Bickford Senior Living joins an alliance to bring value-based care to some of its communities

In an effort to provide personalized care while improving outcomes for its residents, Bickford Senior Living announced Wednesday that it has joined the Serviam Care Network’s Value-Based Care Alliance to bring the value-based care model to its Virginia communities.

Through the alliance, Bickford aims to improve the quality of care while improving health outcomes and reducing costs. The partnership will integrate Serviam’s HigherPath.^TM According to the organizations, the alliance aims to provide a personalized, efficient and effective operating system.

Initially, five communities with a total of more than 300 residents will participate, but Bickford said McKnights Senior Living that the company is in the process of expanding its efforts to its entire portfolio of 58 communities in eight states.

“Elder care today is reactive, expensive and isolated. It is a nursing system, not a health system, designed to keep seniors healthy,” Bickford CEO Andy Eby said in a statement. “We are taking the road less traveled and advocating for a higher standard of elder care.”

Justin Stein, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Bickford, said: McKnights Senior Living that the company’s commitment to value-based care is rooted in its founding mission and the care of its first resident, Mary Bickford, the grandmother of the ownership group.

“Bickford was founded to care for her, and since then we have been committed to caring for all of our residents as if they were family,” Stein said. “Mary deserves better, and so do our current and future residents.”

Curana Health, a value-based clinical care company, and Serviam — with a network that includes 41 operators in 49 states — formed the alliance last year. The coalition of senior living operators and care teams — including primary care physicians, therapists, technology partners and a payer — is focused on delivering better health outcomes at a lower cost.

The value-based care model focuses on preventive care, disease management and coordinated health services. Serviam CEO Tim Donnelly said in a press release that the alliance will create a healthcare environment that promotes residents’ well-being, independence and dignity.

Eby said the partnership with Serviam’s Value-Based Care Alliance is a “significant step toward revolutionizing elder care in Virginia.”

Since Serviam implemented the value-based care model in some communities in 2022, Bickford reported “remarkable” improvements, including a 55% decrease in falls with injuries, a 10% decrease in weekly emergency department visits and no medication errors. Bickford and Serviam said the results underscore the effectiveness of the value-based care model in improving resident safety and health.