Category: The Alliance in the News

Congratulations To Our Emerging Leaders

The 2012 graduates of the Emerging Leaders programThe 2012 graduates of the Emerging Leaders program
The 2012 graduates of the Emerging Leaders program

This week was Graduation Day for our 2012/13 Emerging Leaders Class. The Emerging Leaders program is a collaborative effort between the Home Care Alliance of MA and Suffolk University’s Moakley Center for Public Management.  Students in the program attend classes – taught by Suffolk faculty – one full day a month for nine months. Upon completing the program, they receive a Certificate in  Home Care Management, as well as course credits to apply towards a master’s level program at Suffolk.

In a ceremony attended by family, friends and faculty, the graduates heard from class speaker Michelle Landry about how the students bonded over, and overcame,  their fear of writing class papers and about the value of the course information.   Keynote Speaker Meg Doherty, CEO of NVNA and Hospice, congratulated the class on their commitment to learning and leadership despite the sacrifices made and the disruption to their lives and that of their families.  “As leaders,” she told the class, “you will not just do a job, but make a difference.”

Congratulations to this year’s graduation class:  Barbara Belony, Jose DeLaRosa, Janez Hicks, Michelle Landry, Mary O’Malley, Michelle Sweeney, Jenna Tarara, Bernadette Ward and Kathy Wisenski.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Boston Globe Letter on Home Health and Readmissions

The following was published in the Boston Globe on Sunday, November 11th:

To the Boston Globe:

A renewed attention on the part of the health care delivery system in general, and hospitals specifically, to keeping people who have been hospitalized from quickly returning is welcome and long overdue (“Hospitals look to lower readmission rates,” G section, Nov. 5). However, in focusing on some new programs and services, the story seemed to miss the solution with a long track record of success. For more than a century, home health care as delivered by visiting nurses and other professionals has been the most valuable and valid means to support patients and minimize complications following a stay in a hospital.

These nurses have knowledge about the patient’s health and what in the home environment may be an obstacle to a patient’s medical progress. Yet, our experience is that far fewer patients are referred for home health services than could benefit from them, generally because of a lack of understanding of qualifying rules for coverage.

As we broaden the post-acute-care safety net, it’s important to remember that visiting nurses, who heal and teach, are most successful at delivering what patients need to avoid a return hospital visit.

Patricia  Kelleher, Executive Director

Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts

Return to www.thinkhomcare.org.

The Alliance’s Colleen Bayard on the the Affordable Care Act

Colleen Bayard, the Alliance’s director of regulatory & clinical and regulatory affairs, spoke to WWLP News 22 this week about the impact of the Affordable Care Act on seniors in Massachusetts.

BOSTON (WWLP) – Government health officials say that President Obama’s national health care reform law is saving Massachusetts seniors big bucks.

Federal officials say the 2010 law has helped save Massachusetts seniors more than $76 million on medication bills this year.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Servicessays in the first eight months of this year, the Affordable Care Act has saved seniors in Medicare’s “donut hole” about $610 dollars. Previously, when seniors were in this “donut hole” they would go from making copayments for their drugs to paying 100 percent of the cost.

The law gives them significant discounts.

“There’s actually extra funding for medications for seniors,” said Colleen Bayard, the Clinical Affairs Director for the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts.

“They may not have enough money for their medications and it becomes unaffordable, but I think they’re trying to, they made changes with the medication in Medicare D to help with that.”

The average savings for a Massachusetts resident with Medicare will be $5,000. People with high prescriptions costs will save more than $18,000 from 2010 to 2022.

HCA Continues Response to Home Care Aide Report

Picking up on news stories developed by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting,  WCVB-TV in Boston plans to run a television story on the private pay home care industry, with an expected focus on the state’s lack of licensure of agencies.    While both the New England Center and WCVB have been looking for cases of private care elder mistreatment, both stories appear focused on a single case of an aide who stole from multiple clients before being charged and convicted in both the Brockton and Wareham District Courts.

