Visiting
Nurse Association (VNA) of Cape Cod Ranked Among
Top 25 Percent of Home Health Providers in Country
Quality
Improvement Efforts Recognized by Masspro
April
2008 - Hyannis ,
MA — The Visiting Nurse
Association of Cape Cod was
recently recognized by Masspro, the Medicare quality
improvement organization for Massachusetts , at
a conference honoring the achievements made by home
health agencies participating in the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Home Health
Quality Initiative (HHQI). The agency received its
award for improving clinical care related to one
or more target outcome measures (areas of care).
“Of
the agencies that worked with Masspro on the HHQI
project, a majority were able to significantly improve
their selected target outcome(s). All of the agencies
that volunteered to participate in this project
clearly showed their commitment to improving the
quality of care delivered to their patients,” said
Helen M. Magliozzi, RN, BSN, Manager, Home Health
and Nursing Home Services.
Facilitated
locally by Masspro, the HHQI seeks to enhance the
care provided to patients treated in their homes.
Participating agencies are given technical assistance
to develop and implement plans of action, as well
as encouraged to share information and learn from
their peers through interactive e-mail lists, Web-based
trainings, audio-conferences, and workshops.
VNA
of Cape Cod
Celebrates
90 th Anniversary
(
Hyannis , July 17, 2006) In
the summer of 1916, the Woods Hole Woman's Club
considered creating a “public” nursing service for
the community. Soon thereafter, the Visiting Nurse
Association was created at a Falmouth town meeting.
The first VNA nurse was Elizabeth A. Eliot-Smith,
an English woman who rode a bicycle to make patient
visits. She provided bedside nursing, prenatal and
infant welfare, care for tubercular patients and
school programs. Over time, Elizabeth needed more
than a bicycle to make her rounds – so a used Model
T was purchased.
The
cars and the communities have changed. But one thing
has remained constant. The VNA of Cape Cod continues
its mission of providing exceptional care to the
community for people of all ages.
Cape
Cod Healthcare is pleased celebrate the VNA of Cape
Cod's 90 th anniversary this summer. The significant
milestone will be recognized in events throughout
the summer, including the publication in August
of a special edition of Cape Cod Healthcare's news
magazine, Currents , which
will be devoted entirely to the VNA of Cape Cod.
“The
VNA of Cape Cod has been an integral part of the
healthcare landscape on Cape Cod for decades,” said
Stephen L. Abbott, President and CEO of Cape Cod
Healthcare, parent company of the VNA of Cape Cod.
“It plays such a vital role in the health of people
on Cape Cod . We're delighted to honor this special
organization on the occasion of its 90 th anniversary.”
“The
VNA is one of Cape Cod 's best-kept secrets,” said
Clifton Gustafson, who, along with his recently-deceased
wife Janet, has been a longtime user of VNA programs
and services, and who has also made important charitable
donations to the organization. “Through our personal
use of VNA services, we learned first-hand about
the VNA's wide array of services. The organization
touches a lot of people every day on Cape Cod .
I hope everyone on Cape Cod pays tribute to the
VNA during their 90 th anniversary celebration.”
“I
personally experienced the tremendous work of the
VNA when my husband was recovering from treatment
for cancer,” Chatham resident Polly Warner said.
“I realize the VNA makes a difference in many lives
on Cape Cod . This 90 th anniversary celebration
is a chance for everyone who has been touched by
the VNA to say thank you.”
“
The bottom line is taking
the best care of the patient in their homes and
in the communities and that hasn't changed for the
VNA in 90 years,” said VNA of Cape Cod President
Dianne Kolb. “We look forward
to another 90 years of meeting the home and community
healthcare needs of countless Cape Cod residents
and visitors.”
The
VNA of Cape Cod provides more than 370,000 annual
home health care visits. In addition to providing
direct patient care in the home such as wound treatment,
IV therapy, rehabilitation services, and hospice
and palliative care, the VNA also provides numerous
services designed to improve the health and wellness
of Cape communities, including screenings, immunizations
and programs that not only help people deal with
illnesses, but prevent them in the first place.
The VNA also provides a range of support groups
for different illnesses. VNA services are available
to Cape Cod residents and visitors 24 hours a day,
7 days a week, every day of the year. For more information
on VNA services, call 800-631-3900.
The
Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod is a partner
within Cape Cod Healthcare, a comprehensive, regional
health care system spanning the entire Cape . Cape
Cod Healthcare is the leading provider of health
care services for residents and visitors of Cape
Cod . With more than 400 physicians, 4,000 employees
and 1,000 volunteers, Cape Cod Healthcare has two
acute-care hospitals, the largest home health services
agency on the Cape (VNA), a skilled nursing and
rehabilitation facility, an assisted living facility
and numerous health programs. For more information,
visit Cape Cod Healthcare's web site at www.capecodhealth.org
.
