Gloria Hatch, a 71-year-old survivor of kidney, ovarian and colon cancer, is recovering from abdominal surgery to battle an infection.
Initially treated at the University of Washington Medical Center, she was transferred to a Seattle rehabilitation center for 2 1/2 weeks.
Although still hooked to an oxygen canister and needing daily checks to ensure that her incision is healing properly, she was able to return to her Lake Forest Park-area home with help from the Mountlake Terrace office of Visiting Nurse Services of the Northwest.
"Thank goodness this service was available," Hatch said. "I wanted to be home. … Surroundings help heal, too."
Home health care agencies send nurses and other health care professionals such as physical, speech and occupational therapists to patients’ homes, often after hospitalizations.
"Just about everything can be provided in the home these days other than surgery" — from ventilator care for babies born prematurely to helping patients recover from strokes, heart attacks or surgeries, said Donna Cameron, executive director of the Edmonds-based Home Care Association of Washington. "We tend to be an invisible part of health care."
That’s one of the reasons why a new Web site, Home Health Compare, has just been established by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It provides information to help consumers who need services make good choices. It’s similar to an existing federal Web site that provides nursing home information.
Eleven measures of patient care are listed on the new Web site, including whether patients get better at walking and getting in and out of bed, whether they are able to dress themselves and how many home care patients are admitted to hospitals.
Statewide, there are 145 licensed home health care agencies, 61 of which accept Medicare patients. In Snohomish County, there are 21 such agencies, with six accepting Medicare patients, said Gary Bennett, who oversees facilities and services licensing for the state Health Department.
The new federal Web site only lists information on home health agencies that accept Medicare patients.
Last year, Providence Hospice &Home Care of Snohomish County treated nearly 3,000 home care patients. Visiting Nurse Services of the Northwest served nearly 7,000 patients in Snohomish, King and Skagit counties out of its Mountlake Terrace office.
Home health care "is the most isolated care setting," said Kary Hyre, the state’s long-term care ombudsman. "You’re all alone with your provider."
While applauding the attention the new Web site has brought to home health care, Hyre cautioned that consumers still have to figure out how to interpret the information provided.
Home health providers agree, saying consumers must look beyond just the scores listed on the Web site.
"My concern about the Web site is it doesn’t talk about the way the exact question (on patient care) is asked and answered," said Paula Beatty, executive director of Providence Hospice &Home Care.
For example, the Web site says 27 percent of Providence home care patients got better at taking their medications, while the state average is 33 percent. Nearly 30 percent of its home care patients have a paid caregiver who would likely be assisting patients in ensuring they take their medications, Beatty said.
But the question reported on the federal Web site only asks whether the patient was better able to take all prescribed medications. While the score on the Web site is important, the key point is the patient got the medication, she said.
Beatty said she also worries that health care providers might feel pressure to report patient progress so their organization gets a good "grade" on the Web site.
"We don’t want to … question the nurse or therapist and say: ‘Are you sure? Is that what you saw?’ Because it would improve the score," Beatty said.
Nevertheless, the Web site "is a great first step," said Diane Kolb, director of business services for Visiting Nurse Services.
If an agency scores unusually low in one area, call them up and say, "Could you tell me why?" Beatty suggested.
"We’re really pleased to see the focus on home health care," Cameron said. "I’m continually amazed at the number of people who aren’t aware that they could get services for a family member at home or that there are people who come to the home to provide services."
Reporter Sharon Salyer:
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