Pennsylvania Homecare Association - Your partner in bringing care home

Providing care with compassion, PHA members deliver care and support directly in the homes of a million elderly and disabled Pennsylvanians a year. Our services allow people to receive care where they want it... in their homes, surrounded by their family and friends. As the Pennsylvania homecare industry's association, PHA works with members, which include visiting nurse associations, home health agencies, hospices and private duty agencies to promote quality and affordable homecare.

February 2, 2010 - The Department of Health has granted a seven-week extension to the homecare license application deadline. Agencies and registries now have until March 31 to file their application with the state. The previous deadline was February 10. Read the Department of Health announcement. View a list of agencies and registries that have already received their license.

New agencies must submit an application to the Dept. of Health and receive a license prior to providing care to consumers.

Read the final regulations and access other legislation that will impact homecare agencies and homecare registries, by visiting PHA’s comprehensive homecare licensure web page.

Let the “Road to Compliance: A Survival Guide to Home Care Licensure” help you prepare!

PHA has produced the state's first licensure survival guide with helpful tools and resources that can be used in performing the activities or requirements of the regulations. All content was peer-reviewed by a committee of PHA-member private duty providers and the Department of Health. The guide comes with a companion CD to download and customize all of the resources and tools including a sample competency test that meets all the required topics under regulations.

A new Home Health Quality Improvement (HHQI) National Campaign is now underway that focuses on reducing avoidable hospitalizations and improving the management of oral medications for home health patients. PHA is again serving as an HHQI Local Area Network of Excellence (LANE) and will be the central hub of campaign activity in Pennsylvania.

Participating agencies have access to free Best Practice Intervention Packages (BPIPs) specifically created for home health agencies to improve the care they provide. The new multimedia Best Practice Intervention Packages (BPIPs) are available to all agencies that register and will be released quarterly through April, 2011.

Participants and supporters also can access free online sharing tools designed to facilitate the free flow of information among stakeholders. These channels are designed to unite providers across settings under the shared vision of reducing avoidable hospitalizations and improving medication management.

If you or a loved one are discussing long-term care options, consider homecare! Pennsylvania's homecare and hospice agencies provide a full-range of services including in-home nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy and personal care to assist with daily activities like bathing and meal preparation. And, homecare is preferred. People want to receive care in the comfort and dignity of their own home. Learn more today!

Home health, hospice and personal care agencies are referred to patients by their trusted physicians. Doctors - learn more about how homecare and agencies which are proven effective at reducing hospitalizations and managing chronic conditions. Learn more today!

PHA's 2010 Annual Conference is set for May 12-14 at the Hilton in Harrisburg. This year's conference will once again feature tracks for home health, hospice and private duty home care. "This is our 39th annual conference and we're hoping for record attendance because of the many changes occurring in homecare", said PHA Executive Director Vicki Hoak. "With health care reform on the immediate horizon, our goal is to make certain our members have the most up-to-date information on issues that may impact their services."

Affiliate members, exhibit at the 2010 annual conference for half off the non-member rate. The conference presents a unique opportunity to discuss your products and services with the leaders of Pennsylvania's homecare industry. There are also more than a dozen sponsorships available - from luncheons and breaks to conference merchandise such as the conference bags, binders and coasters. Learn about exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities in the 2010 Exhibitor Prospectus.

Homecare Operations
Manual Available

The Pennsylvania Homecare Operations Manual is now available for purchase. This comprehensive manual, which was developed through a partnership between PHA and The Corridor Group, contains policies, procedures and a special section on the new licensure requirements for homecare agencies and registries in Pennsylvania.

The manual, available to PHA members at a discounted rate of $630, comes with a CD that will enable providers to further customize the policies to their respective agency. To place your order online, go to http://www.corridorgroup.com/store/catalog.aspx?id=5.

State Needs to Remove
Barriers to Homecare

According to University of Pittsburgh Study

According to a University of Pittsburgh report, The State of the Homecare Industry in Pennsylvania: Bringing Care Home, Pennsylvania’s homecare industry cares for more than 190,000 clients each week – more than the total number of licensed beds in all the hospitals and nursing homes in the state. “But until personal care in the home is paid for by Medicaid for all eligible Pennsylvanians as it is for nursing home care, Pennsylvania will continue to struggle to gain a balanced long-term care system,” the report’s authors said.

Vicki Hoak, Executive Director of the The Pennsylvania Homecare Association (PHA) which commissioned the report noted that, “This report acknowledges this industry’s efforts to accommodate consumers’ preference to have care and support brought to them – in their homes.” Click here for a copy of the report. Click here for a copy of the press release.