As Virginians try to digest the various changes in Medicare coverage that national health care reform proposes, we ask that they communicate with their legislators to reinforce that Home Care is part of the solution in lowering health care costs. Also, long term care needs to be addressed as an integral part of Medicare coverage as the population ages.  Already 10 million people need help with activities of daily living and need long term home care.

 Home health care’s ability to provide long term care has been an afterthought in Medicare coverage legislation.  Medicaid funds more than 40% of all long-term care and most of those beneficiaries must live in nursing homes to receive funding. Only 7 million people currently have long term care insurance, while over 250 million have acute care insurance.    Neither Medicare or medigap supplementary insurance covers long-term services, and only 6 percent of those ov ...

Nurses are coming back into the work force as the downturn in the economy has taken a toll on family incomes. Many nurses who have been retired want to reenter the workforce on part time basis, but usually do not have that option at a health care facility. Home health care is a more viable option for part time work, and is seeing a resurgence of job applications. Interestingly, home health is often more physically demanding. Home care nurses are required to do more lifting and moving without the help of equipment found at a hospital. The more physical style of homebound patient care is due to the fact that these patients are often older and less ambulatory. Previously retired nurses are finding that the flexibility of home care available in a part time position allows them to keep up with other obligations in their life, and reenter the workforce slowly while gaining experience in a specific field that is both challenging and rewarding.   

AT Home Care traveled to Washington DC with a bus load of VAHC members to lobby for Home Health Care.  The day began at the crack of dawn, boarding a bus with home care administrators and nurses from all over the state of Virginia.  The group split up to meet with 12 different legislative aides and Senators about restoring the home health coverage reimbursement rate that is proposed to be cut 2.75 percent in the current President’s 2010 budget.  Over the next five years these cuts will reduce outlays for home health by $7.59 billion unless Congress blocks them.   Equipped with pamphlets and charts, we addressed the past cuts and projected losses for home care agencies should Obama’s budget go through as penned.

In an effort to draw attention to the importance of Home Health Care as part o ...

AT Home Care is gearing up for their 7th annual Limb Drive which will take place on Sunday, May 17th , in Norfolk.  We are collecting prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation equipment to be used by amputees in developing countries. PFP, the international nonprofit, medical-education organization, created the Walking Free program with AT Home Care’s internationally renowned physical therapist, David A. Lawrence, in 2002, to provide the much needed equipment to clinics established in developing countries.  The event takes place from 12:00 to 2:00 pm in the parking lot of the Norfolk Tides Baseball stadium, Harbor Park, off Union Street in Norfolk.  Each person making a donation (limb,  walker, etc., or money) will receive 2 complimentary tickets (while supply lasts) to the baseball game that afternoon.

Prosthetic limbs and orthotic devices will be collected from hospitals, physical therapists and amputees from all over the country.&a ...

Here's another great article located in the resource section of our site. This article discusses tips for finding the right home health care agency in Virginia.

This site is full of great content to help educate you on all the aspects of the in home health care industry. Some of it can be found on this blog, while others are located in other places on the site. This is a great article on outpatient care Virginia. It's a longer sized article that we felt deserved a permanent location on our site. We hope you find it educational!

AT Home Care is on the cutting edge when it comes to new technology and educating their clinicians.  We are extremely proud of our therapy using Neural Muscular Electrical Stimulation technology (Vital Stim) which is used for people with difficulty swallowing. Vital Stim uses small electrical currents to stimulate the muscles responsible for swallowing.  At the same time, trained occupational therapists help patients ”re-educate” their muscles through rehabilitation therapy. It is used often with patients who are suffering from a stroke or other neuromuscular disorder.  There are patients who have had PEG tube feeding for years who never thought they would swallow again.  At the least, the therapy allows them a “pleasure feed” so they may enjoy the taste of food again.  The progress of this occupational therapy has increase dramatically over the last two years.   AT Home Care’s occupationa ...