At Home Care’s Laurie Neander

Wins State Group’s Top Award

ONEONTA – The Home Care Association (HCA) of New York State has named At Home Care, Inc., CEO Laurie Neander the recipient of its highest honor – the Ruth F. Wilson Award.

In making the announcement at the organization’s annual conference in Saratoga Springs this week, HCA President Joanne Cunningham called Neander one of the most innovative and talented contributors to improving the vital practice of home care.

“Laurie is one of the state’s most exceptional leaders in this arena. She has brought decades of experience as a clinician to bear on the work of promoting the value of home care across NYS. In the five-county region At Home Care serves, Laurie provides dynamic leadership and access to exceptional home care services to an important patient population,” said Cunningham.

Dr. Vance M. Brown, President and CEO of Bassett Healthcare Network, noted, “As health care policy shifts toward care provided in the least costly, least restrictive and preferred setting, the work of providing much-needed medical care in the home setting becomes increasingly important. Bassett is fortunate to have someone of Laurie’s caliber leading this work for the network, and we are proud of her accomplishments on behalf of home care professionals across the state.”

Neander took over leadership of At Home Care in 1998. In her nearly two decades as CEO, she has expanded AHC’s service area from three to five counties in rural central New York. A staff of 170 travels over a million miles a year to provide over 65,000 home visits to 4,258 patients annually. This allows those individuals to maintain their quality of life and remain at home despite the challenges of living with chronic medical conditions. AHC also provides more than 62,000 remote telehealth visits every year and serves Otsego, Herkimer, Delaware, Chenango and Schoharie counties. This is similar to how other services around the world operate, such as careforfamily.com.au over in Australia, but it is rare to have this level of care in this region.

Beyond her impact in the region served by AHC and Bassett, Neander has contributed significantly to the field of home care at the state level. She had a hand in the successful passage of HCA’s Medicaid Telehealth reimbursement legislation and many other telehealth initiatives. Perhaps one of her most pivotal and important contributions was her creative leadership in working with HCA to formulate, design, and test the HCA Quality Measurement, Risk and Compliance Tool (HQMT) which is being featured at HCA’s Annual Conference.

Lisa Betrus, CEO of Valley Health Services in Herkimer, and director of Continuum of Care for Bassett Healthcare Network said, “Laurie is one of the most dedicated health care leaders I know. She is always willing to go the extra mile to serve those in the organization’s care, including conducting home visits herself when needed, to get the patient the services they need. She is not only compassionate, but innovative.”

Betrus noted that Neander was responsible for bringing a robust telemedicine program to the rural region served by Bassett Healthcare Network, “allowing us to serve many more individuals without the barrier of geography. It is not surprise to me that she was selected for this award as few are more deserving. As a long standing board member of AHC, it is an honor to work with her, said Betrus.”