Home Health & Hospice Week

Here's how one state's emergency planning is already paying off. If you're worried about efficiently responding to the potential onslaught of flu cases this winter, you aren't alone -- but you can stop outbreaks from streaking through your agency. While home health agencies in most states staggered under the weight of the H1N1 cases earlier this year, agencies in New York were prepared for anything, said the Home Care Association of New York State's senior director of policy and development Alexis Silver during the recent "Planning for an Influenza Pandemic in the Home Health Care Sector" Web conference, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Background: New York is no stranger to emergencies between terrorist attacks, floods, hurricanes, and power outages. The state's unique threats forced the home care industry to hammer out hazard planning long before the current H1N1 panic started, Silver told conference listeners. Because the state's disaster [...]