personal and companion care

Home Care Workers Found Effective in Facilitating Telemedicine Visits Between Home-Based Primary Care Physicians and Frail Patients with Functional Limitations

BALTIMORE — Senior Helpers^®, the nation’s premier provider of in-home senior care, along with Curavi Health, a customized telemedicine solutions provider for the post-acute care setting, and Capital Coordinated Medicine (CCM), a home-based primary care (HBPC) practice, announced the results of a pilot study that tested a new model of connecting frail, functionally limited patients with primary care physicians via telemedicine.

Conducted in Washington D.C. and its surrounding area over the first half of 2019, the program engaged 33 patients who were seen virtually by a remote CCM physician using the assistance of an in-home ‘telepresenter’ – a trained, certified nursing assistant provided by Senior Helpers. The telepresenter used Curavi Health’s telemedicine equipment to facilitate the virtual consultations.

Compared to the operational costs of an in-home visit by a primary care physician, the study found that telepresenter visits offered up to a 44 percent cost savings, with onsite visits by a telepresenter averaging 50 minutes, including equipment set up and takedown.

The telepresenter model was also found to be useful in supporting informed choices in care escalation compared to assessments based off information gathered from an initial phone intake. Seven of the 33 patients seen (21 percent) would have otherwise been referred to an emergency department had it not been for the telepresenter service.

“Our goal with this study was to showcase how trained in-home care workers can help HBPC practices better manage their staff resources to scale the benefits of primary care visits to larger cohorts of patients,” said Michael Hughes, Vice President of Strategic Development, Senior Helpers. “There’s been a resurging demand for in-home health consultations as the elderly population continues to climb. Our results illustrate that there is promise in using field-based telepresenters to help manage this demand.”

Telepresenter visits were available to patients who had first requested an in-home visit by a CCM physician. If a physician was not able to respond to a request within the first 24 hours, a telepresenter was sent to the patient’s home as an onsite member of the CCM team. Curavi Health’s telemedicine equipment included a Windows-based tablet with HIPPA-compliant telemedicine software, a tablet stand, a hand-held camera with a light, and equipment to capture basic vital sign information.

“The ability to be seen sooner by an HBPC physician benefits patients, physicians, and the healthcare system alike,” said Dr. Alan Abrams, consulting physician on the project. “Patients receive more immediate care, physicians can increase the numbers of patients seen, and responsive onsite examinations provide an opportunity for informed decisions in care escalation.”

“HBPC is widely recognized as an effective method of providing medical treatment for elderly and homebound patients, yet these care options can be limited where shortages in qualified medical professionals exist,” said Dr. Amy Schiffman, Founder and Medical Director at Capital Coordinated Medicine. “Bringing the doctor and equipment to the patient in the near term gives us opportunities to further diagnose and triage their related conditions, and make more informed choices about escalations in care, such as referrals to the emergency department.”

Despite efforts by industry and the government to support the growth of telemedicine, only three percent of Medicare patients reported having any virtual connection with a medical professional within a prior six-month period¹. Telepresenter and other models that provide ‘warm introductions’ to telemedicine have the potential to increase its use, particularly amongst patients with functional limitations that challenge their ability to attend regular primary care appointments.

Functionally limited patients are considered among the highest consumers of healthcare services in the United States. It is estimated that five percent of U.S. patients consume 50 percent of all healthcare spending. Nearly two-thirds of these patients have some form of functional limitation. About one-third have limitations significant enough to require help with Activities of Daily Living, such as dressing and bathing.²

“We are excited to extend our telemedicine solution to other post-acute and long-term care settings, including the home. We believe that this initial study shows how telemedicine can be used to provide goal-directed medical care directly in the patient’s home,” said Dr. Steven Handler, Chief Medical and Innovation Officer at Curavi Health. “By bringing this technology to the patient through use of a telepresenter, we were able to connect patients directly with their primary care team to deliver treatment more quickly. We’re hopeful this is a major stepping stone to a wider endeavor that’s able to cover a larger percentage of the homebound and elderly patient population.”

Complete results from the telepresenter pilot study can be downloaded by visiting www.seniorhelpers.com/kc.

¹ The Advisory Board, 2017 Virtual Visits Consumer Choice Survey
² The Concentration of Health Care Spending, NIHCM Foundation Data Brief – July 2012

Nationwide Senior Care Company Continues to be Recognized as Great Place to Work with New York Award Win

NEW YORK — Senior Helpers^®, one of the nation’s premier providers of personalized in-home senior care, revealed today that it has been recognized as one of the 2019 Best Workplaces in the state of New York by Great Place to Work^® and FORTUNE. With over 300 locations nationwide, and 14 in New York, Senior Helpers’ rapidly growing business is laser-focused on helping older adults age with dignity. The company’s culture is based on strong core values, recognition of achievements and respect and this award is just the latest testament to the company’s quest to be a top workplace in America.

The Great Place to Work evaluation considers more than 60 elements of the team member experience using feedback from surveys sent to employees in the New York metro area. Eighty-five percent of the evaluation is based on employees’ experiences of trust and reaching their full human potential as part of their organization, no matter who they are or what they do. The remaining 15 percent of the rank is based on an assessment of all employees’ daily experiences of innovation, the company’s values, and the effectiveness of their leaders, to ensure they’re consistently experienced. Senior Helpers is the only national in-home care provider recognized as a 2019 Best Workplace in New York.

