Movers & Shakers: LeadingAge, Allied Skilled Nursing
“Washington, D.C.-based LeadingAge has appointed Stephen P. Fleming as chairman of the board,” Skilling Nursing News reports. In addition, “Verity Health System, a Daly City, Calif.-based non-profit healthcare organization, has appointed Mark S. Fratzke, DNP, as president and CEO of the system’s Seton Medical Center and Seton Coastside. Bloomfield, N.J.-based Juniper Communities has appointed Peter A. Farewege, Jr. as the new executive director of Juniper Village at Bucks County in Bensalem, Pa., a life plan community.”
10 Senior Living Design Trends for 2018
Austin, TX-based senior living interior design firm studioSIX5 has identified 10 trends for 2018, according to McKnight’s Senior Living. One such trend is “LED lighting will be incorporated not just to save energy but to promote healthy sleep patterns and reduce anxiety by aligning lamp color temperature with residents’ circadian rhythms.” Another trend identified is “communities will look for ways to cater to employee needs in ways that will increase efficiency and job satisfaction, ensuring employee comfort on the job as well as feelings of value as team members providing care and services to residents.”
Acuity Healthcare Announces Strategic Partnership With Rainier Healthcare to Strengthen Post-Acute Care Continuum Nationwide
“Acuity Healthcare, a leader in long-term acute care, and Rainier Healthcare, a leading provider of home healthcare and hospice programs, are pleased to announce they have formed a partnership to focus on the post-acute care continuum and to identify opportunities to enhance the quality of patient services,” reports Business Insider. “Acuity Healthcare is a 100-percent employee-owned (ESOP) long-term acute care hospital company (LTACH) founded in 2001 with headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. Acuity Healthcare currently owns and manages four LTACHs in New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas. Rainier Healthcare offers a full spectrum of exceptional services ranging from home health and hospice, to respiratory care durable medical equipment, and targeted disease management programs – all in the comfort of home. Rainier Healthcare is located in Austin, Texas.”
More Hospice Providers Not Always Better
“Having more hospice providers working with a nursing home doesn’t necessarily reduce end-of-life hospitalizations, according to the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. A retrospective cohort study linked nine years of` nursing home assessments and Medicare data to study the likelihood of hospitalizations when nursing home-hospice collaborations existed,” according to McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. “Analysts found the benefits of nursing home-hospice collaboration depended on the details of the facility relationships, especially if one hospice provider had exclusivity. Overall, the average number of hospices in a nursing home increased from 1.4 in 2000 to 3.2 in 2009.”
Reports: Humana-Kindred Merger on the Table
“Humana Inc. is in talks with two private-equity firms to buy Kindred Healthcare, according to at least two reports,” McKnight’s Long-Term Care News reports. “Earlier this year, Kindred spun off much of its long-term care arm — including nearly 90 remaining skilled nursing facilities — in a series of cash transactions totaling about $700 million. But in the prospective deal, reported first by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, equity partners Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe and TPG would take over Kindred’s remaining facility-focused business, which includes long-term acute-care hospitals and rehabilitation centers. The two firms would join with Humana to take over Kindred’s home- and hospice-care operations, which is the country’s largest home-health and hospice operator.”
