LYNN, Massachusetts—Element Care, a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) and managed care provider for Senior Care Options (SCO), announced the appointment of Anthony Zizza as the organization's new chief medical officer (CMO). Dr. Zizza is a Harvard-trained medical professional of geriatric medicine with more 10 years of experience achieving clinical outcomes for seniors in New England.

Zizza joins Element Care from Optum at Home as chief of longitudinal care, geriatrics and interdisciplinary care with previous experience leading interdisciplinary teams and providing medical care at the PACE Program at Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School. He earned his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and practiced internal medicine as an intern and resident at Tufts Medical Center before completing his fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He also previously served as associate medical director of Compassus Hospice, where he gained experience in delivering end-of-life care. As a former market and regional clinical leader at Landmark Health, he has worked to support value-based care in geriatrics, working to enhance organizations’ success, growth, scalability and efficiency across national teams and shared services in senior care.

“We’re pleased to welcome Dr. Zizza as our new CMO, whose distinguished background in senior care and geriatric medicine will lead Element Care into a new chapter of offering exceptional care for our participants,” said Doug Thompson, CEO at Element Care. “His experience and passion for being a leader in senior care will allow us to help seniors live meaningful, independent lives while receiving coordinated, interdisciplinary health care.”

Currently, Element Care serves over 1,100 PACE participants and 1,850 SCO members across communities in Essex County, Merrimack Valley and Greater Boston. PACE is a federally funded health care program that offers a range of services including preventive, primary, acute and long-term care.

“I’m honored to join a team of leaders that share the same dedication of offering comprehensive, coordinated health care to older adults,” said Zizza. “I’ve spent over a decade deepening my knowledge and leadership skills within clinical senior care working with patients directly and I’m excited to join Element Care to support its mission. I’m looking forward to driving results amongst my team and help lead the organization through its next phase as the needs of seniors continue to evolve.”

LAS VEGAS—ATLAS Technology, a provider of health care technology solutions, announced the addition of Chenna Strange to its revenue cycle management (RCM) team. Strange's official title will be customer experience and support, where she will focus on improving RCM strategies, ensuring existing subscribers maximize the value of ATLAS Technology’s solutions. 

With a background in complex rehab technology and home medical equipment operations, Strange brings her years of experience in revenue cycle optimization, subscriber engagement and workflow improvement. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Chenna to the ATLAS family,” said Bill Paul, CEO, ATLAS Technology. “Her unique ability to bridge technology with operational excellence will help our subscribers gain even more from their partnership with ATLAS.”

 In her new role, Strange will collaborate with subscriber organizations, working to refine processes, identify opportunities for workflow efficiency and drive results that directly impact bottom-line performance. With the addition of Strange, the company said it aims to reaffirm its commitment to delivering innovative solutions and hands-on expertise that help subscribers thrive in today’s challenging health care environment.

WASHINGTON—United States Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) have reintroduced the Telehealth Modernization Act, a bill that would extend telehealth access for Americans enrolled in Medicare through fiscal year 2027. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) are leading the House companion bill.

“Telehealth has been a critical lifeline for millions of people who have come to rely on it," said Schatz. "But we need to act now to make sure that the Medicare expansions for telehealth coverage are extended. Our bill works hand-in-hand with the CONNECT for Health Act by removing unnecessary barriers in Medicare and makes it easier for more beneficiaries to get the care they need through telehealth.”

“Telehealth is a vital part of our health care system, and we must ensure that it is available to patients who need it," said Carter. "By extending telehealth flexibilities for patients, we are making health care more accessible, regardless of their physical location. As a pharmacist, one of my top priorities has been increasing the accessibility and quality of health care; this bill does both, in a bipartisan manner, and paves the way for more patients and providers to use 21st century technology."

Key telehealth provisions that were made available during the pandemic are set to expire on Sept. 30, 2025. According to the senators, the Telehealth Modernization Act would make sure that patients, particularly seniors and those in rural communities, continue to have access to virtual care.

The Telehealth Modernization Act of 2025 would:

• Remove geographic and originating site restrictions to allow patients to access telehealth services from any location.
• Protect access to telehealth for patients in rural communities by allowing audio-only telehealth services for those without internet access or smart devices.
• Expand the use of telehealth by additional physician and non-physician practitioners approved by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
• Waive the requirement that patients be seen in person within six months of receiving telehealth services for mental or behavioral health.
• Allow patients to participate in virtual diabetes prevention programs as part of the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program Expanded Model.
• Allow patients to receive cardiopulmonary rehabilitation services at home.
• Require HHS to share best practices for improving telehealth services for non-English speakers.
• Extend the use of telehealth to meet face-to-face requirements for hospice care and home dialysis.
• Extend the Acute Hospital Care at Home Program to allow patients to receive acute level care at home.

