The Association’s Quality Improvement Committee is excited to offer a NEW resource, entitled “A Safety Guidance Toolkit” for our Home Health Care Agencies to help guide compliance to new state laws outlined in SB1/Public Act 24-19 An Act Concerning the Health and Safety of Connecticut Residents. 

 

While this toolkit has many valuable links and resources, it is highly recommended that you review the resources internally before implementing to ensure a good fit for your agency processes and protocols.

 

Also, this is a MEMBERS ONLY toolkit which will be maintained on our “Members” section of the website. Please do not share outside your agency. 

 

If you have any questions or feedback, please contact Tracy Wodatch (wodatch@cthealthcareathome.org).

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The National Alliance for Care at Home will Combine the Strengths of the Two Largest National Organizations Representing Healthcare Providers Delivering Care Primarily in Homes

 

 

(Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC – September 5, 2024) – The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) today unveiled the new name and logo, as well as the initial website, of the new national organization that will carry forward the work of serving home care, home health, hospice, and palliative care providers as they deliver patients the highest-quality care in their own homes and communities. This new organization will expand on the visions of NAHC and NHPCO to support the full spectrum of providers that offer care in the multitude of settings Americans call home, and the communities in which they live. The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) will deliver resources, education, and information to help members grow their organizations, and will serve as the united voice of the member community advocating for policies that advance the provision of high-quality care for patients and their families. 

Depression, anxiety and social isolation are all common among direct care workers. By addressing employees’ mental health, home care providers can build a more resilient and stable workforce, according to MissionCare Collective’s State of the Direct Care Workforce report for 2025.

 

Direct care workers, which include mostly home care workers as well as skilled nursing and assisted living employees, are three times more likely than the general population to experience depression or anxiety, according to the report. More than 1 in 5 report having poor mental health, and these workers are also more likely to experience sleep disorders, high blood pressure and a variety of other physical health conditions.

To combat fraud, waste, and abuse under the hospice benefit, CMS will expand prepayment medical review this September in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Texas. To help reduce burden on compliant providers, initial review volumes will be low and adjusted based on results. 

 

If you’re noncompliant, CMS may implement extended review or take additional administrative actions.

 

Visit Hospice for coverage information.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released new data on the health and needs of caregivers around the country.

 

Specifically, the study took into account the status of family caregivers, and how that changed from 2015–2016 to 2021–2022. One in five adult Americans provides care support to a friend or family member, according to the CDC.

 

The CDC recognizes this sect of the population as critically important, given that the loved ones they care for may otherwise be in a brick-and-mortar care facility. Like home care providers, these family caregivers allow seniors to age in what is oftentimes the preferable setting – the home.