VNA Health Group awarded $2.5 Million grant

The Visiting Nurse Association Health Group has received a $2.5 million grant from the Parker Foundation Inc. — for the second consecutive year.

VNA Health Group is one of the largest independent, nonprofit providers of home-based health services in New Jersey and Ohio. The Holmdel, New Jersey-based organization reaches more than 5,000 patients and provides over 36,000 in-home primary care visits annually.

Meanwhile, Parker Foundation is an affiliate of Parker Health Group Inc., a nonprofit Piscataway, New Jersey-based aging services organization.

VNA Health Group has earmarked the new funding for the expansion of its Advanced Care Institute (ACI). ACI works with patients that have serious chronic conditions to provide in-home primary care and palliative medicine.

“The numbers are staggering in how many people will need services as they age, and with Parker’s mission being to make aging part of life, we see this as the perfect partnership to provide a better quality of care and quality of life and to expand innovative and transformative programs,” Parker President and CEO Roberto Muñiz said in a statement.

Home Health Care News connected with Dr. Steven Landers, VNA Health Group’s president and CEO, in February 2019 when the organization received its first $2.5 million grant from Parker.

“I think the world of home health agency services, hospice care and personal care services,” Landers told HHCN at the time. “These are essential services, but sometimes the missing piece to help a senior stay home is the medical component. The home health agency or hospice, sometimes, if there’s not strong primary care physician engagement, certain things fall through the cracks.”

VNA Health Group and Bayada Home Health Care announced in August that the two large, mission-driven organizations would merge, with VNA Health Group officially joining the Moorestown, New Jersey-based Bayada.

“The world of home care is changing, with all the different policies and payment models we’re seeing,” Landers told HHCN shortly after the merger news broke. “To win in the coming years, we expect it’s going to be important to have strong, large organizations that can weather the changes and make sure we’ve got the right talent, technology and tools to be successful.”

AlayaCare acquires Arrow Solutions

Care software provider AlayaCare announced it has acquired Arrow Solutions.

Montreal-based AlayaCare is a software platform and secure cloud-based system that includes clinical documentation, client and family portals, remote patient monitoring, and mobile caregiver functionality.

New York-based Arrow Solutions is a software company that offers patient management, scheduling, billing and payroll solutions.

The deal allows AlayaCare to gain more of a foothold in the U.S. Medicaid market, according to Adrian Schauer, AlayaCare CEO and founder.

“The acquisition of Arrow Solutions is the cornerstone of our expansion into the U.S. Medicaid market and beyond,” Schauer said in a statement. “New York is one of the most complex and highly regulated states in the U.S. home care industry and the acquisition of Arrow Solutions enhances our ability to scale our technology to a level that can scale with any shifting landscape.”

AlayaCare has been on an acquisition streak. Last month, the company announced it purchased Procura, a division of Complia Health. The deal is notable because Procura is one of AlayaCare’s largest global competitors.

HomeCare Matters rebrands as Avita Home Health and Hospice

HomeCare Matters — a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avita Health System — will now operate under the name Avita Home Health and Hospice.

Galion, Ohio-based Avita Home Health and Hospice provides home care services, hospice, palliative care, wound care and grief support, as well as physical, occupational and speech therapy in the home.

Avita Health System operates three non-profit hospitals and more than 30 supporting medical clinics in north central Ohio.

In 2017, Avita Health System took full ownership of Avita Home Health and Hospice — at that time HomeCare Matters — after once sharing ownership with OhioHealth, a nonprofit system of hospitals and health care providers in Columbus, Ohio.

“We have high-quality expectations which have been passed on to Avita Home Health and Hospice,” Jerome Morasko, CEO and president of Avita Health System, said in a statement. “They are working hard to provide quality care and patient satisfaction that meets the Avita standards. They now have access to greater resources that will help them in their success.”

Prairie Home Hospice & Community Care to acquire Fieldcrest Assisted Living

Prairie Home Hospice & Community Care has announced plans to acquire Cottonwood, Minnesota-based Fieldcrest Assisted Living.

Founded in 1984, Prairie Home Hospice & Community Care is a nonprofit organization that provides hospice care.

Fieldcrest Assisted Living provides older adults with residential care services that include nursing and on-call maintenance staff.

The deal will allow Prairie Home Hospice & Community Care to broaden its service lines, according to Pat Mellenthin, the organization’s CEO

“It will allow us to offer services to fit people’s needs and allows people more opportunity to stay where they are, as their needs change,” Mellenthin said in a statement.