Front-line heroes share their stories about overcoming the challenges posed by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The COVID-19 Pandemic has created huge challenges to healthcare systems across the globe, including here in Massachusetts. As part of National Home Care and Hospice Month, we collected first-hand stories from our members about the front-line challenges they faced, and how they overcame them.
For the 14th episode of Talking Home Care, we’ve collected these stories into a single podcast. They are introduced by Alliance Executive Director Pat Kelleher and are read by drama students at Winthrop Middle School.
You may listen to the podcast by clicking any of the platform images above, clicking “play,” or downloading it directly (Length: 41 minutes; Size: 29 MB).
Dr. Ashish Jha of Brown University sees a difficult winter ahead in terms of battling COVID-19, but reasons to hope in the spring.
Dr. Ashish Jha
In mid-November, I had the pleasure of listening to a virtual presentation from Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, as part of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans Health Policy Speaker Series. At the time, people were finalizing their Thanksgiving plans while the Coronavirus Pandemic began its fall resurgence.
Dr. Jha expressed deep concern about our present situation. “The virus is in a very bad place,” he said at the beginning of his remarks. In his assessment, there is no doubt that there is more virus in the community today than during the springtime peak, and the current count of 200,000 new cases each day is unacceptable. However, he believes there is a path forward that will bring us to something like pre-pandemic normalcy in the near future, especially with the promise of effective vaccines. As such, he said, our priority must be to save lives during the winter months.
Jha put a great deal of focus on what he called “priorities,” noting that COVID-19 does not care about our priorities are. In other words, he said, that while he was personally emphatic to our individual needs, the virus does not care that I prioritize seeing some family, but not others. The virus will spread wherever and whenever it sees fit.
Jha also discussed priorities in the context of the public policy response to the pandemic. He believes maintaining fully operating schools and hospitals should be our sole societal priorities. Yet, he said, just days before his talk, New York City shut down in-person learning, while continuing to allow people still to dine together indoors. This is, he called “upside-down.“
Jha was, however, not naïve to the fact that shifting our priorities to focus on schools and hospitals is expensive. It means large-scale federal support for restaurants and their workers to survive the winter months. He recognized this decision is “politically challenging,” as broad economic shutdowns have been unpopular and politicized. But, in his opinion, it is the best way for us to save lives as we await distribution of vaccines.
The more hopeful part of Jha’s presentation centered around the rapid development of vaccines. At the beginning of the pandemic, he admits he hoped for a 50-60% effective vaccine. Now that early data shows two vaccine candidates with 90%+ efficacy, he is extremely hopeful. He also noted that scientific integrity was not compromised through this process, it was just expedited by conducting the typical steps all at once (e.g., simultaneous human and animal studies).
While he said that we must not lose sight of the short-term task at hand (containing the virus during the winter), Jha is hopeful that we could achieve 30% immunity by the end of January, at which point virus-spread tends to naturally slow. By April or May, he hopes anybody who wants to be vaccinated will be. This may sound ambitious, he noted, and distribution nuances as well as vaccine education, will surely slow any rollout; but he saw it as feasible.
In the meantime, he said we must continue to wear masks, get tested, and only see people from our own household.
For more than a decade, the Guides to Private Home Care Services have connected tens of thousands of families with the home care agencies that best meet their needs. While our Resource Directory is intended for professionals who make regular referrals, the Private Care Guides are designed for consumers and are always available at no charge, with free shipping on most orders. Choose from among three regional editions:
(Click one of the thumbnails to place your free order).
The Guides contain county-by-county cross-references, as well as short essays about:
What home care is;
How to pay for it;
How to choose an agency, and;
The advantages of working with a home care agency.
This year, the Guides also honor three of our Home Care Star Awards winners: Me McBride of South Shore VNA, Vinette Tyme of HouseWorks, and Nicole Geddes of Aberdeen Home Care. Congratulations to these amazing care givers!
To ensure members have access to information they can trust, the Alliance has put together a COVID-19 Resource Page, linking to federal, state, and other essential sources.
To ensure members have access to information they can trust, the Alliance has put together a COVID-19 Resource Page linking to federal, state, and other essential sources.
We’ll update it as new information becomes available.
You have been waiting, and now it’s here, The 2020 New England Home Care & Hospice Conference and Trade Show Program has been released! Join colleagues from throughout the region from May 13-15 in Newport, RI for the best home health and hospice event of the year!
You have been waiting, and now it’s here, The 2020 New England Home Care & Hospice Conference and Trade Show Program has been released! Join colleagues from throughout the region from May 13-15 in Newport, RI for the best home health and hospice event of the year! This fabulous conference will feature renowned keynoters and informative workshops that will give you new ideas and insight to take back to your agency. Sessions include Pre-Conferences on PDGM: Lessons Learned, and Medicaid Healthcare Reform; Keynotes on Caregiver Trends, Navigating Change, The Future in Home Health Through Data, and Bridging the Gap Between Life and Death. With 25 additional break-out sessions, you are bound to find topics that appeal to you and your staff as there is something for everyone!
Looking to find new partners with your agency regarding things like software systems, consulting, staff benefits, etc? Our exhibit show is the largest home health gathering in the Northeast with close to 80 exhibitors! See who is currently exhibiting here.
Considered to be “the bible for home care” in Massachusetts, copies of the the 2020 Resource Directory have been shipped to every case manager, hospital, COA, state legislator, and GCM in Massachusetts. Additional copies are available for purchase.
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
Copies of the the Alliance’s annual referral directory have already been shipped to every case manager, hospital, COA, state legislator, and GCM in Massachusetts. Members will also receive copies in the mail this week.
Pat Kelleher speaks with Layla G. Taylor about what employers need to know about marijuana.
