Vidant Home Health And Hospice Earns 4.5 Star Rating From Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services | Eastern North Carolina Now

    GREENVILLE, NC     The home health portion of Vidant Home Health and Hospice has earned 4.5 stars for Home Health Quality of Patient Care through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Patients are admitted to home health with a referral from their doctor often after illness, injury or surgery, to provide skilled nursing, therapy and other services to help the patient recover in the comfort of home.

    According to CMS, a 4- or 5-star rating means that the agency performed better than other agencies on the nine measured care practices and outcomes. While the maximum a provider may receive is 5 stars, the North Carolina and national average is 3 stars. Vidant operates home health in three locations: Washington earning 4.5 stars; Greenville with 4 stars and Windsor with 3.5 stars; all ranking among the highest of the home health agencies in the 13-county area it serves. Quality of Patient Care Star Ratings are now available on the CMS Home Health Compare website at www.medicare.gov/homehealthcompare and will be updated each quarter.

    "We are proud to be the superior quality performer for home health in our 13-county service area. Every patient deserves to receive the best care possible, centered on their needs and health priorities. Vidant Home Health provides patient centered care with an emphasis on building a relationship with each patient and family we serve," said Debra Thompson, vice president of care coordination for Vidant Health.

    CMS provides the Home Health Compare (HHC) website as a key tool for consumers to use when choosing a home health care provider. It is designed to be an easy-to-access, convenient source of authoritative information on provider quality. CMS has added new tools to make the information even easier to use — star ratings, to help consumers make the best decisions about their health care.

    CMS currently reports 29 process, outcome and patient experience of care quality measures on the HHC website, to help consumers and their families make choices about who will provide their home health care.

    The new Quality of Patient Care Star Rating methodology includes nine of the 29 currently reported quality measures for home health care providers including process measures of Timely Initiation of Care, Drug Education on all Medications Provided to Patient/Caregiver, Influenza Immunization Received for Current Flu Season and outcomes measures of Improvements in Ambulation, Bed Transferring, Bathing, Pain Interfering With Activity, Shortness of Breath and Acute Care Hospitalization.

    Vidant Home Health and Hospice has locations in Greenville, Washington, Windsor, and Ahoskie, including the Service League of Greenville Inpatient Hospice, serving patients and families in 13 counties in eastern North Carolina.

    Additional information can be found at www.vidanthealth.com/hospice or www.vidanthealth.com/homehealth. To learn more, call 252-847-2000 or 800-227-3894.

    Vidant Health, a mission-driven, not-for-profit corporation, owns, leases or has a majority membership interest in eight eastern North Carolina hospitals. The health system includes Vidant Beaufort Hospital, Vidant Bertie Hospital, Vidant Chowan Hospital, Vidant Duplin Hospital, Vidant Edgecombe Hospital, The Outer Banks Hospital, Vidant Medical Center, Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital, Vidant Home Health and Hospice,Vidant Wellness Centers, Vidant Medical Group and is affiliated with the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. On the web at www.vidanthealth.com.