BrightStar Care has built a reputation as one of the home care industry’s innovators.
Previous examples of the home care franchise’s pioneering spirit include its investments in small retirement communities and its educational partnership with Chamberlain University. On Tuesday, Gurnee, Illinois-based BrightStar announced its latest innovation efforts, which will include expanding its clinical capabilities.
To expand its services and become a larger part of the higher acuity home care ecosystem, BrightStar will now – in collaboration with Medically Home – offer primary home health and transportation services. The provider will initially offer the additional services in two new markets in California and New Jersey, after successfully launching them in Arizona last year.
Andy Ray, CEO of BrightStar Care, called Tuesday’s announcement and the Medically Home partnership a “significant step” for the home care giant. Ray took over as BrightStar’s CEO in early 2024, while founding CEO Shelly Sun moved into the role of chairman.
“We believe the future of healthcare is at home,” Ray said in a press release. “Hospital home care has been proven to lead to better patient outcomes with fewer hospital readmissions, fewer falls and fewer acquired infections, and we are excited to play a key role in transforming care.”
Founded in 2002, BrightStar has franchise locations throughout the United States, employing more than 15,000 caregivers and 5,700 registered nurses (RNs). In addition to its franchise locations, the company also maintains several company-owned offices.
Medically Home is now one of the best-known “hospital-at-home” companies in the country. Since its inception, the company has raised approximately $275 million, with the Mayo Clinic and Kaiser Permanente among its major investors.
“Medically Home is committed to decentralizing care outside of facilities and bringing it back to where people, patients and their families feel most comfortable – their homes,” said Dr. Pippa Shulman, chief medical officer at Medically Home, previously told Home Health Care News.
When BrightStar Care works with Medically Home, patients and their care teams are connected with doctors and nurses who work together to monitor their condition and coordinate necessary services.
“In these markets, patients admitted to home hospitals are transported from the inpatient facility to their homes by BrightStar Care [RNs], where her home hospitalization has been completed,” the press release said. “Throughout the hospital stay, nurses provide primary clinical support at home, which includes several in-person visits per day. Nurses also provide infusions and other clinical care as well as discharge visits.”
HHCN contacted Ray and Sun earlier this month to discuss the leadership transition at BrightStar.
During that conversation, the two executives teased that additional critical care plans were already underway.
“Healthcare is changing,” Ray told HHCN. “We are currently working a lot on hospital-at-home programs. This was fundamental. In fact, we now have the opportunity for owners to enter completely different areas of business.”
In context, hospital-at-home programs and initiatives have been around for decades. However, the concept has gained momentum since the COVID-19 pandemic, in part because of the special exemption – a new reimbursement pathway – created by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
This waiver will eventually expire unless efforts to promote home care in Washington, DC – such as the draft Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act – are successful.
This legislation aims to extend the hospital-at-home program through 2027. The American Hospital Association (AHA) expressed support for the policy on Tuesday.
“If you are considering actions that go beyond a temporary extension of the waiver, we would welcome the opportunity to work with you to create and implement a permanent version of the program that allows qualified patients to receive safe and effective care to maintain hospital-level comfort and safety in their homes,” the AHA told Reps. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who released the bill last month.