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Home Care by Black Stone Acquires Columbus-Based Elderhealth
Cincinnati, OH – January 20, 2012 –Home Care by Black Stone, a leading provider of home care services for over 3,000 patients in Southwest and Central Ohio, has finalized an acquisition of Elderhealth, headquartered in Columbus. “As part of our growth strategy, we spent almost two years seeking a target organization for acquisition in the Columbus area,” says David Tramontana, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Home Care by Black Stone.
In addition to looking for compatibility in both service offerings and management style, Tramontana sought an organization with an experienced business development leader who had already built relationships with other providers in the Central Ohio region. “Having someone in place to drive business development in Central Ohio was very important to us, because healthcare is very local,” he explains.
Through peer-to-peer contacts made while advocating for additional state and local funding to benefit seniors, Tramontana met Kimberly Payne, PT, MSPT, GCS, CDP, Founder of Elderhealth. While Black Stone offers assisted non-medical home care, skilled in-home healthcare, and geriatric care management to the elderly and disabled, Payne’s company offered a compatible—yet different—set of services.
“Kimberly’s company offered an additional level of clinical excellence through nursing and therapy services at residential-style assisted care facilities and senior housing providers. Furthermore, their home health Geriatric Residency Program, in conjunction with The Ohio State University, is the only program of its kind in the country, and will give us an opportunity to diversify our offerings,” explains Tramontana.
As a physical therapist with a special focus on geriatric therapy, Payne feels it is critically important to be involved in senior care before an injury, such as a broken hip resulting from a fall, happens. “The focus of my business has always been educating seniors and looking at ways that we can be proactive in both care and prevention,” she says. “It’s really the direction that Medicare and Medicaid want healthcare professionals to go: to identify a potential health issue before it becomes catastrophic.”
Elderhealth employs 18, including a dozen occupational and physical therapists, two nurses, and four administrative support staffers. All Elderhealth employees will join Black Stone, with Payne becoming the company’s Central Ohio Director of Business Development. The newly merged company will operate at Elderhealth’s location in Clintonville, including the administrative and clinical staff from Black Stone’s current Columbus operations.
“From my perspective, the acquisition allows us to expand our level of services beyond what we were previously able to offer,” adds Payne. “By joining a larger organization, our patients will now have access to more tools and services than before. Black Stone has strong clinical programs in place, such as telehealth, chronic care management, and certified diabetic education. In addition, as one of the largest PASSPORT providers in the state, our clients will now be able to receive medical and non-medical care from one provider, ensuring a better continuity of care.”
In the past two months, Black Stone has completed two acquisitions to expand the reach of its services geographically. The company now operates in Butler, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Darke, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton, Madison, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, Shelby, and Warren counties.
Tramontana cites recent cuts in reimbursements to care providers from state-funded Medicaid and Federally-funded Medicare as a key reason for Black Stone’s acquisition strategy. “In order to strengthen our company financially in light of the reimbursement cuts, we’ll continue to pursue our acquisition strategy going forward. This acquisition will put us near $3 million in annual revenues in Central Ohio, with the company growing to $35 million overall,” adds Tramontana. “The home healthcare market is very fragmented in this part of the state. Due to federal and state challenges to our industry we expect consolidation in this market and we plan to be here for the long-term. Thus, our growth strategy will allow us to absorb the cuts, while also allowing us to innovate as our industry continues to change.”
The changing industry refers to federal initiatives that are part of the Affordable Care Act and Ohio’s move to integrate care for the Dual Eligible’s (individuals covered by both Medicare and Medicaid). As a large provider of the State’s popular Medicaid Home Care Waiver PASSPORT program for seniors, Black Stone is supportive of the move towards integration. “We see how our clients and taxpayers would be better served by coordinating the current fragmented care system,” explains Tramontana. However, the plan for integration is still unknown. “We don’t know where the Government and the providers will land, but we know better outcomes and more coordinated care are the direction we need to move in health care. Home care providers that are able to demonstrate results will be in a great position, which is what we are committed to at Black Stone.”
The acquisition of Elderhealth was finalized at the beginning of the year. Staff can be reached at (614) 227-6952.
About the Black Stone Family of Care Services
Home Care by Black Stone is a leading provider of home care services in Southwest and Central Ohio; offering assisted non-medical home care, skilled in-home healthcare, and geriatric care management to the elderly and disabled. Established in 1996, Home Care by Black Stone employs over 500 nurses, therapists, and home care aides throughout the Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Springfield, Xenia, Piqua, Greeneville, Hamilton, Lebanon, Blanchester, London, and Batavia regions. Home Care by Black Stone is located at 8280 Montgomery Rd., Suite 202, Cincinnati, OH 45236. For more information, please contact Home Care by Black Stone at (513) 891-1127, via email at pr@blackstonehc.com, or visit their website online at http://www.blackstonehc.com.