The Home Care Alliance of MA put together a COP Task Force consisting of an expert team of home health professionals. This task force developed guidelines to assist Home Health Agencies with the understanding on the new standards in order to stay in compliance.
Hundreds of home health colleagues, industry experts and the leading home heath products and service vendors will be at the ninth annual New England Home Care & Hospice Conference and Trade Show at the Sea Crest Beach Hotel in Falmouth, Massachusetts, June 5-7, 2019.
We are planning another great event on the shores of Cape Cod next June. Mark your calendars and keep up with all the conference news by subscribing to our blog, following us on Facebook or on Twitter.
The conference is designed for senior and mid-level administrative and clinical staff. The conference features multiple keynote sessions, workshops, and intensive programs. Topics are designed to meet the needs of all agencies, including Medicare-certified, private duty, and hospices. The trade show is the largest home health and hospice expo in the Northeast.
(Each issue of our weekly eNewsletter, Update, opens with a brief message from Pat Kelleher, reprinted below. To learn more about the news, events, legislative and regulatory updates, and career opportunities highlighted each week for our members, contact HCA Membership Coordinator Tom Meyer).
Alliance Exec. Dir. Pat Kelleher
The saying “elections have consequences” is thrown around a lot these days as a rallying cry to various constituencies to get to the polls on a specific issue, be it health care, gun ownership, or immigration. Many a TV pundit has used it in relation to – and on either side of – the coming Supreme Court confirmation battle. It’s an interesting footnote to history that the saying only entered the lexicon when uttered by our 44th President Barack Obama in a meeting very early in his presidency with Congressional Republicans who were not on board his economic plans for the country.
This is a good time to remind everyone that we have a primary election coming up in MA the Tuesday after Labor Day and a final election on Nov 6. The degree of influence our state and federal officials have over our industry, including who gets care, how it is paid for and regulated is tremendous. Anything you can do to engage with them to help them better understand what we do is important and helpful. Let your officials know who you are and that you vote!
HCA of MA will be in Washington DC in mid-September with our colleagues from other state associations to discuss federal policy issues. In the next few months, we are working with some member agencies to host membership forums on Question 1, the nurse staff ratio question. These sessions so far are scheduled for:
September 4
VNA Care, Worcester
September 18
Home Health VNA, Lawrence
September 24
NVNA & Hospice, Norwell
If you would like to host a session, please contact Jake Krilovich.
Minute Women Home Care’s Ryan McEniff joins us to talk about the challenges of running a private home care agency in today’s economy and how families can ensure they get the best care.
Ryan McEniff
How did a “big, six-foot-six, burly guy” become the owner of Minute Women Home Care? For the seventh episode of the Talking Home Care podcast, Pat Kelleher talks with Ryan McEniff about what it takes to run a successful private home care agency. Topics include:
Ryan’s personal story about entering the industry;
The challenges (and opportunities) of transitioning from family to paid home care;
How home care can restore clients’ work/life balance;
Whether home care can remain affordable to middle-class families in a bustling economy;
Why finding (and keeping) the best staff is sometimes a bigger challenge than attracting clients;
Going the extra mile to protect clients with national background checks;
The single most important question all families should ask when choosing an agency for their loved ones (jump ahead to 34’35” to find out); and
You may listen to the podcast by clicking the play button above, downloading it directly, or subscribing through iTunes or Google Play. (Length: 37 minutes; Size: 18 MB). If you enjoyed it, please give us a five-star review so others can find it as well.
Guest: Ryan McEniff has been the owner of Minute Women Home Care since 2013. He became passionate about home care when his mother needed care while battling cancer. He is also a Certified Dementia Practitioner and the host of The Caregiver’s Toolbox podcast.
This exhaustive, timely guide gives you all the tools to ensure you make informed decisions about hiring, keeping, and compensating home health staff in Massachusetts.
The 2018 Compensation Survey is an indispensable tool for c-suite staff and HR managers, proving a quick and accurate reference of industry pay standards for your employees.
The survey contains information about prevailing pay and benefits for the full range of positions in home care agencies. It lists pay and benefits figures for dozens of positions, including: executive, administrative, supervisory, care giving, and clerical positions.
The survey is available for purchase on our website for $400 for members, $500 for non-members (members who participated in the survey should have received coupon codes with an additional discount). Make sure you have the tools you need to make the best decisions for you and your staff.
The full survey is over 200 pages. To get a sense of the available information, click the sample pages above.
Exact Recruiting’s Eric Scharber joins us for a discussion about how to recruit and retain the best workforce from every age-group.
