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Why All in One Senior Living, Primary Care is a Winning Bet

News and Blog for Collaborative, connected carre with Redwood Health Partners

IN THE NEWS

Why All in One Senior Living, Primary Care is a Winning Bet

Senior Housing News: Is traveling to a doctor’s appointment a thing of the past? When it comes to all in one senior living, one senior housing operator seems to think so.

Through an innovative partnership, the company has primary care providers – specifically trained to care for senior living residents (all in one senior living) – keeping regular office hours at its communities’ on-site clinics, cutting transportation arrangements and other hassles out of the picture entirely.

Bloomfield, New Jersey-based Juniper Communities operates 18 long-term care communities in New Jersey, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Florida. The provider recently partnered with Redwood Health Partners, an on-site primary care provider that solely operates within assisted and senior living residences, skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers, and special-purpose memory care communities. Juniper previously piloted its first on-site Redwood Health Partners clinic at Juniper Village-The Spearly Center in Denver in December 2013.

The partnership between Juniper and Redwood was forged in part because Juniper recognized the permanence of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Juniper CEO Lynne Katzmann told Senior Housing News.

“We’re one of the few providers that’s really said, okay, the ACA is here to stay,” Katzmann said. When the ACA began, Juniper started to look seriously at care transitions and realized that the primary care doctor “is really critical” for preventing readmissions to hospitals.

“Having primary care on-site made sense,” Katzmann said.

all-in-one senior living clinic interior
Juniper Village at Aurora

Redwood Health Partners, like Juniper, is based in Bloomfield, and was willing to be part of Juniper’s communication protocols—that is, it was willing to use Juniper’s existing electronic health record.

This agreement enables Redwood physicians to provide cohesive, quality care, because they can both enter their own notes into residents’ EHRs and see notes from staff and additional ancillary providers, Katzmann told SHN. Redwood practitioners will also take part in Juniper’s care planning process.

To Katzmann’s knowledge, no other senior housing providers in Juniper’s markets are offering similar health care services.

“We’ve become known as an innovator,” Katzmann said.

Boosting Life Expectancy, Boosting Profit

Standing out from the competition has benefitted Juniper Communities’ bottom line, plain and simple.

Offering primary care on-site in a residential care setting has been proven to reduce hospital readmissions, as well as extend life expectancy, Katzmann told SHN. Longer life expectancy translates into longer length of stay—which, in turn, translates into more profit.

“The integrated model really works,” Katzmann explained. Juniper’s readmission rate in the second quarter of 2015 across 18 buildings was only 2%.

Partnering with Redwood is part of Juniper’s larger Connect 4 Life strategy, which is intended to make Juniper a preferred provider with accountable care organizations and hospital discharge planners, Katzmann said. The low readmission rate makes Juniper especially attractive, given that under ACA policies, hospitals face Medicare penalties if too many patients return soon after discharge.

“A referral source sees us as a place to send people,” she added.

Plus, the return on investment potential involved in such partnerships is enormous, especially when the services are Medicare-billed, like they are at Juniper.

“It’s effectively no cost to the facility, and more convenient for the facility and for the residents,” Katzmann told SHN. “It’s simple, it’s easy, and it doesn’t cost a provider anything.”

Not Done Yet

Looking ahead, Juniper has big plans for its Redwood partnership.

At present, Redwood Health Partners provides services in five Juniper Village communities: two in New Jersey and three in Colorado. This month, two communities in Pennsylvania are scheduled to begin participating in the Redwood partnership, according to a company blog post.

All Juniper communities are anticipated to have all-in-one Senior Living Redwood clinics by early 2016, Cindy Longfellow, national director of sales and marketing for Juniper Communities, said in the same post.

Although residents are legally free to choose their own doctor, right now, in some communities, 96% of residents use Redwood primary care physicians. The goal, Katzmann told SHN, is to eventually have this number reach 80% across all Juniper communities.

The families of Juniper residents, as well as Juniper employees, are also free to join Redwood as “members” and use Redwood for their primary care needs, further extending the benefits of a program that already seems to be paying off in myriad ways.

Written by Mary Kate Nelson

For original article, click here

Juniper Communities brings onsite healthcare to senior living communities Joins forces with Redwood Health Partners

News and Blog for Collaborative, connected carre with Redwood Health Partners

IN THE NEWS

Juniper Communities brings onsite healthcare to senior living communities Joins forces with Redwood Health Partners

Bloomfield, NJ – In a bold strategic move, Juniper Communities has signed on with Redwood Health Partners to provide onsite healthcare to its residents. By providing patient-centered care in its senior living communities – Juniper Villages – residents will experience a dramatic improvement in the healthcare delivery method. No more waiting for appointments, making transportation arrangements, or lack of communication among the residents’ healthcare providers.

“Integrated primary care, provided on-site, benefits our residents and their families in many ways – ease of communication, convenience, coordination of care, and much more. It allows residents to feel more in control of their care and more involved in care decisions,” stated Lynne Katzmann, founder and CEO of Juniper Communities.

In addition to resident care, Juniper Communities residents’ families and employees can also become a Redwood ‘member’. “Delivery of service in a convenient, accessible location will improve outcomes and increase quality of life for each member” says Cindy Longfellow, national director of sales and marketing for Juniper Communities. “We look forward to developing this partnership further, and extend it to all of our communities by early 2016.”

Currently, Redwood can be found in the following Juniper Village communities: Aurora, Louisville and the Spearly Center in Colorado; Chatham and Williamstown Village and Wellspring in New Jersey. Lebanon and Mount Joy in Pennsylvania will be the next communities to benefit from the Redwood partnership. Redwood Health Partners will be serving patients there beginning in November.

About Juniper Communities

Juniper Communities, founded in 1988 operates long-term care communities in NJ, FL, PA and CO. Juniper is dedicated to Nurturing the Spirit of Life in each individual served and believes the keys to healthy aging are an active body, an engaged mind, and a fulfilled spirit. The company’s mission is to serve its stakeholders, residents, families, employee associates, and investors with excellence and strong dedication to the company’s hallmarks of quality, value and innovation. Juniper Communities is located at 400 Broadacres Drive, Bloomfield, NJ 07003.For more information on Juniper call 973.661.8300 or visit www.junipercommunities.com.

Redwood Health Partners

What about seniors living at home? Our communities will soon be introduced to Redwood Health Partners, a new primary care practice located on site at Juniper Village. The goal of Redwood Health Partners is to provide easily accessible care and service from credentialed providers. Instead of the doctor coming when it is convenient for him or her, the Redwood Health Partners practitioners will have regular hours right in your community. They will use our electronic health record and will participate in care plan development and care conferences. They offer another resource for addressing chronic or emergent health issues.Redwood Health Partners will help us “nurture the spirit of life” by keeping people in their home doing the things they love as long as possible.

We will be describing this effort to coordinate many levels of care for you in your home over the next several months. In the meantime, if you want to learn more about Redwood Health Partners, ask your Wellness team for a brochure!