Providers join forces to offer in-home care

From The Fifty Plus Advocate, Central Massachusetts Edition, May 8, 2008

By Brian Goslow

Money is tight everywhere. And providing care to the state’s frail, elderly population is an expensive challenge for any economy. So it just made sense for two health care providers to combine forces.

Fallon Community Health Plan (FCHP) and VNA Care Network & Hospice recently acquired the privately owned Massachusetts Health Care Services Inc., publicly known as Home Staff. The new incarnation, Home Staff, LLC, will deliver in-home health care service, a less expensive option to institutional care. Massachusetts Health Care Services Inc. was owned by Nancy and John Stassi and opened in 1977.

The new partnership does away with “a duplication of services,” said VNA President and CEO Karen H. Green. VNA helps those with injuries and illness to remain at home. Its Worcester office covers Central and Eastern Massachusetts.
“This is being driven by Medicare on the federal level and Medicaid on the state level,” said Richard P. Burke, FCHP’s division president of senior care services. He expects the demand for home care services to grow as the population ages and insists on aging in place. “We’re organizing to deliver care to elders in their homes as an alternative to nursing homes — but not as a substitute — as a choice and solution before you need them.”

Home Staff Director of Operations Angela Rocheleau was named Home Staff, LLC’s first CEO, who said, “Our clients won’t see major changes.”

Green said Home Staff, LLC will remain separate but will benefit from the affiliation with FCHP and VNA. “The coordination of services will be even better,” she said. “We’re able to move from one level of care to the next even more easily.” She expects Home Staff, LLC, based in Worcester, Leominster, Westborough, Springfield and Centerville, to expand. “We want to see it grow and thrive,” Green said. Home Staff, LLC employs 400 home care aides, all of whom are carefully screened before being sent to a client’s home. “I would feel comfortable sending them to my own home,”  Rocheleau said.

The goal of 90 percent to 95 percent of the families who have contacted Home Staff, LLC is to keep their family member at home for as long as possible. “Their attitude is, ‘They took care of me,’” Rocheleau said. “For the most part, there are a lot of people out there who want to do the right thing for their parents.”

Rocheleau’s staff will explain care options and ascertain services. “We’ll spend 30 to 45 minutes at their place to answer caregivers’ questions,” she said. “We educate people and bring them through the process.” 

Approximately 30 percent to 40 percent of calls to Home Staff, LLC are from adult children living out of state who are concerned about their parents getting proper home care. With VNA offices throughout the United States, there are also calls from local residents asking about home care services for parents in other parts of the country. “There’s usually someone we know and can help get them into a care program,” said Green.

Looking out for caregivers is another priority for FCHP and VNA. “Our customer is not just the frail loved one being cared for, but the loved one caring for them,” Burke said. VNA’s recent annual meeting celebrated area caregivers. “Some of them will stay at home with mom (instead of working) or a loving husband will stay home to do whatever it takes to keep their loved one at home,” Green said. “We can give them that extra bit of help.”

Burke said FCHP was excited to join with VNA in purchasing Home Staff, LLC and keeping it locally owned. “It doesn’t have to be that way but it’s good for the organization,” Burke said. “Being not-for profits, our missions are to serve the community.”

Rocheleau said the purchase ensures Home Staff, LLC can continue to provide services with a high level of quality for years to come. “They’re (FCHP and VNA) two very well known community based companies that care about their clients like we do,” she said.

FCHP and VNA have worked together for a number of years. The Home Staff, LLC acquisition will give it greater opportunities for coordinating services. When appropriate, Burke said, FCHP staff would tell its clients about Home Staff, LLC services. With 30,000 people in Worcester County and the Lowell area insured through FCHP, it’s the state’s largest participant in Medicare. “We will let them know they should seek that option if they need home care,” he said.

Another benefit of the joint effort is that FCHP, VNA and Home Staff, LLC will combine client and patient information into an electronic medical network that will make accessing a client’s medical reports easier. This streamlining will avoid unnecessary duplication of tests and additional insurance payments, and allow the receipt of online referrals.

As more resident receive home care, more telemonitoring devices will be used to check on health conditions, creating what Green called, “a virtual assisted living community.” She gave the example of how a home monitor will allow a cardiac nurse or monitoring service to check on a customer without having to visit their home. Depending on the information received, it can be determined whether a patient is fine or in need of a health-related visit.

With an increasing emphasis on using technology in medicine, employees will need ongoing education on developments in health and home care. “We keep our employees updated on the skills needed and any changes in health industry policies,” Rocheleau said. “It’s a huge part of our business.”

Rocheleau said frequent home visits by Home Staff, LLC workers play an important role in preventing health crises as they can check on clients’ health. “A home care aide can stop some visits to the doctor’s office that aren’t necessary and get some people to a doctor when they wouldn’t have” gone on their own, she said.

Drivers who bring clients to appointments also play an important role. With Massachusetts suffering a shortage of primary care doctors for the elderly, Burke said physicians welcome input from VNA and Home Staff, LLC drivers who observe changes in a client’s physical capabilities. If they notice that a client is growing feeble. that information will allow a doctor to focus on that weakness.