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Desiree M. Voinche
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Delmarva Foundation Celebrates National Home Care Month
Delmarva and Home Health Agencies Partner to Improve Quality of Care

Easton, MD, November 18, 2005 - November is National Home Care Month, and Delmarva Foundation, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Maryland, applauds home health agencies working in Maryland to enhance their clients’ quality of life and the care process. Estimates show that more than two million Medicare beneficiaries receive home health care services, including skilled nursing care, physical and occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, and medical social services.

Delmarva and Maryland home health agencies have partnered to reduce the rate of people returning to the hospital after they have started to receive home care services. As part of this initiative, Delmarva is assisting Medicare-certified home health agencies with developing and implementing telehealth strategies in their care systems and processes. Interactive home telehealth and traditional home health nursing visits will be combined to decrease hospital admissions and emergency room visits for patients at risk for re-hospitalization.

The hospital readmission or acute care hospitalization measure is one of ten publicly reported quality measures that give information about how well home health agencies provide care for some of their patients. The measures provide information about patients’ physical and mental health, and whether their ability to perform basic daily activities is maintained or improved. Consumers can use quality information to help compare home health agencies.

“Maryland home health agencies have worked very hard over the past three years to improve the quality of care they provide, with 23 agencies achieving statistically significant improvement in at least one publicly reported measure,” said Maulik Joshi, DrPH, President and CEO of Delmarva Foundation. “We are proud of the success they are achieving and look forward to making additional improvements to ensure that all patients get the right care, every time.”

Through the QIO contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Delmarva is also working to enhance organizational culture in home health agencies. Delmarva is conducting a survey on agencies’ practices, systems, and staff satisfaction and will use the results to assist agencies in developing quality improvement activities. In addition, Delmarva is helping agencies to incorporate influenza and pneumococcal immunization information into the patient’s comprehensive assessment upon admission into home care and provide follow-up if appropriate.

For more information on quality improvement resources for home health agencies, visit Delmarva on the Internet at www.delmarvafoundation.org. To view quality measures for home health agencies in Maryland and across the country, visit Home Health Compare at www.medicare.gov by scrolling down the page and clicking on “Compare Home Health Agencies in Your Area,” or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

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About Delmarva Foundation
Delmarva Foundation is a national, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality in over 20 states. Since 1973, Delmarva has assisted in improving care in hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, medical practices and health plans. Delmarva performs quality improvement, quality assurance, utilization review, external quality review and Program Safeguard activities. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Easton, Maryland with other offices in Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, DC; Columbia, South Carolina; Tampa, Florida; and Tallahassee, Florida. For more information, please visit Delmarva Foundation on the web at www.delmarvafoundation.org.