Healthcare in the Home
In all of my classes (management specifically) we have been talking about healthcare provided in the home. Before I really learned about it, I thought home health was things like hospice services to help keep the elderly comfortable at the end of their lives. My grandfather was on hospice and my family really valued the services they provided that allowed him to remain comfortable in his own home, something that was really important to him as he neared the end of his life. But aside from hospice, I've learned that there is so much more to home healthcare than just services like this for the elderly.
After a visit from Keliane Totten, VP of Community Engagement at Concord Regional VNA, my eyes were opened to not only the vast services that a VNA or similar organization could provide, but the incredible amount of work done by management in order to make a service like this work. Management in a VNA service like the one Ms. Totten is a part of requires not only the regular communication between management and physicians, but communication between the patient, their physician, management, the nursing staff who visits them, and so on. Taking the care out of the hospital and bringing it to the home brings a lot more responsibility and extra steps to ensure proper, high quality care.
One thing that I find very interesting about VNA services that I wasn't aware of prior to Ms. Totten's visit is the services a VNA can provide to new mothers. Most programs start working with new moms who are approximately 28 weeks pregnant, helping them prepare for their new baby, all the way up until the baby is two years old. The services can range anywhere from educational, to helping the mom plan doctors visits for her baby, and postpartum care (like helping meet nutritional and sleep needs) for the mother (Nurse Home Visits, 2017). All of these services are things that help ensure both mother and baby are living happy, healthy lives. Aside from the US, many developed countries have equivalent programs to our VNA services that are mandatory for new mothers and babies. These countries have lower complications during pregnancy and better health outcomes for mothers and babies. Here in the US, these services are not required and are usually paid for out of pocket because insurance won't cover it.
As someone in a management position, having a VNA program that serves mothers and babies would not only help improve health outcomes, but also patient satisfaction. Mothers and babies would be taken care of to an even higher degree, resulting in more new families being brought into the organization for stellar care. The one problem that always seems to arise is affording a program like this. It would be a challenge to implement with our current unstable healthcare system. If one day we are able to start focusing on maternal and child health, incorporating VNA services to all new moms would make a world of a difference in their lives.
Nurse Home Visits. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2017, from http://www.scdhec.gov/Health/FamilyPlanning/Pregnancy/PostpartumNewbornHomeVisits/
After a visit from Keliane Totten, VP of Community Engagement at Concord Regional VNA, my eyes were opened to not only the vast services that a VNA or similar organization could provide, but the incredible amount of work done by management in order to make a service like this work. Management in a VNA service like the one Ms. Totten is a part of requires not only the regular communication between management and physicians, but communication between the patient, their physician, management, the nursing staff who visits them, and so on. Taking the care out of the hospital and bringing it to the home brings a lot more responsibility and extra steps to ensure proper, high quality care.
One thing that I find very interesting about VNA services that I wasn't aware of prior to Ms. Totten's visit is the services a VNA can provide to new mothers. Most programs start working with new moms who are approximately 28 weeks pregnant, helping them prepare for their new baby, all the way up until the baby is two years old. The services can range anywhere from educational, to helping the mom plan doctors visits for her baby, and postpartum care (like helping meet nutritional and sleep needs) for the mother (Nurse Home Visits, 2017). All of these services are things that help ensure both mother and baby are living happy, healthy lives. Aside from the US, many developed countries have equivalent programs to our VNA services that are mandatory for new mothers and babies. These countries have lower complications during pregnancy and better health outcomes for mothers and babies. Here in the US, these services are not required and are usually paid for out of pocket because insurance won't cover it.
As someone in a management position, having a VNA program that serves mothers and babies would not only help improve health outcomes, but also patient satisfaction. Mothers and babies would be taken care of to an even higher degree, resulting in more new families being brought into the organization for stellar care. The one problem that always seems to arise is affording a program like this. It would be a challenge to implement with our current unstable healthcare system. If one day we are able to start focusing on maternal and child health, incorporating VNA services to all new moms would make a world of a difference in their lives.
Nurse Home Visits. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2017, from http://www.scdhec.gov/Health/FamilyPlanning/Pregnancy/PostpartumNewbornHomeVisits/
I think with value-based care, we will see a lot more demand for home health. Things like well-baby visits in the home are a great example
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