Celebrating National Home Care Month

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At Shore Home Care: Seated, l. to r., staff nurses Megan Markie, Heather Coulbourne and Micha Rowlands. Standing, l. to r., Patti Starkey, regional quality improvement manager; Cindy Lloyd, QI nurse; staff nurses Shannon Blades, Courtney Carroll and Hillary Coulbourne; Richard Woodfield, president and CEO of Remarx Medical Services; Amy Brockson, clinical nurse manager; and staff nurses Betsy Rector, Lee Rosendale and Marcy Schmitt. Woodfield visited UM SHC in October to demonstrate the latest Devon negative pressure wound vac, which is smaller, quieter and more advanced than previous models.

November is National Home Care Month – and for the staff of UM Shore Regional Health’s three home care entities, UM Shore Home Care (UM SHC) and UM Chester River Home Care (UM CRHC), and Shore Wellness Partners (SWP), there is much to celebrate.

Both UM CRHC and UM SHC have been serving patients in the five country region for more than 15 years.  The two agencies provide a full range of services including skilled nursing; physical, occupational and speech therapy; medical social work; and home health aide assistance. SWP is a community-based care program providing these services for clients in underserved communities who meet certain eligibility criteria.

Between the three entities, there are now more than 60 staff whose shared goal is to help each patient maintain optimal health and independence in his or her home setting, whether a family residence, a group home, or a residential care facility.

Says Rita Holley, director of Home Care for UM SRH, “During FY 2016, our SHC, CHRC and SP clinicians served a total of 2,225 individual patients and conducted more than 38,500 visits – driving over 486,000 miles in and around the five county region. Home care staff  also continue to be the ‘eyes and ears’ of Shore Regional Health, in that we help patients’  in their home settings where we get a lot of feedback — from patients, their caregivers and loved ones — that helps assess community health needs.”

Holley is most proud of the strong satisfaction ratings the two agencies receive from patients and their families. “Our home care patient satisfaction rates consistently exceed national and state averages, often by several percentage points,” she explains. “Where the Maryland average satisfaction rankings on quality measures ranges from 77 to 88 percent,  satisfaction scores for Shore and Chester River agencies range from 86 to 94 percent. We often receive thank you notes and cards from patients and their loved ones who compliment the staff not only on their professional skill and knowledge but also on their warm and supportive demeanor.”