Anderson Family Care has rolled out two brands designed to improve access to end-of-life and palliative care. The new company recently unveiled two brands Anderson Hospice, and the value-based care navigation platform Care Counsel.
Both brands launched in late September. Former leaders of hospice and home health companies founded the company, including Amedisys, Contessa Health and the home care provider WellBe Senior Medical.
The company’s approach is designed to optimize clinical workflows, improve care transitions and expand access, according to Drake Jarman, CEO and co-founder of Anderson Family Care.
“When you look at hospice … it is dramatically underutilized,” Jarman told Hospice News. “Patients are not getting the full benefit, and we see that as an education problem. [The] hospital bedside is too late for a hospice referral, and that trust is in the primary care providers. We help them identify patients that could be approaching the need for goals-of-care conversations. It’s really about allowing patients to make an informed decision.”
Anderson Family Care’s Nashville-based hospice program provides care and invests in other local providers. Anderson Hospice has operations in Atlanta and northern Georgia through its partnership with Willowbrook Hospice. The new provider also partners with Copper State Hospice in Tucson, Arizona.
Anderson Hospice is seeking to expand across up to 10 additional markets in different states, Jarman stated. The hospice helps small, independent and privately-owned programs to grow their businesses. The provider offers other hospices assistance with compliance, technology and other resources.
“As you look at the consolidation in the space across the country, we don’t want to commoditize hospice,” Jarman said. “We invest in local hospices [to] build them up and strengthen them. It is unique in that we’re building a full continuum here toward the end of life … We want to make sure that the local voice is heard, has a seat at the table, is leading the team and building something that is very specific to their community.”
Anderson Family Care’s platform Counsel Care is a value-based care navigation designed for primary care providers and risk-bearing entities. The platform uses the company’s data analytics algorithm, HospiceIQ, to help identify patients sooner in their illness trajectories.
The platform also features assistance from benefits counselors who spend on average three to four hours with each patient discussing their goals and options for end-of-life care. These conversations are provided at no cost to the patient.
Counsel Care is designed to help alleviate clinical and administrative burdens that serve as common barriers to improved end-of-life discussions in primary care settings, Jarman indicated. The platform aims to build a network of high-quality hospice providers for patients to choose from, he said.
“Counsel Care [is] designed to help patients, families and providers navigate these difficult decisions earlier, with greater clarity,” Jarman told Hospice News. “They’re able to avoid those escalations, that trauma and time in the ER, the ICU and the hospital. We see the opportunity to be the change fundamentally in how our country approaches end-of-life care. Hospice done right changes generations to come.”
Counsel Care works with risk-bearing primary care groups, Medicare Advantage organizations and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon and Texas. The platform is seeking to expand its services across risk-bearing entities nationwide, Jarman stated.
The new navigation platform could help improve care coordination and transitions of care, according to Andrew Galbierz, co-founder and president of Anderson Family Care.
“We are tackling a major challenge head-on, through our years of shared experience,” Galbierz said in a statement shared with Hospice News. “Too often, patients and their families can feel disconnected from their care team when they transition to hospice, leaving everyone with less visibility and support during an incredibly important time. We’re changing that by bringing the rigor of best practices to create a better experience for patients, families and the providers caring for them.”
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