Business Briefs: HomeHero Founder Launches Telehealth Company

HomeHero Founder Launches Telehealth Company 

HomeHero, the venture-backed home care startup that shocked the industry by announcing it was closing earlier this year, is rebranding as an integrative medicine telehealth company called “Harvey.”

The new company will offer virtual consultations with functional and naturopathic doctors, in-home lab testing and “natural treatments” to help patients with chronic health conditions, wrote CEO Kyle Hill, who announced the venture in a blog post.

Advertisement

Integrative medicine centers on natural health and wellness practices used alongside more conventional medical care. The new company aims to help patients eliminate “root cause” of health issues instead of just treating symptoms.

Harvey has been taking on clients for about five months, according to the blog post.

“If we are successful, we will completely change the ‘sick care’ culture of health care in this country and shift the paradigm back toward nutrition, prevention and ‘whole body’ health and wellness,” Hill wrote. “We will help patients become better consumers of health care, reverse the disturbing proliferation of obesity and chronic disease in our country and improve the quality of life of millions of people.”

Advertisement

AccentCare Buys Texas Home Care Provider

Dallas-based in-home services provider AccentCare has expanded its footprint in the Lone Star State.

The company announced it acquired Grace Visiting Nurses and Home Health Services, a health care and personal care services company based in Jacksonville, Texas.

As part of the deal, Grace Visiting Nurses will change its name to Texas Home Health, which is AccentCare’s regional brand. AccentCare will keep Grace’s staffers in their current positions throughout all of the company’s 28 offices, according to a press release.

Pittsburgh’s Sunny Days In-Home Care Acquires Local Competitor

Sunny Days In-Home Care, a Pittsburgh-based non-medical, in-home personal care franchise company, has acquired one of its nearby rivals.

Sunny Days purchased Daly Care, another Pittsburgh-based lifestyle management and in-home care provider, according to a press release. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition will let Sunny Days expand its territory to reach a greater number of clients and introduce a new travel training program aimed at teaching intellectually disabled clients basic life skills in public transportation, money management and scheduling practices.

Sunny Days also recently announced it’s partnering with Franchise Dynamics, the world’s largest full-service franchise sales outsourcing firm. The partnership will allow Sunny Days to use FranConnect, a franchise management software tool with access to more than 600 brands and 110,000 franchisees.

New York Home Care Agency Buys Connecticut Provider

Caring People, a senior home care provider based in New York, is acquiring Stellar HomeCare a home care agency based in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Stellar HomeCare’s founder, Stella Hogan, will stay with the company as a home care consultant, according to a press release.

With the latest acquisition, Caring People now offers senior care services in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and southern Florida.

Premier Health, Anthem Now Offering Value-Based Care in Ohio

Premier Health and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield are joining forces to offer value-based health care in southwest Ohio.

Anthem’s spin on the model aims to give health care providers data and analytics to coordinate patient care, focus on preventive health, manage chronic disease and lower costs.

The new agreement includes Anthem’s employer-based, individual and Medicare Advantage members. Anthem is Ohio’s largest commercial health insurer.

Premier Health is the largest health system in Southwest Ohio with four member hospitals and a large primary care and specialty physician network, community health, home health and behavioral health partners. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of Community Insurance Company, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

Vermont’s Largest Home Health Agency Mulls Joining State’s Biggest Hospital Network

The Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties (VNA), Vermont’s largest home health and hospice agency, is considering joining the state’s biggest hospital network.

The VNA is currently deciding whether to team up with the University of Vermont (UVM) Health Network, according to Seven Days, a local news publication. UVM Health Network has six hospitals in its network, located in Vermont and northern New York. The VNA, which had more than 600 staff members and 5,400 clients last year, would be the first home health agency to join the network. The 111-year-old home health agency signed a nonbinding letter of intent to affiliate with the network.

The partnership would allow the VNA and the university to share the same medical records system, exchange patient information and better coordinate care between the hospital and the home, it was reported.

Its current CEO, Judy Peterson, plans to stay on in her role, and VNA would keep its board of directors. The VNA’s board chair would sit on the network’s board, with Peterson gaining a spot among its clinical leadership council along with the six hospital CEOs.

Written by Tim Regan

Companies featured in this article:

, , , ,