SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (January 13, 2022)—A subgroup of the Breast Pump Policy Coalition has engaged lobbyists in Illinois to assist with repealing the sales tax for breast pumps. State Sen. Barbara Hernandez introduced H.B. 4234 which would allow breast pumps, breast pump collection and storage supplies, and breast pump kits to be exempt from the taxes imposed beginning on July 1, 2022.
CLEARWATER, Fla. (January 12, 2022)—Empath Health announced that its affiliate organization Empath Hospice has been granted initial approval by the Agency for Health Care Administration to deliver hospice care services in Hardee, Highlands and Polk counties.
Empath Hospice is built on the foundation of Suncoast Hospice and Tidewell Hospice, which have been providing pioneering care in the Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida regions for a combined 85 years.
DENVER (January 12, 2022)—OnTerra Systems, the developers of RouteSavvy route planning software for small businesses, announced significant RouteSavvy software enhancements. The new version of RouteSavvy provides more features and functions for delivery management and makes RouteSavvy route planning software even faster and easier to use.
Highlights of January 2022 RouteSavvy software enhancements include the following:
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (January 12, 2022)—Forcura, a health care technology company that enables safer patient care transitions and coordination, announced that it will recognize Amedisys as the recipient of its first-ever Forcura CONNECT Award.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 11, 2022)—The deadline for home health agencies to submit a request for an exemption from participating in the Home Health CAHPS (HH CAHPS) Survey for the CY 2023 Annual Payment Update (APU) is March 31, 2022.
ST. LOUIS (January 11, 2022)—Responsive Respiratory (RRI) recently released a new Product Solutions catalog.
This comprehensive oxygen catalog highlights RRI’s newest entry into the sleep market, the Purify O3 Elite Sanitizer, as well as its commitment to high pressure oxygen products.
ARLINGTON, Va. (January 11, 2022)—Durable medical equipment (DME) e-prescribe company, Parachute Health, has reaffirmed its commitment to the provider community as AAHomecare’s newest Diamond-level corporate partner.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (January 11, 2022)—MissionCare Collective, the new parent company of myCNAjobs and the nation’s largest network of front-line care workers, announced an expansion of its portfolio to address the growing need for improved training, engagement and retention of health care workers.
RICHMOND, Va. & INDIANAPOLIS (January 10, 2022)—Owens & Minor, Inc. and Apria, Inc. announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Owens & Minor will acquire Apria for $37.50 in cash per share of common stock, representing an equity value of approximately $1.45 billion.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 7, 2022)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC) recently announced the redesigned CBIC homepage.
OVERRLAND PARK, Kan. (January 7, 2022)—WellSky, a health and community care technology company, and Option Care Health Inc., a provider of home and alternate site infusion services, announced they will launch CommonWell Health Alliance services in Quarter 2 of 2022, enabling better care coordination for the more than 250,000 unique patients Option Care Health serves annually.
ATLANTA (January 7, 2022)—Sharecare, a digital health company that helps people manage all their health in one place, announced that more than 400 Medicare Advantage plans—including several of the nation’s largest payers—are exclusively leveraging its home health platform and network of caregivers, CareLinx by Sharecare, to scale in-home care supplemental benefit programs in 2022.
NEW YORK (January 7, 2022)—The quality of home health care varies by location, with rural home health care agencies initiating care more quickly while urban agencies excel in preventing hospitalizations, according to a new study by researchers at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. The findings are published in the Journal of Rural Health.
NEW YORK (January 6, 2022)—Hearst announced it has agreed to acquire CellTrak, a provider of care documentation software solutions in the personal care market. The announcement was made by Steven R. Swartz, Hearst president and CEO; Gregory Dorn, MD, Hearst Health president; Scott Decker, Homecare Homebase president; and Dan Wacker, CellTrak CEO. Terms were not disclosed and the transaction is expected to close in Q1 of 2022.
DALLAS (January 6, 2022)—Smart Meter has partners with AT&T Communications to improve health outcomes for patients with chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. Smart Meter supplies health care providers with cellular remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices and services, including the SmartRPM solution, iGlucose, iBloodPressure 2.0, iScale and soon, the iPulseOx, being unveiled at CES 2022 in Las Vegas.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (January 5, 2022)—Compassus, a national provider of home-based care services, announced that its board of directors has appointed David Grams as CEO. He succeeds Jim Deal, who will continue as the company’s chairman of the board.
WASHINGTON D.C. (January 5, 2022)—Stakeholders representing health care providers and end users with medical needs developed a white paper to educate payers and state Medicaid programs on the types of intermittent catheter products and services needed to successfully manage an individual’s urinary retention needs in a home-based setting to improve patient experience, health outcomes and reduce overall cost.
FORT WORTH, Texas (January 5, 2022)—Jet Health Inc., a regional provider of home health and hospice services, announced the acquisition of Blessings Hospice, an Arlington, Texas-based hospice company. Blessings Hospice has been serving patients throughout Arlington since its 2019 founding.
WATERLOO, Iowa (January 5, 2022)—VGM Group, Inc., announced its general counsel, Jim Walsh, has retired as of Dec. 31, 2021. Walsh will remain involved with VGM as an advisor to the senior leadership team and chairman of the board of directors.