Home(Care) for the Holidays . . .
While many of us associate the holidays with shopping, special events, and travel, there are others who are planning to spend the holidays more quietly because of illness or injury, recovery after a medical procedure, or other health conditions.
When care is needed at home, Covenant HomeCare can help. As the area’s largest locally owned home health provider, Covenant HomeCare offers transitional or continued care, and serves more than 5,000 patients annually in 17 counties through branches in Knoxville, Oak Ridge and Morristown.
Covenant HomeCare has been named among the top performing home health agencies in the U.S. and among the top 25 percent of Medicare-certified agencies in the nation. Rankings were based on an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, best practice implementation, patient experience, quality improvement and financial performance.
In addition, Covenant HomeCare is the first home health agency in Tennessee and the third in the nation to reach Milestone 5, the highest level of a five-step Home Health Quality Improvement initiative aimed at preventing heart attack and strokes. It is one of more than 2,300 home health agencies around the country participating in the initiative.
Using a series of best practice interventions, initiative tracks data on aspirin and tobacco usage, blood pressure and cholesterol levels among home health patients with ischemic vascular disease.
“The achievement of this milestone is an example of our ongoing commitment to providing excellent care and putting patients first,” said John Huskey, president of Covenant HomeCare. “Heart disease is a serious problem in Tennessee. At Covenant HomeCare, we believe this is a wonderful opportunity to work with patients one-on-one in their homes to help them understand their risks and live longer, healthier lives.”
Eligibility for Services
To be eligible for home care services, a patient must be homebound because of the effects of illness or injury, and must be under a physician’s plan of care that requires skilled nursing services and/or physical therapy, speech-language pathology or occupational therapy. With certified clinicians in specialized areas, Covenant HomeCare is committed to reducing hospital admissions by providing the care patients need in the comfort of their homes.
Compassionate End-of-Life Care
For patients and families facing end-of-life care, Covenant Hospice offers a team-oriented approach to medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support that is expressly tailored to the patient’s needs and wishes. At the center of hospice is the belief that each person has the right to die pain-free and with dignity, and that families and loved ones will receive support and assistance as well.
“Hospice is about maximizing the quality of life during the time a person has left,” said Katie McLaughlin, manager of volunteer services. “Our nurses provide medical care and education, and social workers are assigned to the patient and family, and can link them to other agencies that can also provide assistance. We have trained hospice volunteers who can provide respite care and give family members a much-needed break. Chaplains provide spiritual support for all religious preferences and are also available to support the family.”
Covenant Hospice also provides bereavement care, grief support groups and Katerpillar Kids, a special camp for children and youth grieving the loss of a loved one.
Covenant Hospice is proud to have reached Level IV – the highest level – of We Honor Veterans, a national program developed by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The program encourages partnerships between community hospices, state hospice organizations and VA facilities. The goal of We Honor Veterans is to build awareness and appreciation for the sacrifices our veterans have made, and to improve end their end-of-life care.