Conway Regional HomeCare named to Top 500

Conway Regional HomeCare has been named to the Top 500 of the 2015 HomeCare Elite, a recognition of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the HomeCare Elite identifies the top 25 percent of agencies and highlights the top 500 agencies overall. Winners are ranked by an analysis of publicly available performance measures in quality outcomes, best practice (process measure) implementation, patient experience (Home Health CAHPS®), quality improvement and consistency and financial performance. In order to be considered, an agency must be Medicare-certified and have data for at least one outcome in Home Health Compare. Out of 9,718 agencies considered, 2,431 are elite.

The award is sponsored by OCS HomeCare by National Research Corporation, the leading provider of home health and hospice metrics and analytics, and DecisionHealth, publisher of the most respected independent publication in the home care profession, Home Health Line.  

“The 2015 HomeCare Elite winners deserve credit for demonstrating high-quality care in their communities. As quality care initiatives become top-of-mind for healthcare providers, we recognize this as a remarkable achievement and are pleased to make this our 10th year of acknowledgement for top performing home health organizations,” said Christine Lang, VP of Product Development for OCS HomeCare. “We congratulate Conway Regional HomeCare on being one of the top 500 home care agencies in the country.”

Conway Regional HomeCare Director Ruth Ann Fisher, RN, credits a team effort that includes physicians and staff with the agency’s ability to achieve recognition as one of the HomeCare Elite.

“All of our staff is involved in this achievement,” said Fisher. “It starts from the time a patient is admitted into Conway Regional HomeCare until the time they are discharged. Our nursing, therapy and support staff are focused on working with our patients’ physicians to make sure the patients have an improved quality of life.”

As part of its quality improvement initiatives, Medicare mandates that home health agencies take measures to prevent patients from returning to the hospital within 60 days of their discharge.  As part of Conway Regional’s quality initiatives, the home health staff follows the majority of their patients using pathways, or care guidelines, specifically for respiratory disease (COPD), heart failure and diabetes.

“The majority of our patients will fit into one of these three categories,” said Fisher.

In particular, Fisher credits the efforts of Quality Manager Sharon Lewis, RN, and OASIS (Medicare data) Coordinator Tina Miller, RN, who monitor the progress of the pathways, and the work of Alicia Taylor, director of nursing, who oversees patient care for Conway Regional HomeCare. “This award would not be possible without the guidance of a variety of primary and specialty physicians on our medical team who direct the care that we provide for these patients.”

“Happy 10th anniversary to the winners of the HomeCare Elite. As CMS ramps up its nationwide initiatives to reward home care agencies for the quality of care they provide, this is yet another way to acknowledge those agencies that have demonstrated their commitment to improving patient care at lower costs. The winners of the HomeCare Elite Award are proving that a heightened focus on clinical outcomes, patient experience and financial management leads to success,” said Marci Heydt, senior content manager, DecisionHealth.

Conway Regional HomeCare has ranked among the nation’s top 500 home health agencies for the past four years. The staff is comprised of 24 full-time and pool employees, including nurses, therapists and support workers who care for patients within a 35-mile radius of Conway Regional Medical Center.