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A Guide to Selecting a Home Health Agency

By: Gerald Brown


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As the population of the nation ages, more people are finding themselves in what has been called the "sandwich generation". They are simultaneously responsible for caring for their aging parents as well as their own children. They are "sandwiched" in between these two responsibilities. Chances are a significant number will be making some major health care decisions on behalf of parents-sometimes with their input and sometimes without, as necessity dictates.

This can be an uncomfortable and sometimes tense situation. One thing you'll want to be certain you consider is a qualified home heath agency rather than a nursing home or care center. Almost without exception, patients will do better when treated at home than in any other environment.

Services offered by home health agencies can vary. Some offer a broad range of services from basic assistance with routine tasks such as bathing, cooking or simple housework, to round the clock continuous nursing care or hospice services. It is important to consider what future needs might arise and select a home health agency that will be able to meet those needs.

As time passes, your family member may become more incapacitated and require additional services. It is essential to select an agency which has the capability to continue to provide services so your family member won't have the additional stress of transferring to a care center or learning to accept new care providers.

Family Home Care & Hospice (FHC) headquartered in Spokane, WA is an excellent example of the type of home health agency that can provide the breadth of services needed to accommodate the patient's increasing needs.

"We have structured our services to be able to offer patients continuing care in their homes as long as medically possible," explained FHC President, Michael Nowling. "All signs point to outcomes which are better for the patient and for the family if medical care can be effectively delivered in the home as long as is medically practical."

Medicare keeps records on home health agencies and has recently recognized Nowling and FHC as one of the top one percent of home health agencies in the state of Washington and also among the top three percent of home health agencies in the nation. The recognition, which is based on monitoring of patient outcomes, lends credence to Nowling's commitment to providing the types of services which will keep patients at home as long as possible. The Medicare database is available online at http://www.medicare.gov/HHCompare/home.asp. Visiting the site will allow you to compare patient outcome statistics of any qualified home health agency you may be evaluating.

Most patients will do very nicely utilizing the standard list of services offered by a qualified home health agency, but sometimes specialized services may be required. It is a good idea when evaluating your home health agency selection, to ask what specialized services are available. The chances of your loved one needing these services may be small, but if such a need ever arises you'll find comfort in knowing that your chosen agency can deliver those services. Specialized treatments or services may include primary care medical services, enteral therapy or wound care specialists.

Staffing a home health agency is a never ending difficulty. As a result, the best agencies have developed well defined criteria for employment and perform extensive screening of employees. Keeping good employees also requires a specialized effort in education and training. It is perfectly appropriate for you to ask your prospective home health agency how they handle recruiting and staffing issues.

"It's tough to get a job at FHC," noted Nowling, "but we're not sorry about that. In fact, that's the way it should be. We've built a great organization as a direct result of our strict qualifications and hiring protocols. We have a staff of professionals who hold themselves to the highest standards of practice and patient care and we support them in that effort. They work hard. They love their patients and it shows. They tend to stay at FHC much longer than is the average for home health agencies. This translates into better outcomes for patients and is a large part of the reason we've been so highly ranked by Medicare."

As important as finding and keeping good people is to your positive experience with a home health agency, it is equally important to make sure the agency has an aggressive program in place to keep their staff trained and up to date with the latest techniques and practices. Find out how they train and educate their staff.

"There is so much specialized and highly technical medical equipment which can now be used in a home environment," continued Nowling. "We think it's an important priority of a good home heath agency to make sure that our professional staff are always up to date with the latest advances in care."

Insurance coverage is also an important consideration in selecting a home health agency. Most home health agencies will accept Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance, including long term care policies. But this is definitely one of the first questions you should get answered in your search. Insurance coverages for home health will depend not only on the status of the home health agency, but also on your particular insurance policy. Rather than taking the time to comb through the legalese of the policy, it is often much more accurate and fast to simply talk to a customer service representative at the insurance company.

If you haven't been taking notes as you read, here is a handy checklist:

Put two or three qualified home health agencies on your list of candidates

Determine what their standard services will be

Determine the extent of their specialized services

Check out your selections by visiting: http://www.medicare.gov/HHCompare/home.asp

Ask about their hiring and screening policies

Evaluate their commitment to continuing training and education of their staff

Determine insurance coverage for your policy and for the home health agency

Making critical decisions about health care is part of your role in the "sandwich generation". Make certain you do your best to consider all the available options, including putting qualified home health agencies on your evaluation list. Your family member will be glad you did--and so will you.

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Serving the Inland Northwest for more than 40 years, Family Home Care & Hospice is synonymous with Spokane home care. FHC's history of patient outcomes gained recognition by Medicare as being among the top 1 percent of agencies in Washington State.



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