SYNERGY Home Care and its more than 200 franchisees rolled out a new concierge service Monday to ease patient transition from acute care to home.
SYNERGY’s ConciergeCare offers a variety of services including transportation, medication reminders, light housekeeping, meal preparation and grocery shopping. As part of the service, the company will offer a variety of packages and prices depending on the needs of the patient.
SYNERGY Chief Partnership Officer Rich Paul told McKnight’s Home Care Daily the idea for the service came from both franchisees and referral partners who wanted to ensure that patients were well prepared to successfully recover at home, following a stay in a hospital or skilled nursing facility.
“The whole idea behind that is for people to start thinking about their home care needs while they are still in the hospital prior to discharge,” Paul explained. “There are tips and tools that not only benefit the client, but also benefit the hospital in ensuring that their patients have a smooth transition to the home.”
Home care firms are increasingly finding ways to provide enhanced services to patients, through partnerships with handyman services to acquisitions of new services, such as care management. Paul said all of the ConciergeCare services can be provided by the SYNERGY franchisees’ existing caregivers, although the company will be providing some enhanced training for the program.
Paul also admitted the program could help SYNERGY build better relationships with Medicare Advantage plans as they look to expand supplemental services to enrollees.
“We do hear from them all the time that they are concerned about hospital readmissions,” Paul said. “They are also concerned about the costs associated with falls in the home. This is really designed to address those outcome measures: rehospitalizations, unnecessary ER visits and falls.”
SYNERGY is one of the home care industry’s fastest growing franchise operators. The Gilbert, AZ-based firm operates in more than 450 territories across the U.S.
