Disrupt

As the population ages, the caregiver shortage worsens and Medicare Advantage plans continue to add supplemental benefits, the home care industry is becoming increasingly complex. In this episode, you’ll hear how Neal Kursban -- CEO of Family & Nursing Care, one of the largest private pay home care companies in the Washington, D.C area -- is navigating those challenges and more to keep his 50-year-old company at the front of the pack. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: - How Family & Nursing Care drove its caregiver turnover rate down to 14% - Why profit margin doesn’t tell an agency’s whole story - What’s prompting the family-owned agency to expand after decades in business - …And much more!

Michigan-based Great Lakes Caring, Connecticut-based National Home Health Care and Texas-based Jordan Health Services were -- not too long ago -- three separate home-based care providers. Backed by Blue Wolf Capital Partners and Kelso & Company, they came together in a three-way mega-merger in May 2018, officially rebranding under the Elara Caring name in July. G. Scott Herman serves as CEO of Elara Caring -- now one of the largest home health providers in the country, serving more than 65,000 patients and their families daily with services that span the continuum of personal care, skilled home health and hospice care. Using predictive analytics to enable longitudinal care will be one of the keys for Elara Caring moving forward, as will its behavioral health offerings. HHCN caught up with Herman to hear about his plans for the company moving forward, including its take on preparing for the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM). Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: -- Why three successful home-based care providers came together to form Elara Caring -- What the M&A landscape will look like throughout 2019, especially as private equity buyers hope to stay active -- How Elara Caring plans on shifting care from an episodic basis to a more longitudinal nature ... and much more!

Cincinnati-based FirstLight Home Care -- named to Franchise Times’ Fast & Serious List in January -- is one of the largest home care franchise systems in the country. FirstLight has seen steady year-over-year growth with CEO Jeff Bevis at the helm, but industry headwinds and a changing regulatory environment may present obstacles for the franchise giant moving forward. Among FirsLight's big plans: a new brain health program, tackling senior isolation, eyeing Medicare Advantage (MA) opportunities and pushing a conversion model to bring independent agencies into its vast network. HHCN caught up with Bevis to talk about his plans for FirstLight and learn how home care agencies are carving out an important role in the overall care continuum.

Since taking over as president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) in early 2018, Bill Dombi has spearheaded the organization’s advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill on behalf of its 33,000 or so home care, hospice and home health members. With major policies such as the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) and the Review Choice Demonstration (RCD), 2018 has been a busy year for NAHC. 2019 is likely to bring more of the same, perhaps made event more complicated by congressional changes and increased oversight, especially for the hospice industry. Dombi shed some light on his advocacy plans for the year ahead with HHCN.

Since joining HomeWatch Caregivers in 2015, Julie Smith has led the company from being family-owned to being in private equity ownership, through transactions that set industry records for their multiples. Today, HomeWatch Caregivers is leveraging the PE capital to expand its footprint, and it is also bolstering its technology platform to drive care coordination and other efforts --- all of which are making the company into a true disruptor, Smith believes. She is bullish on Medicare Advantage, but also has concerns about how to better match up the franchise-based home care model with the needs of increasing care coordination with different types of payers and providers. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: -- Why home care is such an attractive opportunity for private equity and why the current market for home care is "irrational" -- Details of HomeWatch Caregivers' initiative to build a more robust technology platform, taking cures from startups that have entered the industry in the last several years -- Lessons Smith learned from her time in different industries, including education, and how those translate into her role leading a large home care franchisor This episode of Disrupt is sponsored by Homecare Homebase, whose powerful, cloud-based home health software streamlines virtually every aspect of your business. spend less time on paperwork and more time delivering quality care to the patients who need you. Visit hchb.com to learn more.

In his first year as CEO of ComForCare, Steve Greenbaum has focused on learning the ins-and-outs of home care while helping shape the company's innovative approach to growth. ComForCare is part of an expanding platform of related franchise brands owned by private equity firm The Riverside Company, with the goal of providing wrap-around services for older adults. As part of this strategy, ComForCare is also striking partnerships across the care continuum, including with Kindred at Home. In addition, ComForCare is investing heavily in technology, upgrading systems for its more than 200 independently owned locations in the U.S. and Canada. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: -- Why Greenbaum believes differentiating ComForCare from the competition is mission critical, and how the company is striving to accomplish this goal -- Details of how and why ComForCare and The Riverside Company are establishing a multi-brand platform, including through the recent acquisition of Care Patrol -- How Greenbaum views the Medicare Advantage opportunity and his vision for the future of home care This episode of Disrupt is sponsored by Homecare Homebase, whose powerful, cloud-based home health software streamlines virtually every aspect of your business. spend less time on paperwork and more time delivering quality care to the patients who need you. Visit hchb.com to learn more.