Alliance Executive Director Patricia Kelleher was interviewed by WCVB for the news story.  During the interview, Ms. Kelleher emphasized the following points:

  • While no abuse is to be tolerated, instances of theft or abuse are very rare given the thousands of clients and million of visits in a given year.
  • The Alliance had filed licensure legislation in 2010 that was not passed.
  • In response to no legislative action, the Alliance and its private care members developed a rigorous industry accreditation program that establishes high standards for worker screening and training, organizational management and workforce safety.
  • Prospective clients in Massachusetts are fortunate to have a robust industry with many options to choose from.  Educated consumers are our best clients.

The Home Care Alliance has also placed letters to the editor in two major Massachusetts daily newspapers to clarify some points in the story. See HCA’s letters in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and the Springfield Republican.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Healthcare Bill Summary

The MA legislature shifted into overdrive during the last few days of the 2011/2012 legislative session, which ended on July 31. Healthcare cost containment was among the major pieces of legislation that were approved during the last days of the session, and several provisions of the bill have significant impacts on home care providers.

Section 142 of the bill will significantly ease the burden of the Fair Share Contribution (FSC) requirement that employers offer health insurance to their workers. Under this section, any employees that have health insurance through a spouse’s coverage, military, disability, or Medicare will not be included in the calculation of an employer’s compliance with the FSC mandate. This change should be a relief to many home care agencies. Section 51 of the bill establishes appeal processes for employers faced with a FSC audit.

The bill also includes a number of provisions related to home health’s role within Accountable Care Organizations and names the Alliance to a couple of new advisory panels.

The Alliance has prepared a more detailed summary of the bill’s provisions: http://www.thinkhomecare.org/associations/1892/files/HealthcareCostContainmentSummary.pdf.

Caring Magazine Highlights Massachusetts Care Transitions Programs

The great work being done by home care agencies in Massachusetts around care transitions was highlighted in an article in the current issue of Caring Magazine, the monthly publication of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC).

In the article written by the Home Care Alliance, the focus is on four agencies involved in the STAAR project (State Action on Avoidable Readmissions) and how their collaborative programs have changed how care transitions are handled.

Additionally, the Home Care Alliance’s “Opt-In” document, a guide to Optimum Performance Standards for Transitions to and From Home Health, is highlighted and shown as a beacon for the work performed by these four agencies and any other agencies or  providers working with home health to improve care transitions.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

 

 

 

Home Care Accreditation Program Reaches Achievement

With 50 private pay home care agencies now approved for the Home Care Accreditation Program, the Home Care Alliance took the opportunity to distribute a media announcement to mark the occasion.

A blurb on the accreditation program milestone has run, so far, in the Milford Daily News and Metrowest Daily News. Please see the full announcement below:

Home Care Accreditation Program Hits Milestone

Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts Program Gains 50th Private Pay Home Care Agency

In less than one year, fifty private pay home care agencies have applied and been approved for a new accreditation program promoting quality, safety, and business standards set by the non-profit Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts

“We have been so pleased with the popularity of this program, which was conceived as a means to promote quality services, ethical business standards, and superior employment practices,” said Home Care Alliance Executive Director Patricia Kelleher. “This isn’t simply a stamp of approval. Private Home Care Accreditation has strict requirements agencies must meet because families have a level of expectation that their loved ones are receiving the best services possible.”

In the absence of meaningful licensure requirements for providers of home care services in Massachusetts, the Home Care Alliance established this Accreditation Program for Private Pay agencies (agencies who are not paid by Medicare or Medicaid).

The standards were developed over several months in consultation with 14 agencies throughout the Commonwealth.  These standards require that agencies submit an application and documentation to the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts.  Alliance staff and member agencies then review the application to ensure that applicants meet all of the standards.

Agencies seeking accreditation answer questions in fourteen categories, including training requirements, administrative protocols, and business practices.  They are be required to show documentation in answer to questions regarding services plans between clients and the agency, procedures around responding to complaints, and their oversight of caregivers.

“We wanted to provide leadership for an area that is becoming more and more important in Massachusetts,” added Kelleher, “These standards will highlight our agencies’ best practices, which will help guide members of the public as they choose who will take care of their loved ones in their homes. We hope to one day sign up all private care agencies we possibly can in Massachusetts to prove our state’s commitment to quality home-based care.”

