HCR ManorCare

HCR ManorCare has a somewhat intricate, if not downright interesting, history.

In 1982, the Owens-Illinois Glass Company (O-I) — formed some 60 years earlier with the merger of the world’s largest manufacturer of glass containers and a manufacturer of glass products for the medical industry — created a healthcare group with the hopes of expanding operations beyond the manufacturing sector.

That same year, the group would invest in Health Group, Inc. (HGI), a hospital management group and owner of several nursing homes, thus igniting an interest that would result in three acquisitions over the next eight years to turn O-I into a leading skilled nursing provider with 135 facilities and more than 17,500 beds.

In 1991, Health Care and Retirement Corporation (HCR) was created to purchase O-I’s healthcare businesses and seven years later acquired large nursing home company Manor Care, Inc., becoming the largest skilled nursing provider in the country with annual revenues exceeding $2 billion.

By 2008, revenues had more than doubled, and when HCR ManorCare sold 338 nursing and assisted living facilities to a real estate investment trust three years later, the assets were valued at more than $6 billion.

Today, HCR ManorCare manages those assets that were sold, but it’s as part of the ProMedica organization, which acquired HRC in 2018 to help form the 15th-largest healthcare system in the U.S.

The ProMedica organization, which also includes senior housing real investment trust Welltower, operates a $7 billion health network that has 70,000 employees in 30 states.

CIRCLE OF CARE

Staff members are vital to the overall success of HCR ManorCare. But putting employees in a position to provide the type of care that characterizes an HCR community does not happen by accident.

For more than 30 years, the company has relied upon its Circle of Care program to give employees at any level — from new associates to managers and clinical personnel — the tools they need to sustain a certain level of excellence.

Three distinct Circle of Care workshops exist to specifically address the unique needs of different employee types, but the common benefits they provide bond employees together across the entire company:

  • Cultivation of the skills needed to provide better caregiving consistently
  • Preparation for the various real-life scenarios that occur in any community
  • Encouragement to feel confident in themselves and the career path they have chosen

Ultimately, the Circle of Care program is not only practical, but symbolic. Employees of HCR ManorCare pass skills on to one another and the cycle repeats itself in a loop that continually improves the care provided to patients.

Perhaps, then, it should come as no surprise that nearly 10,000 HCR employees have performed 10 or more years of service, including nearly 500 who have served for more than 30 years.

TREATING WIDE RANGE OF PATIENTS

HCR ManorCare centers nationwide are qualified and staffed to administer a large variety of care options to patients, many of whom return home and resume active lives after a short stay.

For those who require additional assistance, HCR ManorCare provides long-term care services.

The services at HCR consist of the following:

  • Skilled nursing and rehabilitation
  • Memory care
  • Hospice care
  • Palliative care
  • Home health care
  • Assisted and independent living

Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation

The goal of HCR’s skilled nursing units is to help the patient recover and return to his or her home as quickly as possible. The staff members are thoroughly trained to treat complex conditions and then administer treatment using an array of highly specialized rehabilitation equipment.

Memory Care

Memory services to treat residents diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia are available at select HCR communities, as well as at some nursing facilities.

The memory care team has extensive experience treating the following forms of dementia:

  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Early-onset dementia
  • Lewy body dementia
  • Frontotemporal dementia
  • Mild cognitive impairment
  • Mixed dementia
  • Parkinson’s disease dementia
  • Vascular dementia

Hospice Care

Times that require hospice services can be hard for the patient and loved ones, but HCR seeks to make life a little bit easier for everyone involved. A fully immersive care approach combines palliative disease management and control of symptoms with spiritual support and family educational resources.

Palliative Care

Palliative services seek to make more comfortable and enjoyable the lives of those who suffer from chronic illness but are not yet ready to undergo hospice care. The medical practice division at HCR provides such patients with a heightened level of care through an integrated mix of pain management, emotional health practices, and goal planning.

Home Health Care

The benefits of care administered from within a patient’s home, that of a loved one, or another familiar location are many. Home health care services are typically much more affordable for a patient or their loved ones, yet the quality of care is just as high as that which takes place in a hospital or skilled nursing facility. Regardless of where home health care services take place, the ultimate goal is to restore the patient’s independence and self-sufficiency.

Assisted and Independent Living

HCR recognizes that many people of retirement age greatly value their independence but still long for the added freedom that comes with no longer having to worry about mundane tasks each day, like cooking, cleaning, or running errands. Many HCR communities offer assisted and independent living services that make such a balance possible, providing residents with full autonomy but also amenities when they want them, such as daily meals, a variety of activities, and upscale living.