WEST JORDAN, Utah—CareXM, a provider of clinical triage and virtual care coordination solutions for post-acute care, announced the expansion of its leadership team with the addition of two executives and the appointment of a new chief strategy officer. 

Shelley Baker joins as vice president of clinical solutions, Steve Molinari as chief growth officer, and Ellen Kuebrich has been named chief strategy officer (CSO). Together, they bring experience in scaling operations, partnerships and sales across the home health and hospice sector.

“Our business is growing faster than ever, and these leadership additions give us the expertise to deliver unmatched value to our customers and partners,” said Si Luo, CEO of CareXM. “Shelley, Steve and Ellen bring decades of experience and a deep understanding of the post-acute care landscape. Together, they form a customer-obsessed leadership team supporting large-scale home health and hospice providers in achieving excellence in after-hours triage operations, while helping mid-sized, regional providers navigate consolidation without sacrificing patient experience through primary triage support. I have full confidence that this team will help us deepen relationships across the broader post-acute ecosystem and guide providers through the complexity of growing demand and tightening margins.”

Shelley Baker, Vice President of Clinical Solutions

Baker joins CareXM from Enhabit Home Health & Hospice where she served as vice president of care management. With more than 25 years of leadership across clinical operations, she has designed and scaled programs covering triage, virtual care, staff engagement and patient access for tens of thousands of patients annually.

At CareXM, Baker will lead the clinical solutions group, which partners directly with providers to re-engineer clinical workflows, optimize labor models and elevate patient experience. 

Ellen Kuebrich, Chief Strategy Officer

As CSO, Kuebrich will drive ecosystem partnerships and market expansion. By combining the industry’s largest clinical triage dataset with AI-powered decision support and a flexible service model, CareXM is creating a true “digital front door” for home health and hospice. This approach enables providers to achieve scale, cost control and quality simultaneously.

Steve Molinari, Chief Growth Officer

Molinari brings more than two decades of experience building and scaling sales organizations in home health and hospice. Most recently, as senior vice president of sales at Corridor Group, a WellSky portfolio company, he helped drive growth from less than $6 million to more than $100 million in revenue.

At CareXM, Molinari will lead the company’s go-to-market organization, sharpening competitive differentiation and driving adoption of CareXM’s “full life cycle success” model. He said he aims to deepen customer relationships, expand market share and ensure CareXM remains the partner of choice for both enterprise providers and fast-growing regional operators.

“CareXM is at the heart of our industry’s pursuit of balancing patient experience, staff experience and labor allocation - bringing triage, proactive engagement and technology together to help providers scale without compromise,” said Molinari. “CareXM’s technology-differentiated offerings have enabled partnerships with seven of the top ten providers in the industry. I’m honored to join such a talented team at a moment when shaping the future of home health and hospice has never been more critical, particularly in the face of rising costs and reimbursement cuts.”

WASHINGTON—LeadingAge, the United States-based association of nonprofit and mission-driven aging services providers, announced that Marcus Riley, chairman of BallyCara, is the organization's 2025 Award of Honor winner. 

Bestowed by LeadingAge annually over the past 60 years, this year celebrates Riley’s more than two decades of leadership across local, national and global efforts in health, aging and senior living. BallyCara is an Australian charitable organization offering accommodation, health and care services for older adults throughout the state of Queensland and the city of Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

In addition to his work with BallyCara, Riley is a founding director of the Booming Ageing Agency, author of "Booming—A Life‑Changing Philosophy on Ageing Well," and host of the Booming podcast. He served on the Steering Committee of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People, is a past chair of the Global Ageing Network and is currently Focal Point for the Stakeholder Group on Ageing in the Asia-Pacific region. Riley has served numerous international organizations, as well as government boards and peak bodies on a national level.

