Richmond, VA-based Covenant Woods has undergone an expansion, not of its physical plant, but of at-home care options for residents of the life plan community and Central Virginia neighbors within a 50-mile radius.
Approximately 360 older adults live at Covenant Woods in independent living, assisted living, memory living or skilled nursing units. At any point in time, five to 10 residents are using some form of home health, according to Erik Mauritsen, Covenant Woods’ chief financial officer and vice president of home- and community-based services. On the outpatient side, he told the McKnight’s Business Daily, “easily” about 10 to 15 independent residents are using outpatient therapy services at any given time, in addition to the skilled nursing patients and residents.
Covenant Woods purchased home health group Advanced Care at the beginning of 2020 and rebranded it as Advanced Care Home Health and Hospice this year.
“We had looked a few years ago at getting into home health. We found an independent company, and the owner was looking to sell out,” Mauritsen said. “They had a good reputation, so we decided to acquire it. …We decided to up the game a little bit.”
Mauritsen said he considers Covenant Woods to be a trailblazer in the industry by taking care “to the next level” at a time when many senior living and care operators also are considering incorporating some form of home health. “We’re the only one that’s started out by way of acquisition and then quickly expanding that base into multiple services with hospice and out-patient therapy,” he maintained.
Covenant Woods provides information to residents about the home care services, but residents call Advance Care directly to make arrangements.
“Most of the services that they [Advance Care] provide [are] on the skilled side, so payment would usually be taken care of by way of Medicare, traditionally, or some form of insurance,” Mauritsen said. “There is usually not anything in terms of out-of-pocket for people that use the service. If there were some, they would pay Advance Care directly.”
The expansion, he said, is about creating “ ‘continuing care without walls’ and placing our compassionate caregivers in more places to offer home health services to residents of Covenant Woods, while engaging more deeply in the surrounding central Virginia community,” Mauritsen said in an Oct. 12 press release. “Advance Care gives us additional skilled nurses, therapists and staff who can extend our care out into the community and provide the same level of care residents receive at Covenant Woods.”
