At Home Harmony’s doctors, nurses and personal care aides provide in-home health services to the elderly. (Courtesy At Home Harmony)
A Richmond-area startup offering in-home health services for seniors has just locked down a sizable new capital stack.
At Home Harmony recently completed a roughly $5 million capital round, geared toward growing its clinical team and launching a new program through Medicare.
Founded in 2022, the company offers primary care visits, remote health monitoring, personal care and pain management to elderly patients in their own homes.
It has described itself in recent years as an option for seniors with significant medical needs to maintain their health while they age in place, though the company also serves some customers who live in assisted or independent living centers.
Founder Will Saunders, 56, said the latest capital raise came to just over $5 million and comprises three institutional funds, as well as several individual investors, friends and family and some funds from Saunders himself.
The institutional funds are Chicago, Illinois-headquartered Ziegler Link-age Funds, Tennessee-based Claritas Capital and North Carolina-based Pisgah Fund.
“(The three funds) only invest in healthcare. … These are folks who are very knowledgeable about the space, and I think that kind of speaks for itself in terms of them backing us,” Saunders said.
Part of the capital is going toward launching a new Medicare program that At Home Harmony was accepted into earlier this year and announced this week.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, or CMS, announced this week that At Home Harmony is one of about 80 U.S. organizations to participate in a 10-year voluntary Accountable Care Organization, or ACO, initiative, aimed at providing more care for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries.
Saunders said At Home Harmony has been working toward the creation of its own ACO for several years, adding that the company already participates in CMS’ GUIDE model, a Medicare program that covers the costs of dementia care and services.
Most of At Home Harmony’s existing services, except for personal care, are already covered by Medicare.
Will Saunders
Saunders said that under the new program, CMS waives certain regulations, allowing At Home Harmony to provide services such as nutrition and transportation to patients. Patients must qualify for the ACO based on their health conditions and medical history.
At Home Harmony has a contract with CMS for the ACO now, with coverage under the program set to begin Jan. 1.
“They do require us to post reserves and prove we have the financial capital to do this,” Saunders said.
He said the funds from At Home Harmony’s most recent round will go toward building out the ACO, as well as adding a few more team members.
“The capital is meant to kind of launch our ACO, and at the same time, continue to build out our clinical team,” Saunders said. “It’s simply just starting the care model, getting the clinicians engaged, getting our initial census and just building up the foundation of something.”
At Home Harmony provides services in the greater central Virginia area, as well as Lynchburg and Asheville, North Carolina. It has seen more than 6,000 patients in the central Virginia region to date.
The company has more than 200 full-time employees, including three physicians, around 16 “advanced practice-providers” such as nurse practitioners and physicians assistants, 35 nurses, five pharmacists and five dementia specialists.
Saunders said he believes more organizations and patients are becoming interested in the company’s at-home care model, noting that other healthcare providers who are trusted by patients are often who At Home Harmony markets itself to.
“What we’re doing is unique. … HCA and Bon Secours are increasingly … embracing our model in terms of referring people to us,” he said.
Saunders said, to date, the company has “invested over $20 million in our model.”
At Home Harmony’s headquarters are located at 1504 Santa Rosa Road in Henrico.
The company was originally named Synergy Healthcare and rebranded shortly after its launch. Saunders, who has years of experience in the healthcare industry, founded and later sold healthcare provider AllyAlign Health before he started At Home Harmony.
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