Home Health and Hospice Create Independence at Home

Posted: Nov. 2, 2017

Washington, DC, October 31, 2017 — November is National Home Care and Hospice Month and agencies and caregivers across the United States are raising awareness about the unique and irreplaceable value of health care delivered in the home. Home health care is high-quality care that empowers patients to take control of their own care and treatment while remaining independent and at home, where 90 percent of Americans want to be while dealing with chronic illness.

Home care provides compassionate, personalized, and technologically advanced health care to millions of Americans every year. The people who work in home care are uniquely devoted to the health and well-being of their patients, a fact demonstrated by the 7.6 billion miles home care providers traveled in 2016 alone to provide quality care in the home. Home Care Aide Week takes place November 12-18 and we hope everyone will join us in honoring these compassionate, tireless workers who play an invaluable role for their clients as caregivers, companions, and friends.

”Home care and hospice services are critical to our health care system today and will be even more important in the years to come,” said William A. Dombi, President of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC). “Every day, nearly two million dedicated caregivers provide essential services to over 12 million vulnerable seniors, persons with disabilities, and children in their homes. We call upon all Americans to honor the power and value of home care and hospice and to applaud the hard work and sacrifice made by these caregivers every day across America.”

With ten thousand Americans turning 65 every day, the need for health care will continue to rise, and costs will continue to skyrocket. Not only is home care the preferred choice for the vast majority of Americans, it also offers the greatest cost savings. For example, Medicare pays nearly $2,000 per day for a typical hospital stay and about $450 per day for a typical nursing home stay. Home care, however, often costs less than $100 per visit and permits patients to remain at home, with their families and loved ones. Home care helps the many U.S. seniors who live at home to stay independent, enrich their lives, and keep in touch with their communities and those they love.

Throughout November NAHC and home care and hospice providers will wage a public campaign to inform the public and policymakers about the impact of home health and hospice on the people in their communities and the value it brings to the entire country. We will have key facts, images, videos and articles about home care and hospice you can view and distribute on social media to spread the message.

For more information about the home care, hospice, Home Care & Hospice Month, Home Care Aide Week (November 12-18, 2017), and NAHC, visit nahc.org.

It's Not Too Late To RSVP For HCAC's Town Hall Meeting In Fort Collins This Wednesday, Oct. 11 

Please join association leaders, member and non-member agencies and invited guests to this informal gathering in Fort Collins on Wednesday, October 11, (rescheduled from September 20) from 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. at Pathways Hospice, 305 Carpenter Road, Fort Collins, CO 80525, in the McKee Room (big room right behind the front desk when you come in the building).

We want to hear from both our members and non-members, in a casual setting, what your challenges and concerns are and how we can work together to find solutions. We are inviting all providers in this area and surrounding communities to join us. Here’s what you can expect…an update on association activities and what we are doing on behalf of Colorado’s home care and home health industries, discussion on current administration and issues affecting home health care, private duty update, legislative update by HCAC lobbyists, membership, committee and conference updates. And of course, we’ll have time for Q&A.

Click here to RSVP.

Final Conditions of Participation Lunch & Learn Webinar This Thursday On QAPI With Donna Floyd

The final webinar in this CoP series is this Thursday, Oct. 12 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Register Here! 

Donna Floyd, RN, BSN, Home Care Consultant and co-owner of The Crag Business Group, will present this last of three 90 minute webinars (11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.) on CoPs and the number of key changes that will impact home health agencies. This Thursday's webinar topic is: QAPI - Invite your Governing Body Members.

HCAC members pay $79/webinar; purchase all three and pay $213 (10% discount)
Non-members pay $149/webinar

Register Here

Full Day Emergency Preparedness In-Person Workshop, Monday, Oct. 23 

Space is limited so register soon!

October 23, 2017
8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. 

Where: 2821 S. Parker Road, Aurora, Colo.
Cost: HCAC members pay $175; non-members pay $250
Presenter: Jennifer Gibson, RN, HCS-D, COS-C; Senior Clinical Consultant, Axxess 

Emergencies and disasters can occur at any time. Does your home health agency have an “active” Emergency Preparedness (EP) plan in place that accounts for all the possible incidents for which you are at risk? Are your staff members properly trained for responding and coordinating the care of the patient population that you serve?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued newly updated regulation for emergency preparedness on September 8, 2016 with a compliance date of November 16, 2017 or face stiff penalties. Included in the new regulation are requirements for an all hazard approach to assessing vulnerabilities for the agency and community it serves, as well as plans to overcome these potential problems. The new Emergency Preparedness regulation mandates individualized patient assessments as part of the comprehensive assessment, annual review and updates of the EP plan, and requires the agency to participate in a community-based disaster drill in addition to the annual desktop drill.

Audience
This coding seminar is for those who have management positions in a home health agency, including: Administrators, Directors of Nursing, Clinical Directors, Quality Assurance Performance Improvement Staff, Field Staff Supervisors, Therapy Directors

The Emergency Preparedness plan has always been an important part of an agency’s daily function, but is now tied to the Medicare and Medicaid Conditions of Participation (COP). Agencies who are not prepared face stiff penalties, including exclusion from participation in Medicare and Medicaid funded programs. Attending this seminar will assist in validating your current EP and better prepare to maintain and enhance compliance.

Continued Education Credits
This program has been designed to meet the continuing education requirements of the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for 7 CEUs.

Click here for more information and to register.