Taylor and Kelleher
With many states (including Massachusetts) decriminalizing marijuana in recent years, home care agencies and other employers find themselves having to answer questions they never thought to ask. How do I protect my clients? What are my employees’ rights? Am I still allowed to issue drug tests and, if so, under what circumstances?
For the 13th episode of the Talking Home Care podcast, Pat Kelleher explores these and other questions with Layla Taylor, a partner at Sullivan, Hayes & Quinn and an expert in employment and labor law.
You may listen to the podcast by clicking any of the platform images above, clicking “play,” or downloading it directly (Length: 25 minutes; Size: 19 MB). If you enjoy the podcast, please give us a five-star review so others can find it.
The Alliance’s Home Care Speakers Bureau can bring presentations on careers and other subjects to nursing schools, job fairs, or student assemblies.
Health care is moving out of the institutional setting and into people’s homes. Nursing and other allied health professional positions are following a similar path as the percentage of nurses moving into work a in hospital setting continues to decrease annually. Yet, newly graduated nurses often leave school not having been exposed to the nursing opportunities and high degree of complexity and independence in home health care practice.
Our Home, Not Alone campaign seeks to drive interest in, and confidence about, making a nursing career in home care or hospice.
Our dedicated speakers will bring presentations on careers and other subjects to nursing schools, job fairs, or student assemblies. Here is just a snippet of a presentation:
Last month, the Alliance recognized six outstanding individuals as our 2019 Home Care Stars. These are their stories.
Last month, the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts gathered the industry at Granite Links in Quincy to honor six amazing individuals who represent the best of home care.
(L-R: Nicole Geddes, Me McBride, Vinette Tyme, Gerry Sanderson, Robin Pelletier, Sandy Hurley)
Since 1989, this fantastic event has celebrated the hard work of individuals and organizations who exemplify home care’s best values. More importantly, awardees are nominated by their colleagues and supervisors; winners are then selected by the Alliance’s Membership Committee.
Here’s a look at this year’s awardees, with excerpts from their nominations:
Me McBride, South Shore VNA, Aide of the Year
Imagine being the family member of a once-strong, determined man whose mind has been crippled by Alzheimer’s. You pray for help, and your prayers are answered in the form of an “earthly angel” named Me McBride.
She enters your home and takes charge with compassion and experience but — most of all — with respect for your loved one. For Me, the patient always comes first.
Vinette Tyme, HouseWorks, Aide of the Year
Vinette is a passionate home health aide, often described by colleagues and clients alike as “a dream” to work with, due to her dedication and exceptional skillset. She has an innate ability to anticipate clients’ needs and form personalized and effective strategies that work for them.
No task is too big or too small for her.
Gerry Sanderson, RN CDP, NVNA and Hospice, Clinician of the Year
Gerry has cared for hundreds of patients and families in the South Shore and her devotion to her patients is second to none.
Her approachable and positive demeanor is reflected in the way her patients interact with her, creating a safe and nurturing environment for all involved.
Nicole Geddes, LPN, Aberdeen Home Care, Clinician of the Year
Nicole delivers care, no matter what. If there is a need, she is there. She’s a roll-up-your-sleeves nurse, willing to jump-in and help an aide when needed or to manage a crisis in the middle of the night, on a weekend, or on Christmas Day.
She knows what to do and does it with tremendous skill.
Robin Pelletier, RN BSN, Southcoast VNA, Manager of the Year
Robin has successfully led Southcoast VNA’s Supportive Care Center since October 2016, where she guides an interdisciplinary team of 75 people. Her greatest accomplishment has been the extraordinary growth and quality of hospice services, doubling Southcoast’s average daily census and average length of stay.
Sandy Hurley, Commonwealth Clinical Services, Home Care Champion
Sandy embodies everything we value about nursing in the community. She is best known for “doing what needs to be done” from home visits, to setting up clinics, to teaching high school students about healthcare, to playing the piano at just about any function.
This year, Sandy extended her professional talents and skills to the mountains of the Dominican Republic, helping provide over 100 patients a day with health assessments, medications, and critical supplies.
As 2019 comes to a close and the industry prepares for a historic year of changes, the Star Awards allows us to pause and remember the dedicated workforce that makes home care such a success.
Congratulations and thank you to the 2019 Star Award Winners.
The Alliance’s redesigned Advocacy Action Center makes it easier for members to communicate with their elected officials on the pressing issues facing their agencies.
For the first time in many years, the Alliance has redesigned its Advocacy Action Center website, offering members an enhanced advocacy experience so they can easily communicate with their elected officials on the pressing issues facing their agencies. This post will highlight some of the key changes so that you are prepared to take action and make a difference!
Main-Page Scrolling Advocacy Feature
The main Advocacy Action Center page now features a scrolling banner of key advocacy initiatives that the Alliance and its members are working on. The banner has a functioning link which you can click on to bring you directly to the action center to quickly send an email to your elected official.
Main-Page Buttons
Under the scrolling banner, you will see three buttons linking to sub-pages. This organizes the Advocacy Action Center into three easily accessible topics: Legislative Priorities, Testimony/Comments, and Facts & Figures. Note: The Facts & Figures sub-page is currently being updated.
Legislative Priorities Sub-Page
Among the biggest of changes, is our newly designed Legislative Priorities page. For the first time, members now have a centralized landing page which organizes all of the Alliance’s legislative priorities in one place. You’ll see the page is split in half, organized by State and Federal priorities.
You’ll also see that each legislative issue has a brief overview of the issue and the solution that HCA supports. Underneath each blurb are links to download the fact sheets for, or take action on, the issue!
We hope that you will find our new advocacy center easier to use so that you can engage with your elected officials, while focusing on running your agency!
For the first time in many years, the Alliance has redesigned its 
Think Home Care Blog 