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Vna Tip Homecare St. Louis MO Marketing Plan Marketing Plan

Business Review of VNA-TIP Homecare Home healthcare and hospice providers pride themselves on their ability to provide the best quality care to the most needy patients. The mission of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) is "to support, promote and advance nonprofit providers of homecare, community health and hospice to ensure quality care for their communities" (2010). This mission is the goal of hundreds of home healthcare providers around the country. Hospice is a service that supplies an even greater need. This service is provided, through Medicare funding, to individuals who are terminal and have a doctor estimated less than six months to live. Both of these services are primarily the purview of non-profit groups funded by donation and government grants. There are very few such companies which operate on a for-profit basis.

One of those companies is the subject of this review. It is important to note that one of the guiding principles of the VNAA is that they "support…nonprofit providers." This seems like a good business model because nonprofit companies are seen by many as more compassionate since they do not wish to take a profit from the individuals they serve. However, as will be seen by the profit-seeking model of VNA-TIP, nonprofits are not the only organization types which can provide quality healthcare and hospice services. In actuality, the profit model may be the best possible alternative for small healthcare organizations which are seeing donations decline rapidly.

General Business

Sales

Exact sales figures for this business are not available because it is a privately held. The website did not offer any information other than that the company is in a "100% debt free position. With such unusual leverage, the company has the extraordinary capacity to acquire an eight (8) figure acquisition opportunity or pursue a sizable merger opportunity" (VNA-TIP). This means that the company is relatively secure in its position, whereas comparable companies that operate with part of their capital coming from donations or grants, may have taken a financial hit in the last few years. VNA-TIP is able to operate completely free from the influence of both outside investors and influence from charitable givers. Also, this communication tells the potential client that VNA-TIP has such a secure business model that when acquires another...

This not only adds to the profitability of the company, but it increases the quality options that they can offer their clients.
Markets

The company began operations in southern Illinois and has since expanded to eastern Missouri. The company is a visiting nurses association which means that it is a healthcare organization that "provides care for all individuals regardless of complexity of illness or ability to pay" (VNAA). The company also provides hospice services. Both of these services will be further detailed below.

Trends

This is a company that has been growing since it entered the healthcare market in 1917. Recently it has acquired several smaller companies which have made the company the largest in eastern Missouri and southern Illinois, and these acquisitions have expanded its base of services. Acquired VNA of Illinois in 1999 and TIP healthcare of southern Illinois in 2001. In 2005 the company acquired a vaccination business that also offers phlebotomy. VNA-TIP has over 30 branches, that offer a variety of services, and they service 58 MO and IL counties.

Products/Services

VNA-TIP lists all of the services that they provide in their website, and they explain what each of the services entails. The hospice services that the company provides include "on-call RNs, in-services offered by the hospice director, chaplains available, social workers and volunteers to visit families" (VNA-TIP). The company also is a primary provider of private pay services. In general, this means that the company accepts private healthcare insurance payments, group healthcare payments or personal funds for certain services. The services offered are: Premier Care -- in home care and on-call assistance; Private Duty -- "a combination of supportive services, personal care assistance, and healthcare" (VNA-TIP); Private Care -- "bridges the gap between independent living and institutional care" (VNA-TIP); Personal Care -- certified nurses' aides will provide personal care; Skilled Nursing; and, Rehab Services -- physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Another service choice that VNA-TIP offers is that of IV infusion. These are services that are generally conducted in a clinic by trained nurses and physicians. However the company does offer home visits for some of the…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

BBB. Better Business Review of VNA TIP Home Care. Better Business Bureau, 2010. Web.

St. Louis Business Journal. "TIP Healthcare buys Doctor's Preferred's Vaccination Business." St. Louis Business Journal, 2005, 12 April. Web.

VNA-TIP. "About Us." VNA-TIP, 2010. Web.

VNAA. "About the VNAA." Visiting Nurse Associations of America. Web.
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