VitalCare Ranked in Top 25% Nationwide!

		VitalCare has been named to the 2007 HomeCare Elite, an independent compilation of the most successful Medicare-certified home healthcare providers in the United States. This annual review identifies the Top 500 of agencies, ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality patient outcomes, quality improvement and financial performance.
The award was announced at the 2007 National Association for Home Care Annual Meeting.   The 2007 HomeCare Elite rankings were compiled by OCS, Inc., a provider of healthcare informatics, and DecisionHealth, publisher of an independent newsletter for the home care industry.     The entire list of 2007 HomeCare Elite agencies can be viewed at www.ocsys.com.

VitalCare Home Health Services

VitalCare is a nonprofit, Medicare-certified home health care organization. That means that VitalCare may be able to bill Medicare, Blue Cross or other insurances for your care.

Visiting nurses may be helpful when you are returning home from a hospital stay. Ask your physician to order these services for you, or ask the nurse or social worker who is planning your discharge to make a referral to home care. Home health care is also helpful when you have health problems that begin to escalate or become more serious but do not require hospitalization. Ask your physician to make a referral to home health care.

Visiting nurses can help you remain independent and manage your health at home by providing any of the following services:

• an assessment of your health – how you are doing on the day they visit. This is helpful for early recognition of subtle changes in your condition. The nurse will tell you what changes are normal, what changes bear monitoring, and what changes may require physician or emergency room intervention.
• education about your condition and how you can best deal with it at home
• wound care when you have had surgery
• infusion nursing for IV antibiotics, hydration, nutrition or chemotherapy
• ostomy care, education and support
• Pt-INR monitoring for Coumadin management
• education about diabetes if you are newly-diagnosed
• education about new medications that the doctor has prescribed for you

Visiting nurses do not eliminate the need for you to keep your regularly-scheduled visits with your doctor or other healthcare provider. Your nurse will work closely with your doctor to enhance your healthcare at home.

Home health aides can assist with:

• personal care, such as bathing, dressing and grooming
• meal preparation
• light housekeeping and laundry
• special care, such as trachea care, that they have been trained to perform.

Physical Therapists work with you to improve motor function and instruct you about assistive devices and prosthetic care, if necessary. Physical Therapists are often involved in home healthcare for patients who have undergone joint replacement surgery or suffered a stroke, working with them to improve their strength through an exercise regime. They can also help pulmonary patients improve their stamina through exercise.                           Jodie Lockman-Samkowiak, RN

Occupational Therapists work with you to enhance functional ability and recommend equipment and environmental adaptations. Occupational Therapists are often involved in the recuperative process for patients who have had a stroke, have experienced trauma in an accident, or are debilitated due to multiple sclerosis.

Speech Therapists work with you to treat speech, communication and swallowing disorders. Speech Therapists often work with stroke patients who are recuperating in the home setting, and with patients who have had surgeries that affect their ability to speak or swallow.

Medical Social Workers provide short-term therapeutic counseling and make referrals to community agencies that can provide assistance to you. Medical Social Workers understand the broad range of social and financial issues that patients experience, and they are experts in identifying solutions for these issues.

How to Refer When you call our Referral Center at 800-342-7711, our friendly staff will help identify the program that best meets your needs. If you are self-referring, they will contact your physician for any necessary nursing orders. They will interact with your insurance company to let you know if services will be covered.   At left, Jenny Szymoniak, RN of VitalCare's Referral Center