“Marcus Riley exemplifies the visionary leadership and deep compassion that define the very best of aging services,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge. “His unwavering commitment to inclusive, person-centered care and his global advocacy for older adults have elevated our field and inspired countless others. Through his influential role at the United Nations, where he championed the creation of a binding international convention to protect the rights of older adults, Marcus has helped shape global policy and amplify the voice of aging services providers worldwide. We are proud to honor him with this award—not only for what he has accomplished, but for the values he embodies and the future he continues to shape.”

Riley will be recognized at LeadingAge’s and Global Ageing Network's Annual Meeting in Boston, Mass., on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025.

LOS ANGELES—Playhouse MD, a health care brand focused on pediatric physical wellness through playtime, is now officially available on Amazon.

Partnering with McKesson Medical-Surgical, a subsidiary of McKesson Corporation and a medical distributor and online seller of medical supplies and health care solutions, Playhouse MD's doctor-designed, kid-inspired medical devices are now available to millions of families across the country.

"We started Playhouse MD to transform the way families experience sick days by making play a central part of care," says Michael Kamins, co-Founder and COO of Playhouse MD. "Our partnership with McKesson Medical-Surgical allows us to scale that mission and launching on Amazon unlocks an entirely new level of access and visibility. It enables us to reach families faster and expand our impact nationwide."

Playhouse MD was created to make at-home care moments more engaging by blending clinical function with playful, character-led design to help kids build positive associations with health care.

The company said it is also the first play-based pediatric brand within McKesson Medical-Surgical's portfolio, which includes more than 300,000 products. The company delivers e-commerce solutions for health, medical and wellness brands through Simply Medical, its marketplace acceleration group.

"We are always looking for innovative products to add to our portfolio. What Playhouse MD has created combines clinical integrity with an imaginative design and brings a fresh, meaningful approach to pediatric care," said Stanton McComb, president of McKesson Medical-Surgical. "We are excited to be the exclusive distributor of Playhouse MD products on Amazon, helping to advance health care outcomes for families across the country."

NEWARK, New Jersey—A Florida man was sentenced to prison for allegedly laundering the proceeds of a health care fraud and kickback scheme involving durable medical equipment (DME) that caused millions of dollars in losses to Medicare and other insurance providers.

Thomas Farese, 83, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by 6 months of home confinement. Farese previously pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz charged him with money laundering.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Farese allegedly invested in a DME supply company that was owned and operated by Aaron Williamsky, Nadia Levit and others involved in a large-scale health care fraud and kickback scheme that involved billing Medicare and other insurers for DME—including orthotic knee, elbow and back braces—that the receiving patients did not want or need. 

In April 2019, Williamsky, Levit and others were arrested and charged for their roles in the scheme. Farese allegedly learned of their arrests and fraudulent conduct shortly thereafter and communicated about it with his business partner, Patsy Truglia, who has been convicted for his role in the scheme. According to court documents, Farese then received into his bank account $495,000 in proceeds of the scheme.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Farbiarz sentenced Farese to three years of supervised release (including the 6 months of home confinement) and to pay $1.3 million in restitution to the victims. Judge Farbiarz also ordered forfeiture of $495,000, which constituted proceeds of the health care fraud scheme.

COLUMBIA, Maryland—AbsoluteCare, a provider of value-based integrated health care, shared insights from its latest white paper, "Beyond Medicine: The Cost-saving Power of Addressing Social Drivers of Health." The paper revealed that certain social determinants of health, such as housing, transportation and even zip code, can lead to higher hospital admissions and health care issues. Another key component of the paper was how AbsoluteCare is tackling these issues.

"At AbsoluteCare, we believe in going beyond medicine—that addressing social determinants of health is not just a moral imperative but also a smart investment," said Mike Radu, CEO of AbsoluteCare. "The cost savings underscore the importance of our holistic approach to health care, which prioritizes the whole person and their unique circumstances. By helping our members with their most pressing needs, we're reducing their reliance on the emergency department and hospital use for support that can come proactively from elsewhere."

"In addition to traditional medical care, we look beyond medicine by screening for social drivers of health, identifying necessary resources using a strength-based approach, ensuring members access the resources and empowering the member to establish their path to sustainability," said Faith Tarver, vice president of behavioral health at AbsoluteCare. "This approach allows us to co-create care plans that honor each member's unique journey and empower them to achieve long-term health and independence."

Through targeted interventions, community and not-for-profit partnerships and wraparound support, AbsoluteCare explained how it tackles challenges such as food insecurity, unstable housing and limited access to transportation—factors that often stand between vulnerable populations and lasting health outcomes. One of their strategies for addressing immediate social needs is the AbsoluteCare's Member Fund—a self-funded account established in each AbsoluteCare market to support members when community-based resources aren't directly or readily available.

