Home Health & Hospice Week
Aide Retention Tough, New CDC Report Says
The need for home care aides is rising, but drawbacks to the job may make recruiting increasingly difficult. The Centers for Disease Control surveyed a sample of the 160,700 home care and hospice aides in 2007. Their average hourly pay rate was $10.88 and almost 19 percent of aides had no insurance. More than one in 10 had at least one work-related injury in the previous year, says a new report on the survey from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. "Retention of direct care workers is a major challenge," the report says. "A low pay structure, lack of or limited fringe benefits, a heavy workload, poor working conditions, lack of appropriate training, little opportunity for professional advancement, and a lack of respect from management are some of the reasons cited for high turnover and vacancy rates." Among the statistics included in the report are the percentage of aides who would prefer to work more hours (26 percent); who received a pay raise in the last year (57 percent); and who had or were currently receiving government benefits such as food stamps (52 percent). Hospice-only aides were much more likely than HHA aides to be offered health insurance from their employers -- 94 versus 66 percent. The report is at www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr034.pdf.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Hospice:
Scrutinize Charges Unrelated To Hospice Terminal Diagnosis -- Before Reviewers Do
Use 3 tips to survive the feds' new focus. The cost of caring for your [...] - Medical Review:
RACs May Bite On Hospice Unrelated Charges
Data-driven review lends itself to terminal diagnosis issue. Recovery Audit Contractors have so far left [...] - Fraud & Abuse:
New DME Fraud Pilot May Be Model For HHAs
DME suppliers to voluntarily take part in card swipe fraud-fighting initiative. One Medicare contractor is [...] - Human Resources:
Boost Staff Morale With This Praise Tool
Also use one simple tip to turn around chronic complainers. Looking for ways to keep [...] - Industry Note:
Regulatory Review Unlikely To Lighten Your Load On F2F
Health care reform provisions won't undergo scrutiny. Don't expect a sudden reprieve to come from [...] - Tool:
Staff Can Use This Form to Share How They Are Helping Patients
Form puts a new spin on 'incident report.' - Industry Note:
Cahaba-To-CGS Transition Comes With Cash Flow Hang-Ups
Home health agencies and hospices getting used to their new Medicare contractor are also getting [...] - Industry Note:
Watch For New PECOS Edit Deadline
Home care providers now have the delay to their PECOS edits in writing. Previously, the [...] - Industry Note:
Turn To This Resource For Emergency Waiver Info
Waivers of some regulatory requirements went into effect in certain parts of Missouri due to [...] - Industry Note:
Do Your HEAT Compliance Training In Small Pieces
Don't have the time to sit through the nearly four-hour HEAT training session the HHS [...] - Industry Note:
Patients Writing Vaccination Reminders Ups Compliance
If you run flu vaccination drives, some new information from the National Institutes of Health [...] - Industry Note:
Aide Retention Tough, New CDC Report Says
The need for home care aides is rising, but drawbacks to the job may make [...] - Industry Note:
Step Up To The Plate For PS&R Reports
If you fail to download your PS&R report from the new system, it will be [...] - Industry Note:
Controversy Erupts Over Hoosier State Home Care
Many home care providers are seeing their state budgets for the Medicaid benefit cut. Case [...] - Industry Note:
Keep Your Mind Open To Non-Traditional Biz Lines
If you're looking for ways to keep your home care organization healthy, you shouldn't overlook [...]
