Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
One of the best in the U.S.
KAH Home Health Care rated in top 25 percent of successful home care providers, according to 2006 HomeCare Elite findings
By Steve Dunn/Gate City Managing Editor
The 20-year-old Keokuk Area Hospital Home Health Care has been recognized as one of the elite home care providers in the U.S. KAH Home Health Care provides comprehensive health services to patients and their families in Lee County and Hancock County, Ill.
KAH Home Health Care is included in the 2006 Home Care Elite, which names the top 25 percent of agencies nationwide with the best quality, improvement and financial performance. In four instances, the local agency had higher percentages than the state and national averages. KAH Home Health Care exceeded the state average in seven of eight categories and the national average in four of eight categories (see chart above).
“We have to do an outcome assessment information set (OAIS) for all of our Medicare patients,” said Home Health Care Director Keela Ernst. “We report those monthly to Medicare by the Internet, and they look at 10 publicly-reported outcomes.
“Based on that and the Medicare cost report, that's how they determine the top 25 percent of agencies in the country. This is for information submitted in the last half of 2005 and the first half of 2006,” Ernst added.
Not ready to rest on its laurels, KAH Home Health Care is working with the Iowa Foundation for Quality Care on action plans in order to improve the quality of care of its patients.
“I think we have some really good nurses,” Ernst said. “We try to provide the best care we can at the most efficient cost.”
The KAH agency has seven registered nurses besides Ernst. The other nurses make four to six visits a day, conducting cardio and pulmonary assessments and doing a lot of teaching, according to Ernst. The nurses provide information on how patients can take care of themselves as well as information on diets and medications.
“We do a variety of other things such as wound care. We draw blood, too,” Ernst said. “We teach people how to change ostomy bags and give injections. The nurses consult with doctors and therapists, and they have to document everything they do. They carry laptop computers with them.”
Besides the eight registered nurses, KAH Home Health Care has six home health aides and three office employees, including an office manager, billing clerk and scheduling coordinator.
“We have contracts with therapists, too, who get paid so much per visit,” Ernst said.
KAH Home Health Care serves 40 to 50 patients at a time who are referred to the agency by hospitals.
Ernst said the OAIS data comes from Medicare and Medicaid patients who receive skilled care.
“The OAIS system needs updating. It was designed to help home health care agencies do quality care improvement,” she explained. “It was never meant to determine reimbursement or for public use.”
Eventually, the type of information found in the OAIS system may be used to help determine reimbursement levels for KAH Home Health Care and other similar agencies.
“Medicare is looking at what is called pay for performance,” she said.
However, no date has been set for using a pay-for-performance system.
Generally, home health is appropriate whenever a person needs assistance that cannot be easily or effectively provided only by family members or friends on an ongoing basis for a short or long period of time, according to the National Association for Home Care.
Skilled services for an acute episode of illness are reimbursable through Medicare, Public Aid or Medicaid, major medical insurance, workmen's compensation and the Veterans Administration. Supportive services for chronic care are reimbursed by Public Aid waiver programs and private pay.
By Steve Dunn/Gate City Managing Editor
The 20-year-old Keokuk Area Hospital Home Health Care has been recognized as one of the elite home care providers in the U.S. KAH Home Health Care provides comprehensive health services to patients and their families in Lee County and Hancock County, Ill.
KAH Home Health Care is included in the 2006 Home Care Elite, which names the top 25 percent of agencies nationwide with the best quality, improvement and financial performance. In four instances, the local agency had higher percentages than the state and national averages. KAH Home Health Care exceeded the state average in seven of eight categories and the national average in four of eight categories (see chart above).
“We have to do an outcome assessment information set (OAIS) for all of our Medicare patients,” said Home Health Care Director Keela Ernst. “We report those monthly to Medicare by the Internet, and they look at 10 publicly-reported outcomes.
“Based on that and the Medicare cost report, that's how they determine the top 25 percent of agencies in the country. This is for information submitted in the last half of 2005 and the first half of 2006,” Ernst added.
ADVERTISEMENT |
“I think we have some really good nurses,” Ernst said. “We try to provide the best care we can at the most efficient cost.”
The KAH agency has seven registered nurses besides Ernst. The other nurses make four to six visits a day, conducting cardio and pulmonary assessments and doing a lot of teaching, according to Ernst. The nurses provide information on how patients can take care of themselves as well as information on diets and medications.
“We do a variety of other things such as wound care. We draw blood, too,” Ernst said. “We teach people how to change ostomy bags and give injections. The nurses consult with doctors and therapists, and they have to document everything they do. They carry laptop computers with them.”
Besides the eight registered nurses, KAH Home Health Care has six home health aides and three office employees, including an office manager, billing clerk and scheduling coordinator.
“We have contracts with therapists, too, who get paid so much per visit,” Ernst said.
KAH Home Health Care serves 40 to 50 patients at a time who are referred to the agency by hospitals.
Ernst said the OAIS data comes from Medicare and Medicaid patients who receive skilled care.
“The OAIS system needs updating. It was designed to help home health care agencies do quality care improvement,” she explained. “It was never meant to determine reimbursement or for public use.”
Eventually, the type of information found in the OAIS system may be used to help determine reimbursement levels for KAH Home Health Care and other similar agencies.
“Medicare is looking at what is called pay for performance,” she said.
However, no date has been set for using a pay-for-performance system.
Generally, home health is appropriate whenever a person needs assistance that cannot be easily or effectively provided only by family members or friends on an ongoing basis for a short or long period of time, according to the National Association for Home Care.
Skilled services for an acute episode of illness are reimbursable through Medicare, Public Aid or Medicaid, major medical insurance, workmen's compensation and the Veterans Administration. Supportive services for chronic care are reimbursed by Public Aid waiver programs and private pay.
 |
||
| Learning to share academics is the lesson in West Hancock |
Reader Comments
| Please log in or create an account by filling out the form on the right. | |
