September General Meeting  

"Quality Improvement in Home Health Care:

Regulations, Accreditation

and Performance Improvement"

Presented by

Janet Hackett, RN, BSN

Thursday, September 17, 2009
at the
The Golden Bull Restaurant
in
Gaithersburg, MD

Registration & Networking: 6:00 p.m. 
Dinner: 7:00 p.m.   
General Announcements: 8:00 p.m.
Program:  8:15 p.m.
Adjourn: 9:15 p.m

The cost is $10.00 for members and students or $20.00 for non-members.

Please register using the button above or by contacting Mrs. Michele Withnell at (301) 461-2469 or .  Please note:  Meal preferences cannot be guaranteed if one is not registered by Tuesday, September 15, 6:00pm.

Important Notice: ASQ Section 509 is responsible for the meals for all "No shows" at The Golden Bull Restaurant.  Please help us control our losses by notifying our Arrangements Chair Mrs. Michele Withnell at to cancel your dinner prior to the event.  Thank you for your cooperation!

Program Summary:

In home health care (in the state of MD) the state regulatory bodies are involved in controlling quality by monitoring such things as physician orders, employee licensing and credentialing, timely and accurate filing of claims.  They are also involved by limiting the numbers of certified home health agencies that are allowed to operate by requiring a Certificate of Need.  Accrediting bodies are involved in quality by monitoring some of the aspects of care that are covered under the state regulations as well as focusing on adherence to National Patient Safety Goals.  The OASIS document developed by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is a standardized assessment tool that is used by all Medicare Certified Agencies.  Within this document are questions that are measurable at admissions and discharge and contain Quality Indicators used by all agencies to determine effectiveness of the home health admission.

Speaker Biography: 

Janet Hackett has been working in home health care for the past eight years.  Her current position is Director of Professional Services at Potomac Home Health Care, one of Montgomery County and the District of Columbia's largest home health care agencies. Janet came to PHHC 5 years ago as the Quality Improvement Manager and moved into the director position a year later.  In her eight years in home care she has also held positions as Intake Manager and Clinical Supervisor. Janet served on the University of Arizona Hospital Quality Assurance Committee in the early 1980s. She is certified in CMS's outcomes based assessment tool and homecare diagnosis coding. Janet�s interests are in regulatory and administrative areas of home care. Janet earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Arizona in 1982.

For more information and directions to the restaurant, see the September 2009 General Meeting Announcement.