Home Health Quality ImprovementNational Campaign e-Bulletin
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March 2007 e-Bulletin

Participating Home Health Agencies

The current number of home health agencies participating in the National Campaign is over 4,400, which is more than 50 percent of all Medicare home health agencies in the nation!

www.homehealthquality.org

Note to Self - Add to weekly “To Do” list: Check HHQI Web site at www.homehealthquality.org.

The Home Health Quality Improvement Campaign Web site is the place to go for the latest campaign information. Routine updates include participating home health agencies by state. View the growing list of Campaign Supporters including physicians, vendors, home health publications and individual home care staff members. The Intervention Packages page is where you download the Best Practice Intervention Package of the month. Inform your physicians of the new Physicians page that addresses the important role of doctors in reducing avoidable hospitalizations.

HHQI Campaign Supporters

Individuals and organizations that are not home health agencies are invited to show their support for the HHQI National Campaign by registering as a Campaign Supporter on the Web site. Home health agencies should register as a participating agency in the campaign. Examples of campaign supporters are physicians, consultants, vendors, home health publications, individual home care staff members or any person or organization wishing to show support for the campaign. A listing of campaign supporters is available on the Web site. Campaign supporters will receive a monthly e-Bulletin, which details the campaign activities.

Linda Krulish, PT, MHS, COS-C, has kept the American Physical Therapy Association Home Health Section listserv members apprised of the HHQI National Campaign. She encouraged members of the association to join as individual campaign supporters as well as reminding them about the “101 Ways PTs Can Help Reduce ACH” campaign.

The list of campaign supporters contains many physical therapists, which demonstrates the noticeable commitment of physical therapists across the country to the HHQI campaign.

Therapists who register as campaign supporters will be better informed and have easier access to the campaign information (e-Bulletin and Best Practice Intervention Packages). This is especially critical for independent contractors, who may not have contact with their agencies like full-time or part-time staff. All therapists, regardless of their staff position, who receive the information in a more timely manner, can actively contribute to the implementation of the best practice intervention package.

Individuals who belong to professional associations may want to follow Linda’s example and encourage individual members to join the campaign as supporters.

Thanks to everyone who has become a campaign supporter!

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Best Practice Intervention Package
   

Best Practice Intervention Package Survey for HHAs

A Best Practice Intervention Package (BPIP) survey will be offered to the home health agencies participating in the campaign. The purpose of the survey is to highlight sections of the BPIP and promote interest in the packages. One agency per month will be selected from all agencies submitting a survey to be the "agency of the month." This agency will be highlighted on the campaign Web site. More information about the BPIP survey will be given in the Tip of the Week e-mail sent on March 5th.

Best Practice Intervention Package: Hospitalization Risk Assessment

The first of 12 monthly educational resource packages is now available for home health agencies to download. Each package will feature a different intervention topic to assist in reducing avoidable acute care hospitalizations (ACH). All materials are free.

The packages are designed to allow agencies to use part of or the entire package each month. The agency leadership or a small team should:

  • Review the package the beginning of each month and determine what they will use at their agency, or
  • Watch a 15-minute recorded WebEx to learn more about the Hospitalization Risk Assessment package to help you decide on different sections you may want to look at in more detail.

There are different tracks in the package:

  • Leadership (Leadership Path – are not using a hospitalization risk assessment and Leadership Highway – are currently using a hospitalization risk assessment)
  • Care Providers (SN, PT, OT, ST, MSW and HHA).

How can your agency use the packages?

  • Incorporate into your monthly staff meetings some or part of the tracks for staff education
  • Use the home health aide track for the monthly one-hour required home health aide education
  • Integrate some or part of the tracks into your weekly team meetings
  • Utilize as a self-study packet for your disciplines, especially with contracted staff.

To see a schedule of the Best Practice Intervention Package topics, visit the Web site, and look under “Intervention Packages,” or click here.

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Additional Resources
   

None at this time

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LANE Update
   

Local Area Network of ExcellenceHHQI Calendar: The LANEs have received the March HHQI calendar with reminders of HHQI release dates, activities, etc. LANEs are encouraged to also include the HHQI activities planned for their state on the calendar. The purpose of the calendar is for the HHAs to help plan their month related to the HHQI activities and resources.

Teleconference Reminder: The next LANEs ONLY teleconference will be Monday, March 26, 2007 from 3 – 3:30 p.m. EDT. The teleconference number will be sent out via e-mail later in the month. We will be discussing the next intervention package – Patient Emergency Care Plan.

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Creative Approaches
   

Linda Day, project supervisor from Ohio KePRO, Inc. (QIO), shares the great working relationship they have with the Ohio state health care and home care associations as they have come together to form LANEs. The QIO has worked with the HH Advisory Council the last several years, which includes the Ohio Council for Home Care. A new state association, the Ohio Homecare Organization, also has teamed up to work collaboratively as a LANE. In addition, the QIO is working closely with the Ohio Department of Health, OASIS Educator Coordinator (OEC), case managers from managed care and the Ohio Department of Aging to promote and support the HHQI National Campaign in reducing acute care hospitalizations.

The following are some examples of collaboration opportunities that have evolved:

  • The QIO has been invited to participate on state association committees
  • The QIO and the state association have shared reciprocal presentations at seminars and conferences
  • The national campaign is a standing agenda item for the HH Advisory Council meetings
  • Information about the national campaign has been shared in each organization’s newsletter
  • The Ohio Department of Health and other health associations are actively participating as Campaign Supporters in the national campaign
  • The OASIS Education Coordinator is providing information about the HHQI national campaign through the OASIS classes and in a monthly newsletter to Survey and Certification.

Linda states that they are still recruiting HHAs, but are gearing up for supporting and encouraging utilization of the educational materials.

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Tips of the Week
   

View the February 2007 Tips of the Week.

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e-Bulletin Archive
   

View the February 2007 e-Bulletin.

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 If you have technical problems with the e-Bulletin, please e-mail Russell Hartman.

  
 
 
This material was prepared by Quality Insights of Pennsylvania, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization Support Center for Home Health, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. Publication number 8SOW-PA-HHQ07.365. App. 3/1/07.