Several post-acute care policy leaders have entered the national spotlight during the COVID-19 pandemic, but perhaps none more than David Grabowski, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. In recent months, Grabowski has repeatedly addressed the need to rethink long-term care in the United States, from changing up the traditional nursing home model to investing more heavily in home-based care. Home Health Care News caught up with Grabowski for our latest episode of Disrupt to learn more. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: — Where the U.S. stands today, compared to other countries, when it comes to home- and community-based services (HCBS) spending — Why more investment in the home shouldn’t mean less in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities — What the future holds for SNF-at-home programs — And more!

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David Grabowski, Professor of health care policy, Harvard Medical School

For this episode of Disrupt, Home Health Care News sat down with Contessa Health’s senior medical advisor, Mark Montoney, to chat about the booming hospital-at-home model in the United States. Nashville, Tennessee-based Contessa helps health systems provide hospital-level care in the home through its Home Recovery Care model. Montoney came on board as the company’s CMO not long after its founding in 2014 and has been there since, helping Contessa expand its platform during this critical time. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: -- How Contessa wins health system partnerships and facilitates home-based hospital care -- Why CMS’s hospital-at-home waiver will help advance home-based care in the U.S. -- What role home health and home care providers play in driving hospital-level care into the home -- And more!

Mark Montoney, Senior Medical Advisor, Contessa Health

Across the country, home health, hospice and home care workers continue to struggle when it comes to COVID-19 vaccine access. Nowhere is that challenge more evident than in Florida, industry insiders note. In our latest episode of Disrupt, Home Care Association of Florida (HCAF) Executive Director Bobby Lolley sits down with Home Health Care News to provide an on-the-ground update on vaccine progress. During the episode, Lolley touches on how in-home care workers are in a vaccine "blindspot," vaccine hesitancy among home care staff and more. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn more about: -- The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Florida and elsewhere -- The strategic importance of vaccinating home-based care professionals -- Unique challenges facing home health, hospice and home care workers across the board -- And more!

Bobby Lolley, Executive Director, Home Care Association of Florida

For this episode of Disrupt, Home Health Care News sat down with CareCentrix CEO John Driscoll to talk about emerging health care trends and his company’s plans for 2021. Originally founded in 1996 by major home health provider Gentiva, CareCentrix is a national at-home care organization that manages more than 26 million lives across over 8,000 provider locations. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: -- Why payer perceptions of home-based care are starting to change -- How CareCentrix plans on growing in the year ahead -- What consumers want from in-home care providers in 2021 -- And more!

John Driscoll, CEO of CareCentrix

Formerly CHI Health at Home, CommonSpirit Health at Home is a Milford, Ohio-based health care organization that provides home care, home infusion, home respiratory care, hospice and medical transportation services. As with most home health providers, COVID-19 has become the “new normal” for CommonSpirit. Throughout the public health emergency, the company has implemented a number of measures to address COVID-19 including — most notably — the expansion of its virtual monitoring capabilities. For this episode of Disrupt, HHCN caught up with CommonSpirit's Trisha Crissman, vice president and COO of the company's home care and hospice division, to hear firsthand about its on-the-ground experience with COVID-19. During the conversation, Crissman also touched on how the company is tackling flu season. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn about: -- The financial impact of COVID-19 -- Lessons from the public health emergency -- CommonSpirit’s 2021 goals -- And more!

Trisha Crissman, COO, CommonSpirit Health at Home's Home Care and Hospice Division

Trinity Health at Home currently ranks as one of the largest home health providers in the country. It’ll be even bigger next year, thanks to an ongoing consolidation strategy to combine its national and regional locations. Home health veteran Mark McPherson leads Trinity Health at Home as its president and CEO. Apart from the consolidation move, McPherson’s focus is on preventing “COVID fatigue” among his front-line health care workers while preparing for what’s likely to be a very challenging winter. Home Health Care News caught up with McPherson for our latest episode of Disrupt to learn more. Also joining HHCN and McPherson was Ruth Martynowicz, interim COO of Trinity Health at Home and Mercy Home Health. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: -- How Trinity Health at Home is dealing with COVID fatigue -- Why the provider is executing its organizational-wide consolidation strategy -- What the public health emergency looks like on the ground for Trinity -- And more!

Mark McPherson and Ruth Martynowicz of Trinity Health at Home

In 2008 -- amid the last recession -- Ryan Iwamoto and his co-founders started Los Angeles-based 24 Hour Home Care with $160,000 total of investment cash from family and friends. The company is now one of the largest privately owned home care companies in the U.S. with 19 locations spanning three states and over $115 million in projected revenue in 2020. The growth that 24 Hour Home Care has seen over the last 12 years has been completely organic. Iwamoto, who serves as the president, has seen his company make the Inc. 5000 list recognizing the fastest growing companies in the country for eight years straight. That success is due to the company’s ability to make innovative partnerships, its team and its ability to adapt on the fly -- like it did when COVID-19 arrived in California. The biggest, however, is its “secret sauce,” Iwamoto said. For this episode of Disrupt, HHCN caught up with Iwamoto to discuss that secret sauce, as well as non-medical home care, Medicare Advantage and the company’s 12-year journey to the top of the industry. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: — What company 24 Hour Home Care modeled itself after — How it adjusted when COVID-19 hit and how it plans to keep growing — How it wins partnerships with hospitals and MA plans — And more!

