The holiday season is a special time of year. It is an opportunity to gather with friends, family, and colleagues. Regardless of our faith or beliefs, the holiday season is often filled to the brim with an array of festivities that reflect precious memories. While most of us barely have time to catch our breath between parties and concerts, gift exchanges and joyful gatherings, for the elderly, the holidays are often a time to focus on what they have lost.
For many, that loss is defined by physical disabilities that make it difficult for them to participate in customs and celebrations that were once very much part of their lives. For others, the holidays are poignant reminders of the loss of a spouse or a friend.
Yeas ago I realized how important this time of year was and what it meant to my clients who found it harder and harder to take part in the holiday season. In response, I created a Holiday Helper program that allowed my clients to maintain many of their favorite traditions while creating a much needed resource for local college students. Continue reading “Holiday Helpers: A Win-Win Program for Home Health, the Elderly, and College Students.” »
Starting a new Private Pay Agency from scratch can be exhilarating and exhausting. It is the moment when all your dreams come true or your worst nightmares come to fruition. Taking a few basic steps before you start the journey can have a very positive impact on the outcome.
Step 1. Know Your Community
We all know the best product in the world will not sell if the need does not exist. Get to know your audience by completing a community assessment. This will let you know if there is a buying public in your area and give an accurate read on the demographics and resources available. Zipskinny.com can help you identify household incomes as well as social and economic indicators. From there, you can make an informed decision about what area of the community will be most responsive to your new business concept. Continue reading “Starting Up: Launching a Private Pay Agency on the Road to Success” »
Way back in the early days when the idea of home healthcare was just taking flight, staff orientation was about welcoming new employees and making them feel at home. Today, in a competitive marketplace and uncertain economy, orientation has grown from a ‘meet and greet’ into one of the most powerful tools you have to build a successful organization. Continue reading “New Tools For Home Health: Comprehensive Orientation Delivers A Competitive Edge.” »
Hiring a consultant should be easy. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you know exactly what you want, but even for the most savvy manager or business owner, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Asking for help is at the foundation of any good business growth. Experts will tell you no one can or should go it alone, especially in today’s economy. The question is, how do you get help that is relevant, affordable, and allows you to succeed? Hiring a consultant is a lot like hiring a senior level employee. It’s a very stratified process, filled with nuance and subtleties, and both types of hires should be treated with the same due diligence.
Frequently, people confide in me that they hired a consultant but it didn’t work out the way they planned. The most common complaint is that the consultant wasn’t all that helpful or simply didn’t address the problems of the organization. So the question is, when you need help, how do you find a consultant whose work is both focused and germane? How do you ensure that your experience ends up being exactly what is needed? Continue reading “Preventing Disaster: How to Hire A Home Care Consultant Without Losing Your Mind.” »
Technology is all around us and the innovations we use every day were unimaginable just a few years ago. In the home healthcare industry, technology and telehealth advances clearly contribute to the universal goals of smarter solutions and better outcomes. Part of the new industry standard, from specialty software for home health, hospice and private pay to telephony to back door portals to telehealth for physicians and family members, these remarkable tools have transformed the way we care for patients and align our business goals.
Ten years ago, the desire to adopt new technologies did not reconcile with an agency’s spreadsheet. The high cost to implement new systems cut into overall operating expenses, and none of the costs were considered an allowable expense in Medicare cost reports. In recent years, CMS has identified telehealth as a cost saver and more and more is encouraging agencies to invest in these new technologies. However, even with that encouragement, CMS still does not allow the costs to be factored in as a business expense. The recent passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signals these outdated attitudes are changing. As I dig deeper and deeper into the legislation, there are clear indications that CMS will soon allow telehealth costs to be considered a reportable expense. What the limits will be and how they will be declared is not yet clear, but it is a fine start.
Continue reading “Telehealth, New Legislation, And Successful Outcomes Put Technology At The Forefront of Home Healthcare.” »
The dawn of the information age and the demand for increased regulatory compliance has brought many positive changes to the home healthcare industry. However, these ‘advances’ have also moved our industry further and further away from its original core of care – the patient. The staff time required for tracking and accountability has left many agencies focusing on clinical outcomes rather than needs or goals of their patients. The Pay-for-Performance issues raised by the recently passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act strongly support a variety of demonstration projects. The results of these projects could have a powerful influence on how you do business. Read More
Tucked inside the new healthcare reform bill is a mother lode of resources and dynamic opportunities for the home healthcare industry. In my role as a consultant, I have spent the past few months scrutinizing the bill, sorting out its strengths and, more importantly, discovering how the new legislation will help my clients grow their businesses.
Americans, as they age, want to remain in their homes whenever possible. Congress heard this message and, as a result, there are many strong mandates within the legislation that make it possible for home healthcare and community-based services to be the wave of the future. While hospitals, doctors, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities will be part of the new healthcare delivery system, the new bill makes it clear that home health, hospice, and private duty home care, more than ever, will be taking center stage. Read More
Staffing is a fluid process and no matter the size or scope of an organization, staff comes – and staff goes. Sometimes we’re glad to see the back of an employee but other times, for no fault of our own, we lose a valued manager whose exit deeply impacts the entire culture of our organization. In the short run, most organizations can absorb the loss. However, as time goes by, the absence of a strong leader can erode confidence, eat away credibility, and impact your financial bottom line.
As a quick fix, agencies often decide to promote from within to temporarily fill a position. Rarely a good choice, this person often comes with baggage or preconceived notions from the rest of the staff that weigh down his or her effectiveness. More often than not, a well intended internal hire leads to internal strife and a valued employee who eagerly stepped in to help out, is suddenly diminished and powerless to make needed changes.
A more productive solution is to hire a consulting firm to bring in an experienced Interim Manager while you conduct an executive search for a permanent hire. Sometimes referred to as a Transition Manager, an organization’s willingness to integrate a temporary solution into their long-range game plan can make or break periods of growth and change. Read More