A full list of accredited agencies from across the state, and more information about the Accreditation Program standards, is available at www.thinkhomecare.org/accreditation.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Home Care Featured on Physician Focus TV Show

Home care is the subject of April’s “Physician Focus,” a half-hour cable access television show hosted by the Massachusetts Medical Society that educates audiences about a new health or medical issue each month.

The Home Care Alliance’s Executive Director Patricia Kelleher is a guest on this month’s show, along with Robert Schreiber, M.D., Physician-in-Chief at Hebrew Senior Life and the show’s discussion examines many aspects of home health care, including who is eligible for services, the kinds of services available, and what issues need to be considered when thinking about home care for a family member.

A related press release regarding this month’s episode on home care was distributed across the state and ran in the following publications, among others:

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

More News Coverage of Accredited Members, Ctd.

More announcements in local press about members who have received the Alliance’s Agency Accreditation:

Community Nurse Private Care

…[A] private-pay home care agency, based in Fairhaven and Dartmouth, is among the first in the state to earn accreditation from the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts…

“We are proud to be in the initial group of home care agencies to promote these accreditation standards that convey Community Nurse & Hospice Care’s commitment to quality,” CEO and President Jane Stankiewicz said. “The peace of mind for our clients is paramount and we are hopeful people will continue to see the advantages of keeping people independent in their homes and communities.”

Northeast HomeCare

…Beverly and Addison Gilbert hospitals’ private-duty home care agency was one of the first organizations in the state to earn accreditation from the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts. The alliance represents 170 home health and elder care agencies across Massachusetts and has created an accreditation protocol to promote quality services, ethical business standards and superior employment practices.

Since Massachusetts does not offer a specific license for private pay home care agencies, the Alliance created a Home Care Agency Accreditation Program in July 2010 to establish operational and quality standards equivalent to licensure in most other states.

Accreditation is only awarded to agencies that meet or exceed all fourteen standards relating to: client rights,
privacy, and complaint procedures; protections against abuse; fair employment practices; caregiver criminal background screening; competency, training and supervision; insurance coverage; and compliance with all applicable federal, state & local laws.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

More News Coverage of Accredited Members

Comfort Keepers of MetroWest, South Shore and Cape Cod:

…has hired 50 new caregivers and administrators and expects to hire at a rate of five new employees per week to keep up with increasing demand for in-home senior care services…

In addition to the [improving] economic situation, Mullaney credits the company’s growth in part to their recent accreditation by the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts. Accreditation for in-home pay care is new to Massachusetts, and Comfort Keepers was among the first pay-for-care organizations to be accredited.

“Accreditation allows Comfort Keepers to be a preferred provider with government agencies. We were just approved by Massachusetts Brain Injury to be a preferred provider as well,” Raquel Mullaney said.

Greater Medford VNA & Additional Care

… is among the first in the state to earn accreditation from the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts.

The alliance, which represents 170 home health and elder care agencies across Massachusetts, has created an accreditation protocol to promote quality services, ethical business standards and superior employment practices in an industry that lacks meaningful licensure in the commonwealth of Massachusetts even while it grows in popularity.

“We are proud to be in the initial group of home care agencies to promote these accreditation standards that convey Greater Medford VNA and Additional Care’s commitment to quality,” said the agency’s CEO Marie Knasas. “The peace of mind for our clients is paramount and we are hopeful people will continue to see the advantages of keeping people independent in their homes and communities.”

Bayada Nurses

…has expanded its Massachusetts service area to cover Martha’s Vineyard and the South Coast. Personal care and support services will be provided from Bayada’s Falmouth, service office to clients in Martha’s Vineyard and the Upper Cape (Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee, and Sandwich), and South Coast (Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett, and New Bedford).

“We’re thrilled to be able to provide even more people with Bayada’s high quality home health care services, which are delivered with compassion, excellence, and reliability,” said Neal O’Brien, director of Bayada’s Falmouth office….

Each Bayada Nurses Massachusetts office, including Falmouth, is accredited by the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts and the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP).

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.