Founded in 1966, Androscoggin Home Healthcare + Hospice is the largest independent, nonprofit provider of home health and hospice services in the state of Maine. On top of those core services, Androscoggin also offers palliative care, transitional care, virtual care and more.

At the helm of Androscoggin is CEO and President Ken Albert. Since the coronavirus began, Albert has helped his company overcome an array of challenges, including difficulties securing PPE and caring for patients in long-term care facilities.

For this episode of Disrupt, HHCN caught up with Albert to discuss those and other challenges, in addition to the future of telehealth and the home health industry at large. During the conversation, Albert also touched on the importance of supporting home health staff and helping team members cope through an incredibly difficult time.

Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn:

-- How Androscoggin navigated through the early days of the coronavirus while also recovering from an EMR-related crisis

-- What providers can do to support their clinicians and caregivers during an emergency

-- Why Albert believes “the telehealth toothpaste isn't going back into the tube”

-- And more!

Home care agencies nationwide are eager to partner with Medicare Advantage plans, but doing so is easier said than done. However, mid-year flexibilities recently announced by CMS instantly opened up new opportunities for providers.

In this episode of Disrupt, you’ll hear from Anne Tumlinson, CEO of ATI innovations, who broke it all down. Tumlinson explained what the flexibilities mean for home care providers and how they can capitalize on those opportunities now and into the future.

Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn:

-- How COVID-19 has shaken up the MA landscape to the benefit of home care providers

-- What MA decision makers take into account when creating plans and finding partners

-- Why the future of Medicare Advantage is looking brighter that ever

-- And much more

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While the coronavirus brings a number of direct challenges for home-based care operators, it presents several secondary hurdles as well. Among them: an exacerbation of mental illness and behavioral health conditions, especially for isolated older adults.

Nizhoni Health is a growing home health provider based in Massachusetts that specializes in caring for populations with acute mental illness. For this episode of Disrupt, HHCN caught up with Nizhoni’s founder and CEO, Joe McDonough, to discuss COVID-19’s impact, the heightened need for mental health services and more.

Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn:

-- What the coronavirus means for complex patient populations moving forward

-- How Nizhoni Health CEO Joe McDonough built his company around acute mental illness

-- Why Nizhoni remains bullish on its growth strategy despite industry headwinds

-- And more!

EvergreenHealth Home Care has more experience dealing with the coronavirus than any other agency in the country. It’s been battling the COVID-19 virus since February, when the first positive case popped up in the Seattle area, where the home health provider is based.

In this episode of Disrupt, you’ll hear from Brent Korte, chief home care officer at EvergreenHealth. Korte shared his organization’s story, as well as lessons learned and advice for other home health agencies.

Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn:

-- How Evergreen is dealing with LUPAs, low therapy utilization and PDGM amid COVID-19

-- Why the provider’s PPE and staffing protocols are constantly changing

-- What Korte wishes he had done differently

-- And much more

National Association for Home Care and Hospice President Bill DombiThe United States — now with more confirmed cases than all but two countries — has hit a critical juncture in the uphill battle against the coronavirus. But home- and community-based health care providers are still left fighting for more support.

Home Health Care News recently caught up with National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) President William A. Dombi for an update on where home health and home care providers currently stand amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn:

-- What CMS is doing to help home health providers

-- Why industry advocates say more support is needed

-- How in-home care will continue to play a major role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic

-- And more!

Headquartered in the Boston area, HouseWorks is growing -- and fast. Private equity backing has helped. And so has the company’s unique business model, a blend of home care and home modification.

For this episode of Disrupt, we caught up with the leader of HouseWorks -- founder and CEO Andrea Cohen -- to learn about that growth strategy and how it will play out in 2020. During our conversation, we also touched on how HouseWorks has established an extensive partnership network with senior living operators.

Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn:

-- How HouseWorks has built a business around home-modification services

-- Why Cohen got into home-based care in the first place

-- How HouseWorks sources 50% of clients from the senior living market

-- And more!

Home health and personal care aides are often referred to as “the eyes and ears” of the U.S. health care system, but they’re still infrequently used in care teams.

Changing that is going to take some hard work and dedicated advocacy, according to Dr. Robyn Stone, senior vice president of research at LeadingAge and director of the LeadingAge LTSS Center at UMass Boston.

Home Health Care News recently caught up with Dr. Stone to learn more about the evolution of care teams and how in-home care aides fit into health care’s future. During the conversation, the noted researcher also shared best practices for recruiting and retention, common pain points for home health and home care providers alike.

Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn:

-- Why care teams often fail to leverage home health and personal care aides

-- How providers can improve upon recruiting in a difficult labor market

-- What signs suggest in-home care workers are ready to leave their employer

-- And much more!

With 2020 right around the corner, the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) is coming in hot. Providers big and small are mostly ready to go at this point -- but there’s always something new to learn.

For the final Disrupt conversation of 2019 -- a year of change for the home health care industry -- HHCN caught up with the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare’s Joanne Cunningham.

Don’t miss this end-of-year update. Start off running in 2020.

Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn:

-- What the first few months of 2020 are going to look like under PDGM

-- How providers will (or won't) adapt to PDGM, RCD and the RAP phaseout

-- Why a separate payment overhaul for skilling nursing could signal CMS hiccups for PDGM

-- And more!

Interim HealthCare -- one of the oldest home-based care franchise models around -- is headed in a brand new direction. President and CEO Jennifer Sheets is leading the way.

After joining Interim in early 2019, Sheets is now steering Interim toward its new HomeLife Enrichment strategy, which is focused on whole-person care and enabling aging in place. But that's not the only thing on the CEO's leadership agenda.

Sheets is also expanding Interim's successful health care staffing segment and beefing up its technology efforts.

Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn:

-- Why staffing will play a key role in Interim's 2020 plans

-- How Interim is tackling the caregiver crisis through improved recruiting and retention strategies

-- How working as a nurse in an urgent-care setting still helps Sheets in her role today

-- And more!

For many in the aging services space, the adult day center world isn't exactly clear.

Murky federal definitions and regulations mean adult day oversight is largely left to state-by-state governance. Additionally, many individuals maintain overly simplistic, somewhat prejudiced misconceptions about what adult day centers actually provide.

But don't be fooled. The adult day market is booming -- and perhaps nobody knows that better than Centennial Adultcare Center CEO William Zagorski.

Listen to this episode of Disrupt to learn:

- What the adult day market looks like today and what it's projected to look like tomorrow

- How home health and home care providers can be key components in the adult day model

- Why adult day centers may become more popular settings for older adults in the coming decade

- ... and much more!