Eric Scharber
For the sixth episode of the Talking Home Care podcast, Pat Kelleher talks recruiting and retention with Eric Scharber, a principal of Exact Recruiting. Topics include:
The advantages to employers of focusing on retention as much as recruiting
How small changes in retention can make a real difference to an agency’s bottom line
Why offering staff development is sometimes more important than pay increases
The challenges (and opportunities) of hiring Millennials
How to get graduating nurses and therapists to consider careers in home care and hospice
The specific challenges of retaining non-medical caregivers such as CNAs and home health aides
You may listen to the podcast by clicking the play button above, downloading it directly, or subscribing through iTunes or Google Play. (Length: 28’30”; Size: 15 MB).
Guest: Eric Scharber is a principal at Exact Recruiting, a Simione Talent Solution, where he leads talent acquisition and employee retention for the home care and hospice industry. He oversees executive search and non-executive recruiting services, as well as recruitment process outsourcing, compensation analysis, and employee satisfaction survey services.
Now in its 12th edition, the Guides to Private Home Care Services have connected tens of thousands of families with the home care agencies that can help them care for their families and loved ones.
Need a primer on what home care can do? Don’t know how to pay for it? Don’t know how to select an agency, whom to trust, or what agencies are available in your are? This free directory answers all of your questions.
Click the images above to order.
Screenshots from the directories.
Looking for something more comprehensive? the Resource Directory is intended for professionals and others who make regular referrals to home care, the Private Care Guides are designed for consumers and are always available at no charge.
This is the one, indispensable book that anyone making referrals must have. It’s the bible for home care in Massachusetts. — Gina Martin, RN, CCM
Thousands of copies of the the Alliance’s home care referral directory have already been shipped to every case manager, hospital, COA, state legislator, and GCMs in Massachusetts.
Pat Kelleher talks emergency and disaster preparedness with Barbara Citarella, president of RBC Limited Healthcare & Management Consultants.
Barbara Citarella
For the fifth episode of Talking Home Care, Pat Kelleher talks emergency and disaster preparedness with Barbara Citarella, president of RBC Limited Healthcare & Management Consultants. Topics include:
CMS’s 2016 preparedness operations requirements;
The unique challenges home care agencies face during emergencies (as well as their unique capabilities);
Lessons agencies can learn from recent natural disasters;
Home care’s ability to provide surge capacity for other health providers;
The biggest obstacles agencies face in implementing a disaster plan; and
Resources for agencies who wish to become better prepared.
You may listen to the podcast by clicking the play button above, downloading it directly, or subscribing through iTunes or Google Play. (Length: 32’45”; Size: 17 MB).
Guest: Barbara Citarella is the president and founder of RBC Limited Healthcare and Management Consultants, a national leader in the home health and hospice industry in addition to disaster planning. As the only recognized expert in the area of home care and hospice disaster planning, she specializes in emergency disaster planning, bioterrorism, health care development and operations. She provides education to law enforcement and government agencies, health care providers, private sector, first responders, national and state associations in all aspects of disaster preparedness.
Pat Kelleher talks with NAHC’s Bill Dombi about PDGM, reduced CMS spending, and more.
Bill Dombi, Interim President of NAHC
For the fourth episode of the Talking Home Care podcast, Pat Kelleher talks with Bill Dombi, interim president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC). Topics include:
Background on the the Home Health Grouper Model (HHGM) and an update on its status;
Discussion of the $950M/year reduction in overall home health spending, as estimated by CMS (and estimated to be much, much higher by NAHC);
An update on NAHC’s lobbying efforts, specifically its support of a letter sponsored by Senators Nelson and Rubio to oppose the new model;
How cuts may affect the home health workforce; and
Holding the Trump Administration to its promise to reduce paperwork administrative overhead.
You may listen to the podcast by clicking the play button above, downloading it directly, or subscribing through iTunes or Google Play. (Length: 29’00”; Size: 14 MB).
Guest: William Dombi was appointed as NAHC’s interim president this past August, and served as its vice president for law since 1987. He is also director of the Center for Health Care Law, a nonprofit, public interest law firm established by NAHC, and executive director of the Home Care and Hospice Financial Managers Association. Additionally, he is a member of the advisory board of Bloomberg BNA’s Medicare Report.
Don’t want to miss the next episode of Talking Home Care? Subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, or enter the following in your podcast app: https://thinkhomecare.wordpress.com/category/talking-home-care-podcast/feed/
Hundreds of home health colleagues, industry experts and the leading home heath products and service vendors will be at the ninth annual 
Think Home Care Blog 