Patients or families looking for good home health care in North Carolina can start out very low tech: word of mouth. Doctors, such groups as Senior Services Inc. in Winston-Salem or knowledgeable friends are usually excellent sources for leads on quality caregivers.
Once a particular home health agency or worker has been identified, specific information can often be obtained on the Internet:
• The State of North Carolina's oversees home health care primarily in two ways: a registry of certified nursing assistants and an inspections process for home health agencies providing advanced care.
The registry shows whether a person has a valid license to provide home care and whether that person has committed such offenses as abuse or theft while working. The registry can be checked online at www.ncnar.org under the heading "Verify Listings."
Patients, however, must know the aide's social-security number to use the online site. Jesse Goodman, who runs the registry for the N.C. Division of Facility Services, recommended that consumers ask their aides for their social-security numbers, and if an aide won't give it to them, they should think twice about hiring that person.
• Patients who don't know the worker's social-security number can speak to a registry representative by calling (919) 715-0562.
Patients or families should also check on the agencies they are considering.
• The state maintains a list of all home health agencies licensed to operate in North Carolina and denotes those that are accredited by such groups as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. These certifications are voluntary and expensive, so many agencies don't try to get them.
The web address for the listing of home health agencies is facility-services.state.nc.us/hclist.pdf
• Information on inspections depends on whether the agency is one of the 170 in North Carolina that provide advanced services and are eligible to bill Medicare for them. Those agencies must be certified by the state and are inspected every three years.
The state doesn't maintain a Web site where patients can access inspection reports, but reports can be seen on www.journalnow.org/content/hhc. Patients or families could also ask the agency for a copy of its inspection report.
• Agencies are also profiled on the Medicare website, www.medicare.gov, by clicking on the link "Compare Home Health Agencies in Your Area."
The site allows uses to compare how agencies performed on 11 quality-of-care measures such as the percentage of patients who had to be hospitalized, or the percentage of patients who got better at such tasks as bathing or getting in and out of bed.
The agencies' results are posted along with state and national results for comparison.
• How long has the agency been in business, and how long at their present location?
• How does it handle criminal background checks - are they just statewide or national? Does it do drug tests and check references?
• How does it determine which worker will be assigned and what to do if that person turns out to be a bad match for the patient?
• Does the agency have a registered nurse on duty at all times? What is the agency's back-up plan for care when a nurse aide is out sick?
• North Carolina has a hotline for that purpose: 800-624-3004.
• If a home-care worker does do something inappropriate, the patient or family should first contact the agency employing the worker. State law requires agencies to report complaints within 24 hours.
• If it is a potential criminal matter, they must also report the incident to police.
• If elder abuse is suspected, people can contact their county's department of social services. People in the adult protective-services division handle abuse complaints.
• People can follow up on their complaints by calling the state Division of Facility Services at 800-624-3004. The division can say whether an investigation has been started.
Source: Danielle Deaver and Paul Garber, Journal reporters
• Danielle Deaver can be reached at 727-7279 or at ddeaver@wsjournal.com
• Paul Garber can be reached at 727-7302 or at pgarber@wsjournal.com