Pfizer, Moderna and the University of Oxford are among the organizations to tout highly effective COVID-19 vaccines this month. With “the cavalry coming,” the focus is now shifting to how, when and where vaccines should be distributed. In September, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) urged state leaders […]
Category: Home Health Care
The idea that the home setting could serve as an alternative care site — taking the pressure off of hospitals facing over-capacity challenges — really took flight in the midst of the COVID-19 emergency. In some ways, large health systems with home-based care arms were able to navigate this shift more seamlessly. As another COVID-19 […]
So far, there’s been a lack of information on the characteristics and outcomes of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who are discharged to the home setting. Researchers Kathryn Bowles and Margaret McDonald — both with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) — are working to change that. For the past few months, Bowles and […]
Keith Myers has seen his fair share of change in Washington, D.C. Since co-founding the business with his wife, Ginger, in 1994, Myers has helped lead LHC Group Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG) through parts of five presidencies as chairman and CEO. A new administration with Joe Biden in the White House would make that six. Although […]
Patients discharged from hospitals are increasingly headed to home health agencies, a new analysis from ATI Advisory shows. In May 2019, of the 801,464 patients discharged from short-term acute care hospitals (STACHs), 11% were sent to home health agencies. In May 2020, of the 558,296 patients discharged from STACHs, 19% went to home health agencies. […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its final 2021 home health payment rule in late October. When it came out, some providers were less than pleased. On one hand, the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) wasn’t substantially altered to balance out its flawed behavioral assumptions. On another, there are also a few […]
LHC Group Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG) continues to make progress with its accountable care organization (ACO) relationships while making inroads with direct-contracting entities (DCEs), company leadership said Thursday. At the same time, the Lafayette, Louisiana-based home health giant is building more new referral channels. Those and other home-based tailwinds have LHC Group’s leadership team bullish about […]
The coronavirus didn’t directly lead to the recently announced merger between AccentCare Inc. and Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care, but it played a pretty prominent role. On Monday, Dallas-based AccentCare and Rosemont, Illinois-based Seasons revealed they’ll soon join forces to create a new post-acute care powerhouse. While the decision to merge made sense due to […]
Private equity-backed Eventus WholeHealth recently acquired Doctors Making Housecalls (DMHC), a home-based primary care provider. The deal further highlights the growing interest in home-based primary care seen throughout 2020. Charlotte, North Carolina-based Eventus is a physician-led medical provider for residents and patients of skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. Aside from North Carolina, the company […]
After nine months of the public health emergency, a major breakthrough took place last week when Pfizer announced that one of its experimental COVID-19 vaccines was more than 90% effective in trials. Similarly promising results from a Moderna vaccine soon followed. Both vaccines still need to be authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food […]