Parker Health Group and Visiting Nurse Association Health Group (VNAHG) are launching a joint home-based primary care venture for patients with serious and chronic illness. The new enterprise is branded as the Parker Advanced Care Institute at VNAHG, Inc. (PACI).
The collaboration between these two organizations began long before the launch of this venture. Parker has awarded grants to VNAHG for three years running to support expansion of the visiting nurse association’s Advanced Care Institute, established in 2015. The deepening of this investment through a joint venture was spurred by the gradual move of more health care to the home setting, which has accelerated during the pandemic.
“No matter how wonderful your nursing homes are, people want to stay home. As we worked with the VNA team, we really learned a lot about what it takes to care for elders at home,” Donna Silbert, chief strategy officer for Parker Health Group, told Hospice News. “We really felt it was the right time because home- and community-based services are the future of care for aging people. We felt this was a really good time to join more formally, take a 50/50 partnership in this business to really grow it.”
Parker is a nonprofit, New Jersey-based aging services organization that operates nursing homes, assisted living, memory care, post-acute rehabilitation, and adult day care, among other programs.
The joint venture, PACI, will provide home-based primary care through an operating agreement with Visiting Physician Services (VPS) as well as with palliative clinicians working within VNA Health Group of New Jersey. The PACI service model is designed to include care coordination, specialty services, advanced care planning, in-home palliative care, and medical advocacy.
PACI expects to expand the reach of the former Advanced Care Institute operated solely by VNAHG, which provided care to more than 6,000 patients through nearly 40,000 home visits annually.
PACI will receive reimbursement largely through traditional Medicare, though the venture is working to make more inroads into Medicare Advantage payment arrangements, VNAHG President and CEO Steven Landers, told Hospice News. The organization is also participating in the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation’s Primary Care First initiative.
Parker and VNAHG expect the partnership to spur development of an expanded range of services as well as growing their current offerings.
“One thing is broadening access to the existing services across broader populations and geographies. In terms of additional services, we’re planning to expand the telehealth and virtual care offerings within the program,” Landers said. “We’re planning to expand the social service cycle, psychosocial, behavioral health, and counseling services within the program, and also looking at the care coordination and care management resources and trying to beef those up.”
Companies featured in this article:
Parker Health Group, Visiting Nurse Association Health Group, Visiting Physician Services, VNA Health Group of New Jersey
