Contessa Launches Home Hospital Joint Venture with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health

Contessa Health, a subsidiary of Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED), has teamed up with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (VMFH) to launch VMFH Home Recovery Care at Saint Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington.

Contessa, based in Nashville, Tennessee, specializes in emergency home care. On average, the company’s model reduces readmission rates by 44% and reduces the average length of hospital stay by 35%, according to Contessa.

“We are excited to partner with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health to provide the region with greater access to high-quality healthcare from the comfort of patients’ homes,” Contessa CEO Travis Messina said in a press statement. “Contessa’s comprehensive home care model supports VMFH’s commitment to meeting the changing needs of the communities they serve by providing their patients with a greater choice of places to receive care.”

For its part, VMFH is an integrated healthcare system that serves the Puget Sound region of Washington.

The VMFH Home Recovery Care program is positioned as an alternative to the traditional inpatient hospital stay for eligible patients at St. Joseph Medical Center.

“By launching the VMFH Home Recovery Care program, we look forward to defining a new standard of care delivery that will improve patient outcomes and reduce the overall cost of care,” Virginia Mason Franciscan Health CEO Ketul J. Patel said in a statement. “This innovative model of care allows us to offer our patients a more convenient way to receive care while increasing our inpatient capacity for patients with the highest severity.”

With VMFH Home Recovery Care, you receive home hospital care that includes doctor support and access to essential medical equipment.

The program will be a combination of in-person and virtual care. It includes remote monitoring of blood pressure, pulse, heart rate and more. Care also includes wound care, dressing changes, medication alignment, and an emphasis on identifying the social determinants of health.

The VMFH Home Recovery Care program is for patients with conditions such as COVID-19, RSV, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, and urinary tract infections.

It is currently only available to Medicare pay-for-service patients, but VMFH is working to expand the program to include patients from other health plans. The program will also look to expand its reach and serve other locations in the future.

Since the acquisition of Contessa by Amedisys in 2021, the latter has become a major part of the joint venture strategy.

“We are also seeing…hospitals that have tried to do this on their own and basically realize that it is too difficult for them to do it on their own and so they come back to us and want to do a JV with us.” – Amedisys CEO Paul Kusserow told Home Health Care News last month. “I really like what we have at Contessa. The clients we have are outstanding clients – you can’t do better than the list of clients we have. I think the key is to get deeper into working with these clients.”

In October, Amedisy entered into a joint venture with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). The joint venture is part of a partnership between UAMS, Amedisys and Contessa.

Content Source

California Press News – Latest News:
Los Angeles Local News || Bay Area Local News || California News || Lifestyle News || National news || Travel News || Health News

Related Articles

Back to top button