Category: News & Media

Legislators Announce Release of Private Home Care Services Directory

The Malden Observer published an announcement from State Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei and Representatives Christopher Fallon, Paul Donato and Stephen “Stat” Smith regarding the publication of the Home Care Alliance’s 2009 Guide to Private Home Care Services.

The directory provides a listing of reputatble, professional home care providers in Massachusetts by town and county as well as valuable information on how to choose and pay for home care.

Click here to see the announcement and visit the publications page on our website to learn more about the Private Home Care Guide and the Alliance’s other helpful and informative publications.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Letter to the Editor: Two distinct Categories of Workers

Alliance Executive Director Pat Kelleher submitted a letter to the editor of the Boston Globe regarding a March 28 article that “blurred the line” between home health aides and personal care attendants. See an excerpt as well as a link to the entire letter below.

I AM concerned that your March 28 front-page story, “Costs, concerns rise on home healthcare,” blurred the line for some readers between two categories of workers: home health aides and personal care attendants. This confusion would do a disservice to the home health industry and the many clients – mostly frail and homebound elders – who depend on these essential services.

Click here to see the letter on Boston.com.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Home Care STAR Award Winners Named

Four individuals received 2009 STAR Awards from the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts during a ceremony Wednesday, June 3, 2009.  The STAR awards recognize excellence and outstanding achievement within the Massachusetts home care community. 

Award winners were:

Aide of the Year
Tama Lewis
Home Health Aide, Visiting Angels, Newton/Canton

Clinician of the Year
Carol Doane
Maternal & Child Health Nurse, Walpole Area VNA

Manager of the Year
Katie Baker
Director of Rehabilitation, VNA of Greater Lowell

Home Care Champion
Robert Dwyer, Esq.
Board Treasurer, Norwell VNA

Online Elder, Disability Resource Taps Alliance Member Directory

The Massachusetts Aging and Disability Information Locator (MADIL), an online service provided by the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services, will now include the Home Care Alliance’s online member directory to help people connect with home health services.

“MADIL is a great resource for families and individuals seeking vital care services,” said Home Care Alliance Executive Director Patricia Kelleher. “I am pleased that the Alliance and our members are integrated into the search system and I applaud Health and Human Services for expanding people’s access to important information, which will make life easier for the elderly and disabled community.”

See our press release for more details.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Insurance Partnership Income Ceilings Increased

The Insurance Partnership, the state and federally funded program that helps small businesses (including the self-employed) and their qualified workers pay for company-sponsored health insurance have been increased.

Check this pamphlet from the Partnership for more information and to see if you qualify.

If qualified for the Insurance Partnership, both the business and employee receive assistance paying for their company-sponsored health insurance.  Businesses can receieve up to $1,000 per year for each eligible employee, while the employee’s monthly premiums can be reduced to as little as $27 per month (depending on income level).

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

HCA Holds Briefing for Congressional Staff

Executive Director Pat Kelleher and Director of Legislative & Public Affairs James Fuccione traveled to Washington DC in late March for the National Association for Home Care & Hospice’s annual conference. Along with several agency members, the Alliance held a briefing for Congressional staff on proposed cuts to home health in the President’s budget and also met with Congressman James P. McGovern.

McGovern continues to be a champion for home health and the Alliance is assisting his office in fighting the proposed reductions. The Congressman was also featured on the cover of Caring Magazine and has circulated a letter among his colleagues announcing the reconvening of the House’s Home Health Working Group.

For more details on this lobbying effort, see our press release and for more on the Congressman and Alliance’s advocacy work, please contact us or visit our Advocacy Center.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

High Gas Prices Impact Home Care Providers

Higher gasoline prices affect home care providers.

When gasoline was over $4 per gallon in June of 2008, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice released a study of how the prices at that time impacted home care staff and the industry. Click on the press release for more information.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Agencies, Alliance Testify on Telehealth at Public Hearing

Boston, MA – Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts and several of its member agencies joined State Senator Harriette L. Chandler to testify in support of a legislative proposal on establishing telehealth remote patient monitoring as a reimbursable service through Medicaid. Chandler’s bill was among a list of others that were the subject of a public hearing before the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing.

“This bill has been filed in previous sessions, but I truly believe that we that this is the most appropriate time for the passage of this bill.  The savings per patient is undeniable and in these times we are looking every savings available,” said Chandler.

According to a report by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, 76 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 are heading towards retirement age and “self –care technologies and programs will be increasingly needed to meet the needs of this nation’s aging population – especially in light of a continuing health care labor shortage.” Kelleher also noted in her testimony to the committee of state legislators that Johns Hopkins University reported 90 percent of Americans over the age of 65 have one or more chronic diseases.

For more information on the Home Care Alliance and to read the Alliance’s testimony in support of telehealth, please visit www.thinkhomecare.org.

Continue reading “Agencies, Alliance Testify on Telehealth at Public Hearing”

Press Release: New Guide to Private Home Care Services

The Alliance distributed the following press release:

Boston, MA (PRWEB) March 30, 2009 — As the elderly population grows increasingly larger, so do the number of families confronting difficult care decisions for their loved ones. To alleviate this issue, the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts, a non-profit association of home care providers, has released the “2009 Guide to Private Home Care Services: A Directory of Private Home Care Agencies in Massachusetts.”

The directory offers residents a listing of reputable, professional home care providers by town and county as well as valuable information on how to both choose and pay for home care.

“Frail and chronically ill seniors and their families greatly benefit from the services provided by professional home care agencies. The work of your agencies is critical to Massachusetts’ commitment to community choice by allowing seniors to remain in their homes and communities for as long as possible,” said Eleanor Shea-Delaney, Massachusetts Interim Secretary of Elder Affairs.”

Continue reading “Press Release: New Guide to Private Home Care Services”

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