“It is humbling to be a part of Senior Helpers and receive this honor; we have worked diligently to build a culture of inclusion and appreciation across our locations,” said Peter Ross, CEO and co-founder of Senior Helpers. “Our employees—in New York and across the nation—care deeply about our clients, which reflects in their overall job satisfaction.”

“We applaud Senior Helpers for seeking certification and releasing its employees’ feedback,” said Dr. Jacquelyn Kung, of Great Place to Work’s senior care affiliate Activated Insights. “These high ratings measure Senior Helpers’ capacity to earn its employees’ trust and create a great workplace for high performance.”

The Great Place to Work Trust Index^TM methodology is taken by millions of employees in thousands of companies annually. It represents the gold standard in measuring culture and employee engagement.

About Great Place to Work

Great Place to Work is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through its certification programs, Great Place to Work recognizes outstanding workplace cultures and produces the annual Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For®” and Great Place to Work Best Workplaces lists for Millennials, Women, Diversity, Small & Medium Companies, industries and, internationally, countries and regions. Through its culture consulting services, Great Place to Work helps clients create great workplaces that outpace peers on key business metrics like revenue growth, profitability, retention and stock performance.

Learn more at Greatplacetowork.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Leading In-Home Senior Care Company Elevates its Advisory Board by Adding Dr. Alan Abrams

BALTIMORE — Today, Senior Helpers^®, the nation’s premier provider of in-home senior care, announced the appointment of Dr. Alan Abrams, a well-known, highly respected physician specializing in geriatric medicine, to its Board of Directors. A seasoned veteran with decades of experience helping leading organizations provide high-quality care to the elderly, Dr. Abrams will play a pivotal role in helping propel Senior Helpers’ success in the in-home senior care industry. His consultation has helped Senior Helpers refine and enhance programming and identify tangential opportunities.

“As an engaged clinician, leader and educator, Dr. Abrams has wide-ranging experience and an outstanding reputation in providing patients with the highest quality treatment and care,” said Peter Ross, CEO and co-founder of Senior Helpers. “We are dedicated to helping transform senior care nationwide, and as such, we’re constantly looking to improve the service we offer our elderly clients as well as their families. Tapping into Dr. Abrams’ industry knowledge will give us some critical tools and insights that will help keep Senior Helpers at the forefront of improving the health and wellbeing of our clients, and ultimately driving high-quality care for our seniors.”

Dr. Abrams comes to Senior Helpers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a world-class hospital of Harvard Medical School, where he served as the Chief Medical Officer of the Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization. He received his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine and his master’s in public health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Abrams has served as a physician executive and clinical leader on both the payer side and provider side in programs geared to care for the elderly across Massachusetts. He has been an educational leader in the care of the elderly and trained providers from a variety of disciplines during his role as program director of the Harvard Multi-Campus Geriatric Fellowship Program.

“Senior Helpers has built a tremendous network focused on constant improvements in the quality of care being offered to the elderly. I’m looking forward to assisting Senior Helpers by sharing my expertise, as well as advanced clinical methods, to help make a difference in delivering a better quality of life to its clients,” said Dr. Abrams.

Senior Helpers was founded in 2001 with a vision to help seniors who wish to remain in their homes – despite age-related illnesses and mobility challenges, and now serves elderly individuals and their families around the world. Senior Helpers differentiates itself with its proprietary, specialized programs that have been developed in collaboration with leading medical experts. The company was the first provider in the industry to offer specialized, nationally-consistent care services for individuals with Alzheimer’s, dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

For more information about the company, visit http://www.seniorhelpers.com.

National Survey Details How Caring for Aging Loved Ones Impacts Mental Health and Wellness

BALTIMORE — May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and Senior Helpers^®, the nation’s premier provider of in-home senior care services, has just released the findings of a 1,000 person survey that highlights the need to help family caregivers manage factors that can impact mental health. With more than 65 million people across America acting as family caregivers¹, it is a far-reaching issue. The Senior Helpers survey found that most family caregivers experience constant pressure and combat periodic anxiety and depression. The results confirmed the need to help family caregivers with a periodic break from their struggles with the emotional and mental demands of providing care.

“While caring for loved ones can be extremely rewarding, it is also very taxing on family members. For many families the requirement for around-the-clock care results in tremendous sacrifice and effort,” said Peter Ross, CEO and founder of Senior Helpers. “We are acutely aware of the challenges that family caregivers face and are deeply committed to offering families an alternative that can help ease the hardship of being the sole caregiver while still allowing their loved ones to age in place.”

The implications of this new information are significant: today’s family caregivers face challenges with anxiety, depression and maintaining a healthy work/life balance. The survey found:

• Anxiety & Depression — 77% of caregivers have personally experienced anxiety and/or depression
• No Breaks or Balance — 42% are working so hard that they do not have the time or energy for their other responsibilities
• Caregiving Obligation — 68% became caregivers because no one else could help
• Working & Caregiving — 53% believe that caregiving has kept them from other income
• Rewarding Service — Despite the challenges, 54% of respondents feel a sense of purpose and fulfillment from caregiving for their loved one

With over 300 locations across the nation, Senior Helpers’ mission is to ensure a better quality of life for elderly clients and their families by providing dependable and affordable care to seniors so that they may age in place with dignity. “Whether families need occasional assistance or continuous care, we offer a wide range of professionally supervised, affordable services that range from specialized care for those with Alzheimer’s and dementia, to companion and personal care and even housekeeping assistance,” added Ross.

For more information on Senior Helpers visit www.seniorhelpers.com.

¹ According to The National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP