ResCare, Inc., one of the largest privately held home and community-based health services providers to complex populations in the United States, has continued its recent leadership infusion by hiring a new top executive to oversee its robust Intellectual and Development Disability (IDD) Services business line.
Louisville, Kentucky-based ResCare announced on Tuesday that assisted living and skilled nursing veteran Bob Barnes has joined the company as executive vice president and president of community health services. As such, Barnes will lead ResCare’s IDD segment, which supports individuals with developmental, cognitive or intellectual disabilities by providing home- and community-based care.
The IDD line accounts for about 60% of ResCare’s core business, according to the company. ResCare’s annual revenue is about $2 billion.
“I’m very excited to join an organization with such a great reputation across the nation,” Barnes told Home Health Care News. “Our goal is to keep individuals out of an institutional setting and help them really be a part of the community in which they live.”
ResCare provides daily living support, in-home care, vocational training, job placement capabilities, pharmacy assistance and behavioral health services to individuals of all ages living in more than 40 states. The company and its more than 45,000 employees provide care for more than 60,000 people daily.
Its IDD segment, in particular, serves about 17,000 individuals across 27 states.
ResCare offers services to both limited supervision clients and those who require 24-hour care.
In his new role, Barnes plans to focus on further developing ResCare’s offerings in the community-based IDD service industry, while working to boost core operational processes and pursue growth opportunities, he said. Identifying and implementing technology-driven innovations to help strengthen quality of care is also among immediate priorities, Barnes said.
More long-term goals include improving ResCare’s recruiting initiatives and employee retention efforts, he said.
Before joining ResCare, Barnes served as senior vice president of operations for Trilogy Health Services, a provider of skilled nursing, assisted living and senior housing services throughout Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan.
Having experience throughout the post-acute space gives Barnes a unique perspective as ResCare’s newest executive, but it means there will likely be a learning curve as well.
“There will be some challenges coming from a different health care model,” Barnes, who also previously served as COO for Affinity Health Services, said. “But I think [that background] is tremendously valuable.”
Specifically, Barnes has watched as payers and government agencies have tried to direct care into home- and community-based settings rather than institutional ones, he said. Now, he’ll be able to reflect on those observations and take advantage of his past relationships with payers and regulators to benefit ResCare.
The hiring of Barnes is the latest in a string of leadership moves for ResCare.
Over the past 20 or so months, ResCare’s new appointments have included a CEO and CFO, along with a new chief human resource officer, chief revenue cycle officer, senior vice president of government relations and other leadership positions. During that same period, ResCare has also made about 150 new hires in key field-level and managerial positions.
“We’ve changed quite a bit of the core management team,” Barnes said. “It’s an outstanding team that is committed to the ongoing success and growth of the organization.”
Up to 3% of the general U.S. population is affected by an intellectual or development disability, according to ResCare. Roughly one-third of that group receive services through publicly funded programs such as Medicaid or Medicare.
“Outside of the [IDD] space, ResCare’s growing in our Medicare space,” Barnes said. “As we continue our transformation and expansion into home health, hospice, rehabilitation … we are excited about changes that are coming and are positive about the opportunities that exist in all of our various home and community health services businesses.”
Written by Robert Holly
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