Innovive Health, a home health provider that caters to individuals with serious mental illness (SMI), has announced its expansion into Colorado after acquiring an operating license from an already established business.
This marks the second state for the Medford, Massachusetts-based provider, which cares for about 20,000 patients per week in its home state. Innovive uses an in-home model to cater to patients with multiple medical comorbidities and complicating behavioral illnesses. The company aims to keep high-acuity and high-risk patients at home and out of the hospital.
Colorado’s focus on the behavioral health sector is part of the company’s reason for expanding into the state. Recently, Colorado dedicated $547 million to behavioral health projects, Nicholas D’Addabbo, vice president of strategy for Innovive Health, said in the announcement.
“With over 82,000 outpatient behavioral health visits in Colorado Springs in 2019 and more than 18% of Colorado Springs adults reporting having experienced a behavioral health disorder in the last year, increasing access to home- and community-based supports for patients with comorbid behavioral and physical illness is imperative,” D’Addabbo said.
Nationally, rates of behavioral health issues have skyrocketed. This is particularly true in the older adult population. More than a quarter of adults ages 65 to 74 report feelings of anxiety or depression, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report.
Substance use disorders are also a significant issue. According to recent CDC data, the rate of deaths from drug overdoses among people 65 and older has tripled over the last two decades.
“This need really exists in every state in the country,” Innovive CEO Joe McDonough told Home Health Care News. “But it’s about a state that’s really focused on really creating an environment where this population can access services. Colorado has a Medicaid program that supports the type of services we provide.”
Innovive will be running its Colorado operations out of Colorado Springs and has already hired a team of nurses. Although the company doesn’t have behavioral health providers on staff, it trains its frontline employees, primarily registered nurses, on how to care for those with SMI and chronic health conditions.
About 90% of the company’s health care staff are registered nurses, while about 10% are licensed practical nurses.
The company is focused on helping patients manage their conditions, and in return, the patients will cost the system less money. Innovive’s service costs about $25,000 a year, which could be substantially cheaper than the average hospitalization cost of $38,000.
“We work within the patient’s home, we look at social determinants,” McDonough told HHCN. “We try to cater this treatment plan to the patient to make sure the patient is as successful as possible. … We can save payer sources roughly $200,000 per year, per patient. And at the same time, create much more positive outcomes and a much better quality of life.”
Innovive uses a cloud-based infrastructure and fully integrated electronic medical record (EMR) to help deliver data-driven care.
While Colorado marks the company’s second state, it’s likely there are other expansion plans for the future.
“We’re definitely in growth mode, and we’re definitely in acquisition mode,” McDonough told Behavioral Health Business in August. “We want to become one of the largest providers of behavioral health services in the country. We’re really looking to revolutionize the behavioral health space throughout the country. It’s definitely ripe for disruption, for sure.”
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