Re: Home Health Salaries-Help-more commentary/points-safety

[Guest guest]

Good points a, and good warnings, since every agency functions

differently!!!

I just had to comment about your point:

" 3. Some of the homes can be really smelly and smoky. "

Hey, if that's the worst, you did well! lol. I did consults in the inner

city. Many time, I'd ONLY carry the paperwork I needed, otherwise I'd be at

risk

of carrying a private supply of bugs home with me in my bag!

Oh, the one home where it was obvious it was a crack house. Thankfully, they

were used to homecare nurses, so I didn't feel at risk while there.

Also, a point I forgot. There were a few times when my gut/intuition told me

that a particular street/home didn't feel " safe " to me. I turned around, got

out of the area, and rescheduled the visit. I think, working in high crime

areas, that this is what kept me " safe " in the 4+ years I did homecare. (I've

felt/used that same intuition to avoid rock slides when driving 4x4 tours in

the mountains!)

Jan Patenaude

In a message dated 1/2/2007 5:53:38 A.M. Mountain Standard Time,

ppozmsrd@... writes:

I left home health because of reimbursement. I was paid per visit. I

recommend you get paid by the hour, and get paid for your travel time, and

every

minute you do something for the agency (duh.. but I really underestimated this)

A couple of things to consider:

1. It is much more difficult to keep the visits efficient, because in a home

setting there are more likely to be interruptions, patients attempts @

hospitality, barking dogs, etc.

2. I often had incomplete patient data. one of the worst was a consult in

which the pt had a gtube- which he was using! that was no where on the referral

info.

3. Some of the homes can be really smelly and smoky.

4. be sure you know where your mileage starts from! I had to drive 15 miles

to the office, and only then could start calculating mileage. If traffic was

bad, an 8 mile away visit could take 45 minutes to get to. Buy yourself a

good road map!!

5. As I was paid per visit (and only $45 each!)/consult only, I didn't go

into the office without knowing there was a consult. This meant that every

morning I needed to check in. This got to be a pain. Then, If I was not

explicitly told that there was an MD order and insurance ok, I needed to call

the

nurse back to hear these words, only then could I call the patient to set up an

appointment, and sometimes it took more than 1 call. After the visit, I called

the referring nurse to let her know the visit was done, document the visit

for the MD, write the assessment and do my bill. I probably spent as much time

working outside the visit as @ the visit. I would negotiate for office time.

6. If there is computer charting, insist on it. That can provide you with

plenty of info (meds, dx).

Good luck!

a in MA

Jan Patenaude, RD

Director of Medical Nutrition

Signet Diagnostic Corporation

_www.nowleap.com_ (http://www.nowleap.com/)

(Mountain Time)

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