Palliative care is well established in U.S hospitals, with seventy-five percent of those with fifty beds or more reporting a palliative care program. Recognizing the needs of seriously ill patients and their families in all care settings, many palliative care programs are working to extend services in their communities – either by expanding existing hospital programs to other settings, or building new programs in non-hospital settings. These programs provide palliative care in patient’s homes, nursing homes, doctor’s offices, and outpatient clinics, and are vital in reaching a patient population that would otherwise not be served through traditional hospital palliative care. However, little is known about the locations or extent of this community reach, or how these community palliative care services are staffed and structured to meet patient and family need.
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How prepared are you and your staff for an emergency? Do you have a solid plan for your patients?
While starting a new skilled home health agency (HHA) can be exciting and rewarding, it can also be a long and time-intensive process. Although there is a growing need for HHAs with the population of people age 65 and older expected to reach 19.6 percent by 2030, CMS in recent years has imposed significant financial and operational barriers that HHAs must navigate.
In a recent press release, Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) announced its approval by the Maryland Department of Health, to perform accreditation surveys in lieu of ongoing state licensure surveys for Home Health agencies and Hospices, in accordance with state law.
Today, January 13, 2018, is the day for which all home health agencies have been preparing since CMS finalized the first major revision to the Medicare Home Health Conditions of Participation (CoPs) in more than 20 years. Today, these new CoPs officially go into effect and all home health agencies that bill Medicare must be in full compliance.
With more than 500 initial licensure applications pending approval in California, home health agencies are being forced to wait up to two years before receiving their license. To help combat this delay, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has given home health agencies the option of working with a CMS-deemed accreditation organization to obtain an initial licensure survey. CDPH is encouraging home health agencies to take advantage of this new option in order to expedite their licensure approval process.
On Behalf of ACHC, the Remington Report interviewed Kim Bradley, Sentara Enterprises, to get insights into the changing healthcare environment and how her organization is handling the challenges. For more than a decade, Sentara has been ranked as one of the nation's top integrated healthcare systems. Their not-for-profit system includes advanced imaging centers, nursing and assisted-living centers, outpatient campuses, physical therapy and rehabilitation services, home health and hospice agency, a 3,800-provider medical staff and four medical groups.
November is National Home Care & Hospice Month, and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s (NHPCO) theme for this year is “It’s about how you live!”
November is National Home Care & Hospice Month, and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's (NHPCO) theme for this year is "It's about how you live!"
On January, 9, 2017, CMS finalized the first major revision to the Medicare Home Health Conditions of Participation (CoPs) in more than 20 years. The implementation date for these new CoPs is January 13, 2018 and the phase-in date for Performance Improvement Projects is July 13, 2018, with all other QAPI requirements effective January 13, 2018.
