Gene Gantt on outcomes: ‘We have to quit thinking about borders'

LIVINGSTON, Tenn. – Gene Gantt has been talking about outcomes since before they were even a thing. Now, as president and CEO of Eventa, he’s providing quality oversight of ventilator and trach patients in nursing homes and working to get these services paid for. 

“We’re getting ready to launch in four states working with Medicaid to help improve their long-term care ventilator programs,” he said. “Here in Tennessee, they have a greater than 50% wean rate in a nursing home setting and a 50% de-cannulation rate, so it’s a highly successful program with good outcomes for members and saves the state a lot of money.” 

Gantt will speak at the Smoky Mountain Symposium, an educational event for sleep and respiratory professionals that takes place Nov. 2-4, both in-person in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and virtually. 

HME News: Your session is called “Post-Acute Care Without Borders.” What does that mean? 

Gene Gantt: We have to quit thinking about borders for what we do – things are much more advanced than in the past. We can do what we do in almost any circumstance and have positive outcomes, whether in a regular nursing home or in the home. We can be successful because we have the right equipment and the right personnel in place. The problem is the DMEs have never been paid for any of the clinical services and as a result many have backed off. 

HME: You’ve seen a lot of changes in respiratory care over the years. What stands out, good or bad? 

Gantt: When hospitals started being paid by diagnosis-related groups, it was detrimental because hospitals began doing a lot less trying to get patients discharged faster. RTs saw a downturn in our work, which is the opposite of what should have happened. My brother and I started marketing ourselves to SNFs to show them how to make money by having RTs in place. We were looking at outcomes before that was even a thing. 

HME: Do you think we are seeing a shift toward more patient-focused care? 

Gantt: I do think so. We have done a request for information from one of our payers to all the DMEs in their network. We have looked at the services they provide and we are shaping a potential pay-for-performance model for home health, as well as DMEs, that perform better than most. If we can get these companies paid for outcomes and get them of the mindset to monitor outcomes, everybody will benefit: the payer, the patient and the provider.