will receive enhanced high-quality care right here, close to home, and they will enjoy the added benefit of easier access to the latest medical breakthroughs, clinical trials, cutting-edge technologies and specialized clinical expertise here and elsewhere in the Penn Medicine system.”

Princeton HealthCare will maintain day-to-day control of operations.

Homecare Homebase Collaboration with Samsung Reaches New High

Software company Homecare Homebase is collaborating with Samsung to bring its software to Samsung Galaxy Tablets.

The partnership began with implementing the Homecare Homebase platform on 10,000 Samsung Galaxy tablets, but has now grown to more than 140,000 tablets in five years.

“We’re focused on growing our presence in the home health and hospice fields to meet increasing market demand,” Scott Pattillo, chief strategy officer at Homecare Homebase, said in a press release. “The solutions we deliver in home health care with Samsung play a pivotal role in empowering medical professionals to provide top-quality care, using Homecare Homebase’s state of the art platform to keep up with today’s increasingly complex health care reporting requirements and regulations.”

The software integration with Samsung tablets is hoping to improve communications for patients and families. The software allows an all-in-one solution to streamline processes like workflow management, revenue management and resource management.

Written by Alana Stramowski

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