Hygieia Home Health, Inc » Press Release

Hygieia Home Health Joins in the Movement to Save Home Health

noel_alzua — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:25:23 +0000

Artesia, CA, February 1, 2009—Hygieia Home Health’s patients are among the millions of seniors that depend on Medicare. As the country moves towards health care reform, many in congress are proposing drastic cuts in Medicare reimbursements—putting millions of elderly at risk of losing their home health benefits.

“It’s unfortunate that some members of congress, have yet to realize that home health care is one of the most cost effective ways to care for the sick and elderly, and that it actually saves Medicare millions each year. We urge everyone to visit www.wecansavehomehealth.com and join in the effort to protect home health,” said David Zalopany, CEO/Administrator.

According to a recent study released by Avalere Health LLC, a leading advisory company focused on healthcare business strategy and public policy, use of home health care services following a hospital stay by patients with at least one chronic disease saved Medicare $1.71 billion in the two-year 2005-2006 period.

The study, sponsored by the Alliance for Home Health Quality and Innovation (AHHQI), also found that an additional $1.77 billion would have been saved in the same period if all Medicare beneficiaries with similar chronic diseases had accessed home health care services. The study also found that Medicare could realize $30 billion in savings for chronic disease patients in the next ten years by expanding access to home health.

There are many reasons why patients chose home health care as their preferred health care option. The health care is delivered at home, which is where most people feel most comfortable and relaxed. Likewise, home health care helps keep families together while allowing the elderly to maintain their independence. Patients also heal faster at home, as opposed to being in and out of hospitals and nursing homes, saving Medicare millions of dollars each year.

“While Hygieia Home Health embraces President Obama’s vision to provide access to quality and affordable health care for everyone, we urge congress to preserve existing Medicare benefits including home health reimbursements. Please visit www.wecansavehomehealth.com to learn more and sign the petition.”

For full results of the Avalere Health study on home health, visit the research portfolio at www.avalerehealth.net.

Hygieia Home Health, Inc. Awarded Accreditation From The Joint Commission

noel_alzua — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 13:00:51 +0000

By demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety, Hygieia Home Health has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission is dedicated to continuously improving the safety and quality of the nation’s health care through voluntary accreditation. Hygieia Home Health, which provides home health care services, received the accreditation award after The Joint Commission found that it had demonstrated compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for home care organizations.

“In becoming accredited, Hygieia Home Health was evaluated against a set of national standards by a Joint Commission surveyor experienced in the delivery of home care services,” says Margherita Labson, R.N., executive director, Home Care Accreditation, The Joint Commission. ”Achieving accreditation demonstrates Hygieia’s commitment to provide high quality and safe care to its patients.”

David Zalopany, CEO/Administrator says Joint Commission accreditation shows that “we make a significant investment in quality on a day-to-day basis from the top down. We seek accreditation for our organization because we want to be the best and we view obtaining Joint Commission accreditation as another step toward excellence.”

He notes that accreditation is attainable only through the cooperation and communication among staff members. “Everyone here at Hygieia Home Health plays a valuable role in working to meet the standards. They’re proud to work in an accredited organization,” says David Zalopany. “They also appreciate the educational aspect of the survey and the opportunity to interact with The Joint Commission team.”

For more information about the Joint Commission, visit www.jointcommission.org

Named to 2009 HomeCare Elite as a Top Home Health Care Provider

admin — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:30:31 +0000

Hygieia Home Health Inc., today announced that it has been named to the 2009 HomeCare Elite™, a compilation of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States. This annual review identifies the top 25 percent of agencies and further highlights the top 100 and top 500 agencies overall. Winners are ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, quality improvement, and financial performance.

“The 2009 HomeCare Elite winners demonstrate a commitment to providing their patients with the best possible care while performing at the highest level,” said Nancy Buller, senior director of marketing communications at OCS HomeCare. “We congratulate Hygieia Home Health on being one of the top home care agencies in the country.”

David Zalopany, CEO/Adminstrator at Hygieia Home Health, credits his skilled staff of caring and compassionate nurses as well as the company’s overall commitment to providing super service as their patients as the major factors that contributed to them being named as one of the 2009 HomeCare Elite. “Hygieia consistently promotes best practices in home health care with a focus on also providing superior service to our patients. It’s a winning combination, and we’re proud that it’s been recognized,” said David Zalopany.

“DecisionHealth would like to congratulate the top HomeCare Elite agencies that achieved excellent clinical and financial outcomes by providing quality care to their patients,” adds Marci Heydt, executive editor of DecisionHealth’s Home Health Line.

The 2009 HomeCare Elite is the only performance recognition of its kind in the home health industry. The 2009 HomeCare Elite is brought to the industry by OCS HomeCare, the leading provider of homecare information, and DecisionHealth, publisher of homecare’s most respected independent newsletter Home Health Line. The data used for this analysis was compiled from publicly available information. The entire list of the 2009 HomeCare Elite agencies can be viewed by visiting the OCS Web site at www.ocshomecare.com.

About OCS HomeCare

OCS HomeCare empowers home health and hospice organizations with results-driven data intelligence, plus the largest and most accurate homecare database in the industry. Homecare providers, payers, associations, government agencies, vendors, and consultants all turn to OCS to elevate decision-making, raise the bar on results, and bring home positive outcomes. For more information about OCS HomeCare, please visit www.ocshomecare.com or call 888.325.3396.

About DecisionHealth®

For more than 30 years, DecisionHealth has served as the industry’s leading source for news, analysis and instructional guidance with cutting edge information sources such as Part B News, Home Health Line, Medicare Compliance Alert, Inside the Joint Commission and Specialty Coders Pink Sheets. Our unique blend of award-winning, on-staff journalists and unmatched access to health care executives, providers, healthcare organization managers and their revenue-cycle staffs enables us to provide solutions, tools and guidance that’s relied on by nearly 100,000 home health care and specialty physician practice professionals. For more information, please visit www.DecisionHealth.com or call 877.602.3835.