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Help at Home Appoints Chief Human Resources Officer; InnovAge Lands New CMO

By Andrew Donlan | 

Help at Home Help adds chief human resources officer

The Chicago-based personal home care company Help at Home has named Lisa George as its new chief human resources officer.

George has previously served in human resources leadership roles at Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH), Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Campbell’s Soup (NYSE: CPB). Most recently, she was the chief human resources officer at Shearer’s Foods.

“I found that the people in this organization were all really committed to that mission of making a difference, so that was incredibly compelling,” George told Home Health Care News. “I also think we are in a unique situation, particularly with the growth that we’ve had over the last 18 months. We want to be that true destination where people really want to come to work and make a difference.”

Help at Home has more than 190 locations across 12 states and employs nearly 50,000 caregivers. The company’s revenue is mostly from government payers like Medicaid, which is different from many of the bigger home care companies that rely primarily on private-pay clients.

The company recently entered into New York with two major acquisitions that added over 10,000 new clients and 12,000 caregivers to its portfolio.

“In the HR arena, we want to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to enable the business strategy,” George said. “That means looking at people, processes, technology, policies, systems, and making sure that everybody is able to work together with a very collaborative mindset, with also a focus on performance and business outcomes.”

On top of striving for being the go-to place for caregivers, George wants to “professionalize” the caregiver occupation at Help at Home, and also offer meaningful career paths for all of its workers.

“We really want to continue to professionalize and upskill that role, because they’re the ones in the home making the difference every day,” she said. “We’re going to really make sure that we invest in that and provide a working environment that the caregivers are going to value, that allows them to do their best work and pursue that as a longer-term career.”

InnovAge names new chief medical officer

InnovAge (Nasdaq: INNV) has named Dr. Richard Feifer the company’s chief medical officer.

“There is nothing more important than ensuring we are consistently delivering outstanding care for our participants,” Patrick Blair, president and CEO of InnovAge, said in a press statement. “As a physician executive with a breadth of experience and proven leadership in post-acute care and physician practice management, clinical operations, value-based payment models and managed care, Rich is a valuable addition to our executive leadership team.”

A Denver-based Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) provider, InnovAge is one of the largest organizations of its type. The company has roughly 1,800 employees and serves seniors in Colorado, New Mexico, California, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

In his role as CMO, Feifer will be responsible for InnovAge’s clinical care delivery, including medical care, quality, pharmacy, dental, and behavioral health.

“I’m passionate about finding better ways to deliver efficient, high-quality care,” Feifer said in a statement. “My professional mission aligns perfectly with InnovAge and I’m very excited to apply my experience to support the company in fulfilling its critical objectives. PACE provides a much-needed solution to the many challenges of efficiently caring for a medically complex and often underserved population and does so by aligning with what participants and families truly desire and value – aging in their own homes and communities.”

Prior to joining InnovAge as CMO, Feifer served in various leadership roles at Genesis HealthCare. His most recent role at the company was executive vice president and CMO. He was in charge of overseeing one of the largest skilled nursing and long-term care providers, operating almost 400 facilities in 26 states.

VNA Health Group CEO appointed to CHAP board

VNA Health Group CEO Dr. Steve Landers has been added to the board of directors for the Community Health Accreditation Program Inc. (CHAP).

“CHAP is excited to have leaders of Dr. Landers’ caliber join our Board of Directors,” CHAP President and CEO Karen Collishaw said in a statement. “CHAP continues to grow in response to the increasing demand for excellence in home and community-based care, and these new members bring a wealth of skills and experience from the industry, broadening the board’s depth and knowledge.”

CHAP is an Arlington, Virginia-based independent and nonprofit organization — approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) — that accredits home- and community-based care providers. The organization surveys home health, home care, hospice and home medical equipment providers.

Empath Health beefs up legal team

Christy Hendricks has joined Empath Health as its general counsel and chief mission legal officer.

“We look forward to partnering with Christy on many projects including regulatory matters, corporate support services, clinical service line support and plans for future growth,” Jonathan Fleece, president of Empath Health, said in a press statement. “She will help us shape Empath Health’s future.”

Empath Health is the country’s largest not-for-profit health system. The organization’s network includes hospice, home health, palliative care, grief services, all-inclusive elder care, primary care, physician services and more.

In her new role, Hendricks will oversee the company’s legal, compliance, public policy and legislative affairs teams.

Before her appointment, Hendricks was chief legal officer at OU Medicine, the academic medical system affiliated with the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. During her time there, she set up the first law department and was key legal advisor on the system’s clinical integration with the College of Medicine’s physician practice group and clinics.

“Christy brings extensive expertise gained working for large non-profit healthcare systems like ours,” Empath Health CEO Rafael J. Sciullo said in a statement. “She also has a deep understanding of Empath’s mission for serving our communities with full life care for all.”

HHAeXchange expands leadership team

The New York City-based HHAeXchange – a home care technology platform – has announced three hires to expand its leadership team.

James Stanton has been named chief financial officer, Todd Bransford has been named chief product officer and Nicholas Fahrney has been named chief security and compliance officer.

On Stanton’s end, he comes in with experience working for a private equity-owned SaaS business – Diligent Corporation – where he worked for 12 years. Bransford also comes in with SaaS experience, having previously worked for Solera. He also has worked at WellSky, a post-acute technology company. Finally, Fahrney has worked in cybersecurity for more than 18 years.

“The combined leadership and expertise of Bransford, Stanton, and Fahrney reaffirm HHAeXchange’s dedication to revolutionizing homecare technology and ensuring patient safety and operational compliance,” HHAeXchange CEO Greg Strobel said in a press release. “We are thrilled to welcome these executives to the team as we continue to build the most comprehensive and connected homecare platform in the market.”