Business Briefs: BAYADA, Inspira Joint Venture Launches

BAYADA and Inspira to Launch Joint Venture

A previously announced joint venture between BAYADA Home Health Care, a privately-held home care company that operates in 21 states, and Inspira Health Network, a major health network in New Jersey, is launching in three south Jersey counties.

The joint venture allows the health system to serve more patients in their homes. The partnership will offer home care and hospice services to patients in Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties from offices in Woodbury and Millville, New Jersey.

Kindred Completes Credit Amendment, Loan Syndication

The nation’s largest home health provider, Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: KND), has completed syndication and pricing of an incremental $200 million term loan, which will be used to repay outstanding borrowings under the company’s existing $900 million senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility.

The borrowing will have the same terms with the outstanding $1.18 billion of terms loans under Kindred’s existing senior secured term loan credit facility.

Kindred also received consent from the required lenders under the term loan facility and the asset-based revolving credit facility to amend certain provisions of those credit facilities, including allowance for a broader range of joint venture activity, increasing the company’s financial flexibility and other changes to better align the terms with Kindred’s strategic plans.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is acting as sold lead arranger and sole book runner for the incremental term loan. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. is the administrative agent and collateral agent for the term loan facility, under which the incremental term loan will be borrowed.

Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare Names Executive Vice President

The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare—a coalition of home health providers dedicated to improving the integrity, quality and efficiency of home health care—has named Colin Roskey as executive vice president.

In his new role, Roskey will oversee the organizational operations and advocacy programs for the Partnership. Roskey has more than 15 years of experience in the health law and policy fields and is currently a health care lawyer and partner at Alston & Bird, LLP. He has counseled Medicare certified home health agencies and large national home health trade associations since 2004. He also previously served as a health policy adviser and counsel to the Senate Finance Committee from 2001 to 2004.

“We are happy to welcome Colin to the Partnership and look forward to advancing our advocacy objectives under his leadership,” Keith Myers, chairman of the Partnership, said in a statement. “His tireless advocacy work on behalf of the home-cased care community and his experience working on virtually all aspects of the home health prospective payment system and its regulatory environment will add enormous value to our organization.”

ExactCare Pharmacy Welcomes April Anthony to Board of Directors

ExactCare Pharmacy, a full-service pharmacy that specializes in medication management for patients with multiple diagnoses and medications, announced April Anthony has joined its board of directors.

Anthony is CEO of Encompass Health Care, Inc. and Homecare Homebase, LLC. Encompass, which was founded by Anthony and acquired by HealthSouth in 2014, has more than 200 locations in 24 states. Anthony also founded Homecare Homebase in 2001 as a spin-off from Encompass, and it has grown to serve seven of the top 10 home health and hospice agencies nationally with its software. Homecare Homebase was acquired by Hearst Corporation in 2013.

Mary Free Bed at Home Joint Venture Formed 

Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital and Residential Home Health have created a new joint venture called Mary Free Bed at Home in West Michigan to provide home health services to patients in that region.

Under the joint venture, Mary Free Bed, a not-for-profit acute care hospital based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, owns a 60/40 share of all Residential Home operations in West Michigan. Resident Home serves more than 3,250 home health and hospice patients in 34 counties in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and in six counties in the Chicago area. Roughly 650 of its 825 employees are in Michigan.

Mary Free Bed has been seeking for a joint venture for certified home health services for about a year, Crain’s Detroit Business reported [link?]. Mary Free Bed at Home will operate with “more medical acuity, like a hospital on wheels,” Michelle Chapie, director of contract services and home health for Mary Free Bed, told Crain’s.

The Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Network includes 26 general acute care hospital members.

Companion Connection Senior Care Partners with AxisCare

Companion Connection Senior Care (CCSC), a company that assists individuals with starting their own home care and home health companies, has partnered with AxisCare, Inc. to provide its AxisCare Home Care Management Software to CCSC members.

The software provides administrative, marketing, caregiver management, billing and reporting tools. CCSC is one of the largest home care membership organizations in the United States and has more than 100 member agencies.

Written by Amy Baxter