###
VNA
of Cape Cod Offers Leading
Home
Health Technology to Area Residents
—
In-home Telemonitoring Devices
Used as Preventative Medicine
to
Reduce Repeat Hospitalizations and ER Visits —
Hyannis,
MA – (Date) – Through the use of new, in-home
telemonitoring technology, patients of the Visiting
Nurse Association (VNA) of Cape Cod are getting
a checkup every day in the comfort of their homes.
“The
Honeywell HomMed Health Monitoring System enables
us to deliver high-quality care to our patients
by providing us with daily, real-time clinical information
regarding trends in their health status,” says Jeanne
Sarnosky, director of marketing at the VNA.
In-home
telemonitoring uses telecommunications devices,
about the size of an alarm clock, placed in patients'
homes to take their vital signs every day. The technology
brings benefits to both patients and health care
professionals and has a significant impact on patient
care and quality of life. “The technology allows
for early intervention when a health problem is
detected, helping prevent emergency room visits
and hospitalizations,” explains Susan Handy, telemedicine
manager. “It also enables us to better communicate
with the patient's physician by providing them with
trend reports as needed.”
When
patients' vital signs are taken daily, irregularities
can be caught before they become full-fledged problems.
Daily monitoring helps eliminate the two
or three-day gaps of information that typically
occur between home visits. Patients also
become more aware of their condition and understand
the effects diet, activity and other factors have
on their health.
“The system gives our patients and their families
peace of mind because they know we're always aware
of their condition, even on days when we're not
at their home,” explains Handy.
The
VNA of Cape Cod is using the Honeywell HomMed monitors
to help care for many of its patients, and are now
considered to be part of the “standard of care”
at he VNA. Every day, in just three minutes, the
Honeywell HomMed Health Monitoring System collects
a variety of vital signs such as heart rate, blood
pressure, oxygen saturation and body weight.
The
system can also gather subjective health information,
which further assists in evaluating the patient's
condition. The monitor can be programmed
to ask up to 10 “yes” / “no” questions in 11 languages.
Question sets can be tailored specifically
for each patient based on his or her diagnosis.
For example, a patient with high blood pressure
might be asked, “Are you experiencing any dizziness
today?”
The
data are transmitted via a telephone line for review
by VNA of Cape Cod clinicians. Each patient has
a pre-programmed set of limits for their individual
vital sign readings. If those limits are broken,
an alert appears on the computer screen.
This allows the clinician to quickly prioritize
which patients require first response. With
this system, healthcare professionals can detect
and address even the slightest abnormalities before
they become serious.
“In
keeping with our mission to provide the highest
standards in healthcare delivery and quality, the
VNA of Cape Cod had joined a rapidly growing network
of more than 250 clinical sites in the U.S., Canada
and Germany,” according to Sarnosky. These sites
are helping lower health expenditures by preventing
medical emergencies in patients with chronic health
conditions, such as congestive heart failure (CHF),
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes,
high blood pressure and other illnesses. A study
by the federal government's Agency for Health Care
Research Quality (AHRQ) found that about 70 percent
of all health care expenditures are related to chronic
disease.
Honeywell
HomMed model of care has been proven highly effective
by the largest independent study conducted on in-home
telemonitoring in the nation. The study, conducted
in 2002, 2003 and 2004 by Strategic Healthcare Programs
(SHP), a healthcare data services company, concluded
that Honeywell HomMed-monitored patients experience
fewer hospitalizations and emergency room visits
than unmonitored patients.
The
SHP study reported that CHF patients monitored by
Honeywell HomMed experienced a 56.5 percent reduction
in hospitalizations. The study also revealed
an 83.3 percent reduction in emergency room visits
by diabetes patients who were using the Honeywell
HomMed System. And, SHP determined that compared
with similar non-monitored patients, Honeywell HomMed
patients are more likely to improve or maintain
their functional status.
For
more information, call 800-631-3900 or visit our
website at www.vnacapecod.org .
###
Best
Recipes Found
in
the NEW VNA of Cape Cod Cookbook
You
can find the “best of the best” recipes in the new
VNA of Cape Cod cookbook. “Tastes for
All Seasons,” features hundreds of outstanding and
treasured recipes shared by the staff of the VNA.
In this special publication you'll find family favorites
in appetizers, soups, salads, meats and seafoods,
veggies, pastries and all time favorite dessert
recipes.
A
great gift item for yourself or others, the cookbook
is available for only $10 at the VNA Thriftique,
located on Rte. 28 in Yarmouth. The Thriftique is
open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 am to 3
pm. Call 508-398-2759 for more information. (If
you would like to order a cookbook by mail, please
call the Thriftique).
