Health system that pioneered hospital-at-home program leverages WellSky network and technology to provide coordinated skilled and personal “non-medical” care in the home

WellSky, a leading health and community care technology company, today announced its partnership with UnityPoint at Home, a subsidiary of UnityPoint Health that supports UnityPoint Accountable Care, the organization’s accountable care organization (ACO) and at-risk contracts. UnityPoint at Home will use WellSky’s care coordination platform and network of more than 4,000 personal care agencies to provide personal care as part of its Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)-at-home program.

Serving patients and communities in Iowa and Illinois, UnityPoint at Home provides comprehensive in-home care, including home health, hospice, infusion therapy, rehabilitation, and home medical equipment (HME) services. Through its partnership with WellSky, UnityPoint at Home gains a partner to help patients with activities of daily living through centralized coordination with in-home clinical care, home medical equipment, and telehealth.

“We know that more and more patients want to recover at home,” said Mag VanOosten, president and chief clinical officer of UnityPoint at Home. “With SNF-at-home, patient-focused coordination among providers is vitally important and can be among the most challenging aspects of the care-at-home model. This partnership allows us to apply best practices with personal care partners using common WellSky platforms, enabling the coordination, coverage, and transitions that SNF-at-home requires.”

Together, UnityPoint at Home and WellSky are laying a foundation for alternative at-risk payment models designed to provide elevated levels of care in the home, relieving pressure on overloaded hospitals. Leveraging well-coordinated best practices across care settings, UnityPoint at Home can fill the caregiver gap, allowing patients that are eligible for skilled care, and who require additional personal care support, to recover at home.

UnityPoint at Home has a track record of success, expanding its SNF-at-home concept after achieving impressive data-proven results with its hospital-at-home program. UnityPoint Health first implemented a hospital-at-home model in 2018 and was one of six national health systems approved to pilot the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) “Acute Hospital Care At Home program.”

Since initiating the hospital-at-home 30-day bundle, UnityPoint has decreased its 30-day ED visit escalation from 27 percent to 6 percent, averted $904,000 in ED/hospitalization costs, and reached a 99.2 percent patient satisfaction score — drawing the attention of members and payers. In addition, the 30-day hospital admit escalation rate improved from 22% to 12.6%.

“UnityPoint has consistently been on the forefront of emerging care models, being quick to innovate and meet patients where they prefer to receive care, which is in the home,” shared WellSky CEO Bill Miller. “By enabling the precise coordination needed by complex care models such as UnityPoint’s SNF-at-home and providing access to the largest network of in-home care providers, WellSky can help UnityPoint further expand its already impressive impact. We’re honored to work alongside them as they enhance patient experience, improve patient outcomes, and lower the cost of care.”

The SNF-at-home program will initially be introduced to UnityPoint’s patients covered by the CMS ACO models, with plans to support other payers and populations in the future.

About WellSky^®

WellSky is a technology company leading the movement for intelligent, coordinated care worldwide. Our next-generation software, analytics, and services power better outcomes and lower costs for stakeholders across the health and community care continuum. In today’s value-based care environment, WellSky helps providers, payers, health systems, and community organizations solve tough challenges, improve collaboration for growth, harness the power of data analytics, and achieve better outcomes by further connecting clinical and social care. WellSky serves more than 20,000 client sites around the world — including the largest hospital systems, blood banks, cell therapy labs, blood centers, home health and hospice franchises, post-acute providers, government agencies, and human services organizations. Informed by more than 40 years of providing software and expertise, WellSky anticipates clients’ needs and innovates relentlessly to ultimately help more people thrive. For more information, visit WellSky.com.

About UnityPoint at Home

Dedicated to making it easier for people to live well, UnityPoint at Home provides home health care services in communities across Iowa and western Illinois. Part of UnityPoint Health, one of the nation's most integrated health systems, UnityPoint at Home works together with its physicians and hospitals to coordinate the services, support and education necessary for individuals to continue their care at home. Services include adult and pediatric nursing, rehabilitation therapy, personal care and home support, infusion therapy, palliative care, hospice and home medical equipment. More at unitypoint.org/homecare.

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