The suit alleges that former and current owners of the homecare providing company misclassified its care workers as independent contractors instead of employees. California’s labor laws and Unfair Competition Law define significant differences between employees and independent contractors. The ABC Test is used for determining the actual status of a worker irrespective of whether a worker has signed on as an independent contractor. Under the ABC test, a worker is considered an independent contractor if the worker is free from the hiring party’s control and direction as related to the performance of the work; the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and the worker customarily engages in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same kind as that of the work performed for the hiring party.
Granite VNA recently held its annual Passion for Caring fundraising event at The Barn at Bull Meadow. The organization's largest fundraiser brought in over $52,000 to support the agency’s home, health and hospice care services across 82 communities in the state. More than 125 Passion for Caring attendees enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and refreshments, and entered bids in the annual silent auction. Now in its 26th year, the Kay Sidway Award is presented annually at the Passion for Caring event to an individual devoted to the education, nurturing and well-being of families in any one of the communities served by Granite VNA. This year's recipient was Boys & Girls.
Two former caregivers allege they were wrongly accused of falsifying patient records and financially exploiting a resident. The two lawsuits involve Rowley Memorial Masonic Home in Perry and the Ankeny company that was hired by Rowley to manage its operations, Continuum Health Care Services. The first of the two cases alleges that Inge Smothers had worked for the Perry nursing home for 15 years as a nurse aide, medication aide and phlebotomist before being forced to resign in 2018.
Bay Area Hospital announced plans last Friday, June 16, to discontinue its home health services on its road to financial recovery. As part of the hospital's financial turnaround plan, it lists the high cost of temporary labor during the pandemic, increased expenses and falling insurance reimbursement rates as the reason they need to eliminate the service. Hospital CEO Brian Moore says Medicare reimbursement rates in particular don't keep pace with inflation. He says the change will reduce costs while increasing efficiency at BAH.
A new home healthcare company will soon make its way to Sumner County residents. Franklin-based company Wesley recently purchased Medical House Calls, a licensed visiting medical practice that provides primary healthcare services to patients in their own homes in Middle Tennessee. Medical House Calls currently services patients in Davidson, Williamson and Rutherford counties, though expansion into Wilson, Sumner and other counties is soon to come, according to a press release.
CareYaya Health Technologies launched in the Raleigh-Durham area in 2022 in collaboration with UNC-Chapel Hill. The company runs a technology platform connecting families in need of elder care with college caregivers. CEO of CareYaya Neal Shah says the business provides caregiving services at an affordable rate for families.