Regional Digest
Regional Digest
• Employees at Heritage Home Health Care (Roanoke, VA), reluctant to leave their patients and persuaded by their boss, have been partial paychecks, checks that bounced, or no checks at all until the agency closed in September. Heritage was in deep financial trouble because of decreased Medicare payments, reported the Roanoke Times & World News. The agency’s closing left 15 patients behind to find new care. The Times & World News reported that now, employees of the former agency say they wish they had not stayed with the agency.
• One of three national pilot projects to examine the home care needs of mental health patients will take place in Taber in Canada, reported the Lethbridge Herald. The Alberta South region of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) announced its participation in the project at its annual general meeting last week. A director at the association, Deb Chenery, told the Herald that in doing the pilot, the association is not trying to say where home care is not working, but rather what is happening and what is working. The project, funded through Health Canada through the national office of the CMHA, is focusing on the rural model, she said.
• Officials at Elder Services of Worcester Area last week projected revenues will exceed $10 million next year for the first time in the agency’s 25-year history. The agency said revenues are expected to be at least $500,000 more than this year’s $9.5 million and would be nearly double the $5.5 million in revenues earned by the agency in 1993. But the agency said despite the higher revenues, it is still struggling to meet challenges brought on by the cuts in Medicare reimbursement. The agency’s board was concerned that its home care patients’ services would be negatively impacted by the Medicare cuts and cause safety problems for the patients.
• The 370 home care agencies and companies in Pennsylvania need more oversight, and their workers should be registered with the state, said Auditor Robert Casey. According to the Associated Press, no home healthcare agency was sanctioned from April 1996 through April 1999, despite explosive growth in home care services and the 1997 death of a Delaware County girl who was cared for by a home health nurse, Casey said. Casey faulted political leaders for failing to fully anticipate the needs of the elderly in the state, the AP reported. He also said the Department of Health failed to sanction agencies that did not follow doctors’ orders about infections and other problems. The AP reported that Casey also said he objected to the department’s failure to sanction the agency whose nurse was caring for the girl who died. But Health Department spokesman Richard McGarvey said serious complaints are now investigated within 24 hours.
Subscribe Now for Access
You have reached your article limit for the month. We hope you found our articles both enjoyable and insightful. For information on new subscriptions, product trials, alternative billing arrangements or group and site discounts please call 800-688-2421. We look forward to having you as a long-term member of the Relias Media community.