The ninth episode of our podcast, Disrupt, is now available! In this interview, BrightSpring Health CEO Jon Rousseau discusses: - How his career led him from finance into health care and into the role of CEO of BrightSpring Health - Extending into hospice and the importance of offering more 24/7 clinical services - Telehealth developments and the potential for this type of technology to ease staffing challenges - The vision around starting a BrightSpring Health Services health insurance plan and why it’s a logical move This episode of Disrupt is sponsored by Homecare Homebase, whose powerful, cloud-based home health software streamlines virtually every aspect of your business. spend less time on paperwork and more time delivering quality care to the patients who need you. Visit hchb.com to learn more.

The eighth episode of the Home Health Care News (HHCN) podcast, Disrupt, is now available! Listen to our conversation with Stowell Associates' CEO Chip Measells and learn about: - His background in investment banking and as an entrepreneur, and why he recently jumped at the opportunity to invest in Stowell and become CEO - How Stowell blends intensive care management with home care services, in a private-pay model, and achieves stellar workforce retention and hospital readmission numbers - Why it's difficult to scale up and innovate in the home care industry, despite this being the dawn of the "Golden Era" of aging baby boomers This episode of Disrupt is sponsored by Homecare Homebase, whose powerful, cloud-based home health software streamlines virtually every aspect of your business. spend less time on paperwork and more time delivering quality care to the patients who need you. Visit hchb.com to learn more.

The seventh episode of the Home Health Care News (HHCN) podcast, Disrupt, is now available! Listen to our conversation with Hometeam CEO Randy Klein and learn about: - His background as senior vice president of partner development for Remedy Partners, his work in operations with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY), one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit community-based health care organizations. - The switch of its business model from a payment structure based on private-pay home care and Medicaid reimbursement, to nearly a sole focus on Medicare-Medicaid dual eligibles and some Medicare beneficiaries. - How the company is looking ahead as a tech-forward organization looking to accelerate its integration into the broader health system with Medicare Advantage and those who want to age in place This episode of Disrupt is sponsored by Homecare Homebase, whose powerful, cloud-based home health software streamlines virtually every aspect of your business. spend less time on paperwork and more time delivering quality care to the patients who need you. Visit hchb.com to learn more.

In our sixth episode of Disrupt, HHCN speaks with Nurse NextDoor President and CEO Cathy Thorpe. In this interview, Thorpe discusses: - Her background leading Canadian operations for The Gap, and how her experience in retail has helped her transform Nurse Next Door into a company with more unified systems and measurements for success - The partnership with St. Joseph Health, a $6 billion health system in Southern California that has opened 44 Nurse Next Door locations and, as a result, is achieving many business goals, including the reduction of hospital readmissions - Why Nurse Next Door is not afraid to be provocative in its sales and advertising, and why "being willing to say yes when others say no" is a key part of being a home care disruptor This episode of Disrupt is sponsored by Homecare Homebase, whose powerful, cloud-based home health software streamlines virtually every aspect of your business. spend less time on paperwork and more time delivering quality care to the patients who need you. Visit hchb.com to learn more.

In episode five of Disrupt, we sat down with Alliance Homecare Gregory Solometo. We discussed his move from investment banking to home care and his company's expansion in recent years. This episode of Disrupt is sponsored by Homecare Homebase, whose powerful, cloud-based home health software streamlines virtually every aspect of your business. spend less time on paperwork and more time delivering quality care to the patients who need you. Visit hchb.com to learn more. Music courtesy of Lee Rosevere

Welcome to episode 4 of Disrupt. Tim Mullaney is currently on vacation but before he left, he sat down to talk with Interim HealthCare president and ceo Lawrence Kraska. They talked about Kraska's first years in the healthcare industry, ongoing struggles such as staffing, technology and Kraska's love of endurance sports. This episode of Disrupt is sponsored by Homecare Homebase, whose powerful, cloud-based home health software streamlines virtually every aspect of your business. spend less time on paperwork and more time delivering quality care to the patients who need you. Visit hchb.com to learn more. Music courtesy of Lee Rosevere

In episode three of Disrupt, we sat down with Nita Sommers, president at Honor. This episode is sponsored by Homecare Homebase, whose powerful, cloud-based home health software streamlines virtually every aspect of your business. Visit www.hchb.com to learn more. Intro music courtesy of Lee Rosevere

In episode two of Disrupt, we sat down with Stephan Rodgers, CEO at AccentCare. Stephan talked about his military career, jumping into health care from the insurance world and hot issues facing home care in 2018. This episode is sponsored by Homecare Homebase, whose powerful, cloud-based home health software streamlines virtually every aspect of your business. Visit www.hchb.com to learn more. Music courtesy of Lee Rosevere

BrightStar Care CEO Shelly Sun sat down with Home Health Care News to talk about her company's history, her personal journey and an appearance on Undercover Boss. This episode is sponsored by Homecare Homebase, whose powerful, cloud-based home health software streamlines virtually every aspect of your business. Visit www.hchb.com to learn more.