A Guide to Selecting a Home Health Agency

By: Craig Mecham

Our nation is getting older. There's no question about it. As we age many people are caught in what has been referred to as the "sandwich generation". That means they are, at the same time, responsible for caring for aging parents in addition to their own young children. Literally they are "sandwiched" between these two generations and responsibilities. Those who find themselves in this situation will likely be making some significant health care decisions for their parents.

If this situation describes you, then you'll be glad you've found this article. One of the first things you'll want to do is make certain you've considered a qualified home health agency as a solution to your loved one's health care issue, instead of a nursing home or care center. It is almost universally true that patients will have better outcomes when they can be cared for in their own homes.

Many home health agencies offer a wide spectrum of care from assistance with tasks of daily living such as bathing, meal preparation and light cleaning, to 24-hour nursing and hospice services. But, by contrast some are very narrow in their scope of care. You'll want to be certain that the home health agency you select has the capability to perform additional services, as they are needed.

This is an important consideration as your loved one advances in years and becomes less able to cope with normal daily activities. It is comforting to know that the home health agency you have selected can continue to provide care and your family member won't have the added stress of moving or becoming accustomed to new care givers.

Among the nation's leading home health agencies, Family Home Care & Hospice (FHC), located in Spokane, WA is the kind of organization committed to providing a range of services which allows them to continue to serve a patient even when the needs increase.

"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."

Indeed, FHC has been recognized by Medicare as among the top 1 percent of home health agencies in Washington State and among the top 3 percent of home health agencies in the nation. This recognition is based on extensive monitoring of patient outcomes and lends credibility to their stated goal of keeping patients in their own homes as long as possible. Medicare maintains a database of information about home health agencies and their patient outcomes. It's a good idea to visit their website and look at the data when considering a home health agency. You can log on at http://www.medicare.gov/HHCompare/home.asp.

Most home health agencies have a standard schedule of services, but it is also important for you to ask about any specialized services the agency may provide. You may never need any of these more rare specialties, but in the even you do, you will have the confidence of knowing they are available through your current provider. Types of services in this category may include enteral therapy, wound care specialists or primary care medical services. Be certain to ask your home health agency if these or other specialized services are provided.

A constant battle in any home health agency is recruiting and maintaining qualified personnel. It is critical for you to explore the home health agency's policies for background checks and on-going employee education and training.

"We often remark that it's really hard to get a job here," noted Nowling, "but we think that's the way it should be. FHC is a wonderful organization particularly because of how selective we are in the people we hire. Our hiring practices result in a staff of people who are committed to excellence and high standards of professional conduct. They work hard for our patients and they tend to stay with us for a long time. This is great news for our patients and their families because this results in consistently better outcomes. It's one of the reasons we are rated so highly 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."

No home health decision process would be complete without considering insurance coverage. Medicaid and Medicare are accepted by most home health agencies as is private insurance including long term care. This is a high priority question and should be addressed early on in your search. Insurance coverages will vary not only with home health agencies but with insurance companies. Trying to interpret the legal documents associated with your policy may not be as fruitful for you as a simple call to a customer service representative at your insurance company.

Try this simple checklist for your evaluation:

Find a qualified home health agency or two for your list

Make sure you understand their list of typical services

Determine the extent of their specialized services

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

Ask about their hiring and screening policies

Ask what kind of staff training and education programs they have

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

If you're one of the "sandwich" generation, then you owe it to your parents or loved ones to thoroughly investigate all your health care options. Make sure that home health agencies are on your list. Chances are your parent or loved one will be grateful you did.

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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.

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