Through the Member Fund, AbsoluteCare provided 2,753 instances of direct assistance to 762 members from 2022 to 2024, supporting needs such as durable medical equipment, housing, transportation and more. AbsoluteCare said simple things like cell phone minutes to connect with care teams, a government ID to unlock services or an Uber ride to an appointment can make the biggest difference. Every $1 invested delivered a $13 cost savings, driven by reduced avoidable utilization—a 16% reduction in the monthly total cost of care, according to AbsoluteCare. 

DALLAS—Homecare Homebase (HCHB), a software provider for home-based care, has been named an approved software vendor for Interim HealthCare franchises, a nationwide homecare company in the United States. Approved software vendor status enables Interim HealthCare's franchise partners to use HCHB's software platform with various supportive products and services. 

"We are proud to select Homecare Homebase as an approved software vendor," said Rexanne Domico, president and CEO of Interim HealthCare. "As a well-established leader in home-based care, we aim to work with the best vendors. The early success we have seen through this partnership with HCHB speaks to the importance of aligning with a trusted industry leader that shares our vision to enhance the quality of life for our patients and their families." 

HCHB's all-in-one software received approved status following an extensive vendor analysis. This process included an evaluation of HCHB's electronic health records (EHR) solutions, ensuring they support agency growth, maintain compliance with national and state regulations and minimize the disruption agencies face with system replacements.

"We are honored to be selected as an approved software vendor for Interim HealthCare franchises," said Hannah Pearson, chief revenue officer at HCHB. "Interim's vendor evaluation process reflects the same principles we operate under, driving growth, ensuring compliance and delivering innovative technology to improve patient outcomes. Providing organizations with the tools needed to streamline operations and ultimately improve patient care is at the heart of our mission, and we look forward to continuing to support Interim's growing network of care."

With advances in technology, Interim said its approval process prioritizes solutions that provide accessible data and leverage artificial intelligence to improve agency efficiency and accuracy. Interim also said it revisits its evaluation methodology annually to ensure its franchise partners have access to the most current EHR vendors.

Using HCHB's platform, franchises can share real-time information between caregivers and patients, streamline clinical and administrative workflows and facilitate steady cash flow.

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky—LogicMark, Inc., a provider of personal emergency response systems (PERS), health communication devices and technology for the care economy, announced the launch of medication reminders in its Freedom Alert Max technology. The company said medication management integrated directly into a medical alert device decreases the need for seperate smartphone apps and providing a safety solution for seniors and their caregivers.

LogicMark's Freedom Alert Max is a PERS that provides 24/7 monitoring and emergency assistance both at home and on-the-go. The device features fall detection, geofencing, emergency caregiver video, GPS location tracking, two-way communication and now medication management—all in a single, wearable device. Medication reminders are now available on all Freedom Alert Max devices.

The new medication reminders allow users or caregivers to enter multiple medications and detailed dosage information through the Care Village app. Notifications and clear dosage instructions are then received directly on the Freedom Alert Max device. Users can confirm they have taken their medication or select "remind me later" for flexible scheduling. If someone fails to respond to a reminder, the system automatically logs this information in LogicMark's backend system. This data is then processed through patented Care Processing technology, which analyzes patterns that could contribute to potential falls or emergencies.

Medication reminders enhance LogicMark's care processing technology by gathering data regarding falls and emergency calls, while processing it using proprietary artificial intelligence (AI). This data establishes a baseline user wellness profile via patent-pending Care Village Digital Twin technology. Through the digital twin, LogicMark is building a back-end mirror image of its users. The technology enables care processing to recognize patterns across individuals and generate the prediction of potential fall risks before actual falls or emergencies happen.

"We're revolutionizing the medical alert industry by integrating essential health management tools directly into our devices," said Chia-Lin Simmons, CEO of LogicMark. "This is the future of senior care—proactive, integrated and incredibly powerful. For the first time, seniors don’t need to juggle multiple devices or apps to stay safe and manage their health. Our Freedom Alert Max serves as their complete health and safety companion. With the addition of AI and Care Village Digital Twin technology, we can analyze medication patterns alongside fall and emergency call data. This will support the prediction and prevention of potential poor health outcomes such as falls before they happen."