Ryan Iwamoto, President and Co-Founder, 24 Hour Home Care

Headquartered in Northern California, Medical Home Care Professionals is a small home health agency that has had to overcome big challenges over the past few years. In 2018, Medical Home Care Professionals had to operate through the historic Carr Fire. Right after that, it had to deliver care through a record-breaking blizzard. Now, it’s battling through the COVID-19 crisis — and another devastating wildfire. For this episode of Disrupt, HHCN caught up with Elaine Flores, the COO and administrator of Medical Home Care Professionals, to learn how her agency has survived what has sometimes felt like an endless wave of emergencies. During the conversation, Flores also touched on Medical Home Care Professionals' transition to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM). Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn about: — Keys for running a home health agency during times of crisis — Best practices for ensuring continuity of care — Medical Home Care Professionals' transition to PDGM — And more!

Elaine Flores, COO and administrator of Medical Home Care Professionals

In 2013, co-founder and CMO Dr. Clive Fields helped launch primary care provider VillageMD as a 13-physician practice. Seven years later, VillageMD has grown to a 2,500-physician practice -- one with an innovative care model partly shaped around the home. As one of its leaders, Fields has a vision of going “back to the future” by returning to home- and community-based care. He’ll have plenty of firepower to accomplish that vision moving forward, as Walgreens Boots Alliance recently announced plans to invest $1 billion in equity and convertible debt into VillageMD over the next three years, including a $250 million equity investment completed in July. For this episode of Disrupt, HHCN caught up with Fields to discuss everything there is to know about the future of home-based care, value-based payment models, primary care and more. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: -- How Fields and his team grew VillageMD to where it is today -- Why home-based care is so important to the future of health care -- How VillageMD leverages home health and home care providers -- And more!

Dr. Clive Fields, co-founder and CMO of VillageMD

Founded in 1966, Androscoggin Home Healthcare + Hospice is the largest independent, nonprofit provider of home health and hospice services in the state of Maine. On top of those core services, Androscoggin also offers palliative care, transitional care, virtual care and more. At the helm of Androscoggin is CEO and President Ken Albert. Since the coronavirus began, Albert has helped his company overcome an array of challenges, including difficulties securing PPE and caring for patients in long-term care facilities. For this episode of Disrupt, HHCN caught up with Albert to discuss those and other challenges, in addition to the future of telehealth and the home health industry at large. During the conversation, Albert also touched on the importance of supporting home health staff and helping team members cope through an incredibly difficult time. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: -- How Androscoggin navigated through the early days of the coronavirus while also recovering from an EMR-related crisis -- What providers can do to support their clinicians and caregivers during an emergency -- Why Albert believes “the telehealth toothpaste isn't going back into the tube” -- And more!

Ken Albert, CEO and President of Androscoggin

Home care agencies nationwide are eager to partner with Medicare Advantage plans, but doing so is easier said than done. However, mid-year flexibilities recently announced by CMS instantly opened up new opportunities for providers. In this episode of Disrupt, you’ll hear from Anne Tumlinson, CEO of ATI innovations, who broke it all down. Tumlinson explained what the flexibilities mean for home care providers and how they can capitalize on those opportunities now and into the future. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: -- How COVID-19 has shaken up the MA landscape to the benefit of home care providers -- What MA decision makers take into account when creating plans and finding partners -- Why the future of Medicare Advantage is looking brighter that ever -- And much more Subscribe to Disrupt to be notified when new episodes are released. Listen today!

Anne Tumlinson, CEO of ATI Advisory

While the coronavirus brings a number of direct challenges for home-based care operators, it presents several secondary hurdles as well. Among them: an exacerbation of mental illness and behavioral health conditions, especially for isolated older adults. Nizhoni Health is a growing home health provider based in Massachusetts that specializes in caring for populations with acute mental illness. For this episode of Disrupt, HHCN caught up with Nizhoni’s founder and CEO, Joe McDonough, to discuss COVID-19’s impact, the heightened need for mental health services and more. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: -- What the coronavirus means for complex patient populations moving forward -- How Nizhoni Health CEO Joe McDonough built his company around acute mental illness -- Why Nizhoni remains bullish on its growth strategy despite industry headwinds -- And more!

Joe McDonough, Founder and CEO of Nizhoni Health

EvergreenHealth Home Care has more experience dealing with the coronavirus than any other agency in the country. It’s been battling the COVID-19 virus since February, when the first positive case popped up in the Seattle area, where the home health provider is based. In this episode of Disrupt, you’ll hear from Brent Korte, chief home care officer at EvergreenHealth. Korte shared his organization’s story, as well as lessons learned and advice for other home health agencies. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: -- How Evergreen is dealing with LUPAs, low therapy utilization and PDGM amid COVID-19 -- Why the provider’s PPE and staffing protocols are constantly changing -- What Korte wishes he had done differently -- And much more

Brent Korte, Chief Home Care Officer at EvergreenHealth

National Association for Home Care and Hospice President Bill Dombi

NAHC President Bill Dombi

Headquartered in the Boston area, HouseWorks is growing -- and fast. Private equity backing has helped. And so has the company’s unique business model, a blend of home care and home modification. For this episode of Disrupt, we caught up with the leader of HouseWorks -- founder and CEO Andrea Cohen -- to learn about that growth strategy and how it will play out in 2020. During our conversation, we also touched on how HouseWorks has established an extensive partnership network with senior living operators. Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn: -- How HouseWorks has built a business around home-modification services -- Why Cohen got into home-based care in the first place -- How HouseWorks sources 50% of clients from the senior living market -- And more!

HouseWorks Founder and CEO Andrea Cohen

Home Health Care News is an independent source for breaking news and up-to-date information on the senior in-home care industry. Our podcast, Disrupt, will highlight the individuals making a difference in the home health industry. Code: 204869