TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Most of our nation’s elderly have one wish – to age successfully and happily in their own homes. In order to do so, however, they often require help with transportation, home safety, meals, medications, and even daily tasks like bathing and dressing.
Achieving that goal is now more attainable with Humana HomeCare Solutions, a first-of-its-kind, fully integrated care management “concierge” service for all consumers that Humana Cares is launching this week at Max-Wellness’ four retail locations in Sarasota and Naples, Fla., and in Cleveland, as well as online at www.max-wellness.com. Additional Humana in-store sites will be added later this year as Max-Wellness expands to new locations.
“Today, close to 40 percent of the Medicare population needs some help in order to stay at home,” said Sandy Markwood, chief executive officer of National Association of the Area Agencies on Aging. “And as 77 million baby boomers reach retirement age over the next 20 years, the need and demand for quality support programs like Humana HomeCare Solutions will continue to rise as well.”
At the heart of Humana HomeCare Solutions is a Humana Cares Manager (HCM) who works one-on-one with clients, as well as their caregivers, to help manage chronic conditions and achieve the highest possible level of quality of life and independence.
HCMs conduct comprehensive in-home assessments, develop care management plans, and use outside partners to deliver services, like home modifications and transportation. HCMs work on-site at Max-Wellness stores, and from home in other locations throughout the United States.
“Comfortably aging at home requires a combination of personal services, home health care and geriatric care management,” said Jean Bisio, Humana Cares president. “Often, people don’t know what’s available and how to get it.”
According to Bisio, another obstacle is that family members remain the key source of help for aging Americans.
“Often times, spouses are experiencing their own issues and adult children are working and raising their own families, some a great distance away,” said Bisio. “Even when close by, without specialized knowledge of how aging manifests, it is difficult to identify the needs of the aging and to locate products and services that enable effective aging at home.”
One example, Bisio said, would be an 82-year-old with congestive heart failure and diabetes living alone in Naples who falls due to loss of balance and whose primary caregiver is a daughter who works full time and has young children. In this case, the HCM, with the help of a care management team, might arrange for home safety modifications, transportation, medications and respite care.
Each Max-Wellness store has a private consultation area where HCMs can meet with potential clients and caregivers. Consultations are available for walk-in or by appointment. For more information, call Humana HomeCare Solutions toll-free at 1-800-579-5116.
Max-Wellness CEO Michael Feuer said, “Our new partnership with Humana is an important step for Max-Wellness to further our goal of providing answers for healthy living for every age group, at every stage of life. The burgeoning senior market wants and needs the services that Humana now offers from Max-Wellness stores, enabling seniors to preserve their quality of life and dignity by living at home in a safe and secure environment.”
Humana Cares is a division of Humana that provides an integrated complex and chronic care management program for approximately 123,000 Humana members across the country. The national program, based in St. Petersburg, combines acute care and chronic care through telephonic and on-site management for the member, their spouse, family and caregiver.
About Humana
Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is one of the nation’s largest publicly traded health and supplemental benefits companies, with approximately 10.2 million medical members, 7.1 million specialty members, and operates more than 300 medical centers and 240 worksite medical facilities. Humana is a full-service benefits and well-being solutions company, offering a wide array of health, pharmacy and supplemental benefit plans for employer groups, government programs and individuals, as well as primary and workplace care through its medical centers and worksite medical facilities.
Over its 50-year history, Humana has consistently seized opportunities to meet changing customer needs. Today, the company is a leader in consumer engagement, providing guidance that leads to lower costs and a better health plan experience throughout its diversified customer portfolio.
More information regarding Humana is available to investors via the Investor Relations page of the company’s web site at www.humana.com, including copies of:
- Annual reports to stockholders;
- Securities and Exchange Commission filings;
- Most recent investor conference presentations;
- Quarterly earnings news releases;
- Replays of most recent earnings release conference calls;
- Calendar of events (including upcoming earnings conference call dates and times, as well as planned interaction with research analysts and institutional investors);
- Corporate Governance information
About Max-Wellness
Max-Wellness, LLC, is a unique and first-of-its-kind retail concept. The company commenced operations in January 2010, opening its first store in suburban Cleveland, Ohio with its mission of delivering "Answers for Healthy Living®" to a new health-conscious America. In the ensuing six months, the retailer added three additional prototype locations: another in Cleveland, and one each in Sarasota and Naples, Florida. Max-Wellness features over 7,000 health and wellness products, for every age group, at every stage of life. Merchandise offerings include a vast assortment of primarily organic vitamins and supplements and "Quality of Life Products" (QLP) for head-to-toe care. These range from skin care, sleep aids and comfort products, to the latest in hot and cold therapies, exercise devices, athletic footwear and orthotics, plus an array of bath and home safety items, and durable medical and mobility equipment.
In addition to merchandise, Max-Wellness is focusing on providing various services in its stores, including those created for the burgeoning senior market. In 2011 the company began its Phase 2 expansion, which includes opening additional retail stores in major markets, launching a comprehensive e-commerce site, www.max-wellness.com, and locating smaller versions of Max-Wellness stores in non-traditional venues.
Max-Wellness was founded by Michael Feuer, its CEO, who also co-founded and was the CEO for 15 years of the international retailer, OfficeMax, which he began with one store in 1988 and grew to a multi-billion dollar company in less than six years.
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