Study confirms Juniper Communities' Connect4Life model decreases hospital admission rates and could cut $15.3 billion in Medicare spending

BLOOMFIELD, N.J., Sept. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- An independent analysis of Juniper Communities' Connect4Life (C4L) model, which integrates onsite primary care, pharmacy, and lab services with social supports and residential care, shows higher quality care, better outcomes for residents and potential cost savings of up to $15.3 billion for Medicare in hospital inpatient spending if applied nationally to a frail population of Medicare beneficiaries similar to Juniper's resident population.

Results of the study, conducted by independent healthcare analyst Anne Tumlinson of ATI, reveal that Juniper had 50 percent lower inpatient hospitalization rates—and more than 80 percent lower readmission rates—compared to non-Juniper Medicare patients with similar conditions. Juniper's Connect4Life program is one solution to the escalating demand for healthcare, higher healthcare costs, and problematic or poor outcomes for seniors.

"The data indicates these positive outcomes are a result of a foundation of excellence and consistent quality of integrated care," said Lynne Katzmann, CEO of Juniper Communities. "Statistics show when a Community provides three key components: onsite delivery of primary care, a high-tech foundation of shared data, and a high-touch coordinator who facilitates a seamless provision of services, the customer truly benefits."

The C4L healthcare model contains elements common in other programs that integrate care across medical and long-term care, but what distinguishes the Juniper model is that it extends care integration into the residential setting. For the resident, it feels like 24-7 Marcus Welby-like doctoring, and for the family it feels like a stand-in adult daughter who has the responsibility and the incentive to help. The program provides integrated, individualized care and service that is both high tech—for example, utilizing electronic health records with data from multiple providers—and high touch—providing a medical concierge service to greatly improve the resident experience. Types of care and service provided on-site include: primary care, physical and occupational therapy, specialist care, as well as other ancillary services such as home health care and hospice.

The three key components of the Connect4Lifemodel include:

• Integrating primary care physicians directly into senior living settings via a patient-centered medical home model.
• Intentional use of data and outcomes to drive quality, define performance and guide operations
• Cultivating wellbeing through therapy-driven physical wellness programming and seamless access to other services through strategic partnerships and alliances

ATI recommends the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and others conduct research on the impact of care integration in seniors housing, and subsequently develop demonstrations and pilot programs such as C4L that encourage and reward seniors housing organizations seeking to integrate care on behalf of their residents.

"We need to think more creatively about how and where older adults live when they need substantial assistance with daily life," maintains Lynne Katzmann. "Ideally, as the baby-boomers start turning 85 in ten years, we'll match their individual needs, preferences and economic realities with well-designed supportive housing that can also serve as a hub to meet all of their needs, both health-related and supportive."

With 1.6 million high-need, older adults living in seniors housing, care integration models such as Juniper Communities' Connect4Life have great potential for not only increasing the quality of outcomes experienced by older Americans, but also saving taxpayers billions of dollars.

For a summary of the findings of the ATI Analysis of Juniper Connect4Life intervention, visit https://www.junipercommunities.com/post/connect4life-save-4500-per-enrollee/. For more information, please contact Cindy Longfellow at 973-396-6389 or [email protected].

About Juniper Communities, LLC 
Juniper Communities, a leader in quality, value and innovation in long-term care, operates facilities in New Jersey, Florida, Pennsylvania and Colorado that emphasize residents' comfort, interaction and security. Our facilities and approach to housing and care offers residents the opportunity to live a full life, regardless of age or health. Juniper's innovative Connect4Life program has been proven to improve residents' care by decreasing hospitalizations, re-hospitalizations and urgent care visits, while offering potential cost savings to public programs such as Medicare. To learn more about the many ways Juniper Communities innovates in support of our residents, please visit www.junipercommunities.com.

SOURCE Juniper Communities, LLC

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