Hospital Home Health articles from August 2003

Hospital Home Health archives from August 2003

Is your home health nurse using drugs? Testing promotes safety, limits liability: new hire, random, and for-cause drug screens work best.
August 1, 2003... Six percent of home care, community, and public health nurses in the United States use addictive prescription drugs without a prescription, and 16% binge drink, which means they drink at least five drinks in one sitting. (1) Because home...

Note behavior; physical signs for cause testing: learn to spot warning signs of substance abuse.
August 1, 2003... Requiring an employee to be tested for drugs or alcohol on the basis of reasonable cause means more than following just a hunch, says Arlene Maxim, RN, a home care consultant in Grand Rapids, MI. "Although nurses have very good instincts...

Building relationships, skills keep aides at work: cut turnover by recognizing aides' priorities.
August 1, 2003... (Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series that looks at home health aide retention issues such as training, supervision, and benefits. In this article, experts talk about factors that motivate and retain aides. In next month's...

Pets can benefit patients, but prepare staff for care: nurses and aides need to keep pet safety in mind.
August 1, 2003... The benefit of animal companions for cardiac patients was documented as long ago as 1995 in a study that showed the one-year survival rate for heart attack patients who owned pets was significantly higher than for heart attack patients who did...

Telehealth: limiting the liability of abandonment. (Legalease: understanding laws, rules, regulations).
August 1, 2003... [Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part LegalEase column that addresses home health agency risk management concerns related to telehealth. Last month's article examined liability related to negligence and offered tips on how home...

CMS: 3.3% rise in home health payment rates.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a 3.3% increase in Medicare payment rates to home health agencies for fiscal year 2004. The increase will bring an extra $340 million in payments to home health agencies next year....

No quick end to nursing shortage, new report says.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Although health care organizations are using innovative strategies to recruit and retain nurses and federal, state, and local government agencies are providing financial support to help alleviate shortages, the national nursing shortage will...

CE questions.
August 1, 2003... 17. What is one request that Alacare Home Health & Hospice in Birmingham, AL can no longer make of employees under the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to Kay B. Sykes, SPHR, director of human resources for the agency? A. to...