St. Joseph’s Healthcare System and Hackensack Meridian Health Announce Home Care and Hospice Care Partnership

On May 16, 2017

St. Joseph’s Healthcare System and Hackensack Meridian Health announced the formation of a jointly owned home health services agency and hospice services agency to serve patients and families across Bergen, Passaic and parts of Morris County. Bringing together these first-class organizations will set a new standard of excellence in home health services, providing high-quality, highly coordinated and professional continuum of care to patients in the comfort of their homes.

“St. Joseph’s Healthcare System, through Visiting Health Services, has been dedicated to providing quality care to patients in their homes for the past three decades,” said Kevin J. Slavin, President and Chief Executive Officer at St. Joseph’s Healthcare System. “Our partnership with Hackensack Meridian Health will further enhance our mission to improve the health and quality of life in the communities we serve. It will also ensure more patients experience a seamless transition from hospital to home, providing patients the professional care and support they need to accelerate their recovery or improve their quality of life with loved ones in the comfort of their own homes.”

“Hackensack Meridian Health and St. Joseph’s Healthcare System have come together to create a truly innovative partnership to better meet the needs of the patients and communities we serve,” said John K. Lloyd, FACHE, co-CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. “We have been providing first-class home health care services throughout southern New Jersey for decades, and we are eager to expand our geography to successfully serve patients in Bergen, Passaic and Morris counties. Our experienced, comprehensive continuum of care ensures we are delivering the right services, to the right people at the right time, redefining the way New Jersey is living at home.”

The partnership will form Visiting Health Services of New Jersey, a full-service home health provider and Medicare-certified home care agency and VHS Hospice Services of New Jersey.

Visiting Health Services of New Jersey will provide the state’s most complete range of in-home personal assistance and health care solutions to ensure individuals and families are living well and independent at home. The home health services include:

• Visiting skilled nursing, Registered Nurses (RN) and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN)
• In-home physical, occupational and speech therapy
• Home health aides who assist with daily tasks such as bathing, dressing and meal preparation
• Medical social workers who provide counseling, coordinate community services and assist with long-term planning
• Certified hospice services
• Nutritional counseling
• Wound care nursing
• Medication review and education
• Programs such as specialized home orthopedic and joint replacement, stroke, brain injury, bariatric and other condition-specific recovery programs

VHS Hospice Services of New Jersey will provide one-on-one personalized care delivered by a qualified and specially trained team, which includes a physician medical director, certified nurses trained in hospice and palliative care, licensed clinical social workers, chaplains, hospices aides and trained volunteers.

St. Joseph’s Healthcare System and Hackensack Meridian Health have a long history of providing homecare and hospice services. St. Joseph’s Healthcare System and Visiting Health Services of New Jersey, as well as Hackensack Meridian Health, have been dedicated to providing care to patients in the comfort of their homes for more than three decades. In fact, St. Joseph’s and Hackensack Meridian Health provided approximately 400,000 home visits in 2016. St. Joseph’s and Hackensack Meridian Health have been able to deliver advanced clinical care to patients who return to their homes following hospitalization or to those requiring assistance to remain in the comfort and security of their home due to an illness, injury or disability.

“To be surrounded by the comfortable and familiar settings of home, and near loved ones while recovering from an illness or injury is often a vital emotional and physical benefit to our patients,” said Michelle Mendelson, vice president, Hackensack Meridian Health At Home. “Home care treatments and services are a critical part of our care continuum to successfully safeguard the health and well-being of our patients and families.”

The partnership will extend across all St. Joseph Healthcare System and Hackensack Meridian Health hospitals in Bergen, Passaic and Morris counties, including St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, St. Joseph’s Wayne Hospital, Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack Meridian Health Mountainside Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian Health Pascack Valley Medical Center. As a result of this partnership, St. Joseph’s, Hackensack Meridian Health and Visiting Health Services of New Jersey will provide home health services in Ocean, Monmouth, Middlesex, Somerset, Union, Bergen, Passaic and Morris counties.

Related Articles: