Meeting all your home care needs 2011 Annual report
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Board Chair John Simone President Robert Caffrey Treasurer Joseph Cicione III Board Mary Bray Marilyn Broussard Daniel Cogar Eugene Leco Robin Smith* * since resigned Secretary Patricia Cusson LOCATIONS Providence 725 Branch Avenue Providence, RI 02904 Tel: (401) 751-3152 Warwick 335E Centerville Road Warwick, RI 02886 Tel: (401) 738-0409 Westerly Mill Pond Plaza #35 105 Franklin Street Westerly, RI 02891 Tel: (401) 596-2519 Woonsocket 460 South Main Street Woonsocket, RI 02895 Tel: (401) 769-2423 Harmony 185 Putnam Pike Glocester, RI 02814 Tel: (401) 710-7377 East Providence 10 James Street East Providence, RI 02914 Tel: (401) 228-8414 2 HOMEFRONT HEALTH CARE
A MESSAGE FROM ROBERT J. CAFFREY, PRESIDENT & CEO 2011 represented continued progress in our transformation to become a comprehensive provider of health care at home. The most significant addition to our service capability last year was the creation of our volunteer program which received initial funding through a grant from the Rhode Island Foundation. We now recruit and place volunteers with Homefront clients. Although elders want to remain in their own homes, loneliness is often an issue, especially for people who live alone, as their social networks decline. Our volunteers will read, play games, or just chat with our clients. They will not replace any current services. They will be an addition to our normal routine of care, adding that little extra outside contact that will help our clients continue to live at home. Skilled nursing and therapies, our other newest program continues to expand. We accomplished the full implementation of an electronic medical record system so now all of our nurses enter their visit documentation in the client s home. Soon, the entire agency will be on this new system. Our nurses and therapists providing skilled care will be able to access information related to chronic care services and our nurse managers who oversee those chronic care services will have access to the skilled services the client is receiving. The goal of this expansion and coordination of care is to enable us to meet a broader range of the home health care needs of our clients and to produce better and more consistent health outcomes. No longer will we be able to count hours and visits as our primary measure of success. We will have to show the beneficial impact of our services and use evidence based protocols to help manage our clients chronic conditions. This is the future of home care. The coming changes in reimbursement on both the federal and state level will result in us being a part of a health care team. Team members will all be working within a coordinated care plan designed to maximize health status and function and minimize unnecessary emergency room and hospital visits. Technology will play a significant role in reporting vital signs, managing medications, and communicating information among providers. We are entering an uncertain time. Some providers will be successful, some will not. We are attempting to position Homefront as a leader in this new environment of care. Let s all work together and give our best for the clients we serve. 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 3
ABOUT HOMEFRONT Homefront is a Rhode Island based non-profi t organization that provides home health care to people of all ages in the comfort and security of their own home. For more than 40 years, we have been helping frail seniors, adults with disabilities and special needs children cope with chronic illness. What sets us apart is our knowledge and expertise in connecting people with the services and resources they need to live at home in safety and comfort. Licensed by the RI Department of Health and accredited by The Joint Commission, Homefront maintains the highest professional standards of care. VARIETY OF CARE ELDERLY AND ADULTS Skilled care assists in the recovery from an acute illness or hospitalization. Supportive care provides ongoing assistance with daily activities and management of chronic conditions. PEDIATRICS Respite care, school transportation and in-school care for children with special health care needs, as well as intermittent nursing visits for other health care needs. SPECIALIZED CARE Alzheimer s Disease and other dementia care; end of life care; and rehabilitation are areas of special expertise. Homefront Health Care is nationally accredited by The Joint Commission 4 HOMEFRONT HEALTH CARE
COMMITMENT TO CARING Homefront s commitment to quality includes the development of its direct care staff. Initial training programs for certified nursing assistants, homemakers and companions allow us to prepare our staff to specifically meet the needs of our clients. Continuous education for all our staff ensures they meet the highest professional standards that Homefront clients expect from all of their caregivers. SERVICES NURSING Skilled Home Care Wound Care Medication Management Chronic Care Management THERAPY Physical Therapy Speech Therapy Occupational Therapy CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT Bathing and Dressing Special Diets Mobility and Rehabilitation COMPANION/HOMEMAKER Shopping/Errands Housekeeping Laundry CARE MANAGEMENT Chronic Care Management Disease Management OTHER SERVICES Social Services Volunteers Personal Emergency Response System Electronic Medication Dispenser 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 5
LIKE OLD FRIENDS It seems like Ruth and Tina have been friends for years. When they get together, they chat, they laugh, they reminisce. And yet, the two just recently met. The connection was made through Homefront Health Care s Volunteer Program. Funded through a grant from the Rhode Island Foundation, the program matches volunteers with area Homefront clients for weekly visits. The program is designed to provide companionship to home-bound seniors. It is a bit surprising that Ruth and Tina s lives have not intersected until now. Ruth has lived in Westerly her whole life, graduating from Westerly High School in 1942. She worked at Bostitch for years and grew up in the same house she lives in now. Tina grew up in nearby Pawcatuck, Conn., and has worked at a bank in Westerly for 25 years. The two ate at the same restaurants and visited the same places. Yet, it took the Volunteer Program to bring them together. When I first met the two of them, I knew they would be a perfect fit, said Homefront Volunteer Coordinator Joan LaPlante. Ruth certainly enjoys the company. She gets out occasionally with her girlfriends and she sees her children in Boston and Chicago regularly. She even spent five weeks in Chicago when the recent floods forced her to evacuate. But with her children living out of town, it is the daily two-hour visits from Homefront CNAs that allows her to stay on her own. And the weekly visit from Tina help fills the gaps between family visits and outings with friends. Everyone has been just wonderful, Ruth says of her two years with Homefront. It is usually the same girl from Homefront every day, but everyone who comes has been fantastic. For Tina, the weekly visits have become an enjoyable addition to her week. She s fantastic, Tina says of Ruth. You can tell immediately if you going to like someone and I knew right away she was someone I wanted to spend time with. 6 HOMEFRONT HEALTH CARE
I KNEW RIGHT AWAY SHE WAS SOMEONE I WANTED TO SPEND TIME WITH. TINA, VOLUNTEER For Tina, the Volunteer Program has been exactly what she was searching for. Tina s children are all grown with her youngest fi nishing up his fi nal year of college this spring. That left Tina with some time and a desire to help. I found this through the United Way and thought it was something I could do, she said. It seemed like something that would make a difference even if it is only a few hours a week. For Tina and Ruth, their mutual experience of living in the area makes for lively conversation. They know many of the same people and chat about the things that have come and gone in the community. Just like old friends. 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 7
TRAINING CENTER OPENS IN PROVIDENCE Homefront Health Care greatly expanded its ability to meet the growing need for Certified Nursing Assistants with the opening of its new Training Center in Providence. The center provides Homefront with additional space for CNA classes and will serve as a continuing education center for its staff. The new space, at the historic Wanskuck Mill on Branch Avenue, also is home to Homefront s Medicare program. CNA training is an important part of Homefront s mission as it works to meet the health care needs of Rhode Island s seniors. CNAs are the primary health care providers in both nursing homes and in-home care. As Rhode Island and the country ages, the need for licensed CNAs is expected to grow dramatically. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for nursing aides will increase by 19 percent through 2018. CNA training is often the first step in a career in health care. The entry level position gives people a real understanding of what it takes to work in the health care industry, explains Homefront President & CEO Bob Caffrey. Because of the salary (just over $23,000 on average nationally) and the nature of the work, turnover for new CNAs is high. But the work can be very rewarding and many of Homefront s CNA graduates have long careers in the industry and some even go on to nursing school. (see related story) Homefront graduates more than 100 CNAs a year from its six-week program. The course consists of 100 hours of classroom work and 30 hours of field experience, which exceeds the state s minimum requirements. Those who successfully complete the training and pass the state CNA exam are qualified to work in both a home care and nursing home setting. Homefront boasts one of the highest state exam pass rates of any program in the state and most graduates go on to work for Homefront, one of the largest in-home health care providers in Rhode Island. 8 HOMEFRONT HEALTH CARE
HOMEFRONT HEALTH CARE GREATLY EXPANDED ITS ABILITY TO MEET THE GROWING NEED FOR CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANTS WITH THE OPENING OF ITS NEW TRAINING CENTER IN PROVIDENCE. The training class is offered through a United Way grant and is designed to provide students with marketable skills at no cost. The demand for the class is high. The course, which can cost more than $1,000 at area colleges, is offered four times a year and attracts more than 300 applicants each time it is offered. Only about 10 percent of applicants are accepted into the program. I tell people all the time, we don t pay for programs, we pay for results, United Way President and CEO Tony Maione told the fi rst class to graduate from the new center. You are those results. 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 9
FINDING HER WAY TO NURSING Helen (Matteson) Fleury s career path has not moved along the straight line she had expected. It started out on the proper trajectory. A Bachelors degree from Bryant University. Ten years working for the State of Rhode Island. A Master s degree and finally a marketing job with a big local company. It was all going according to plan. But then things went wrong. Three months after taking the big corporate job, Helen was one of 300 people laid off. She suddenly found herself out of work and reassessing what she really wanted out of her career. I kind of had an awakening, Helen explained. I realized that I really didn t like sitting in a cubical all day and what I really liked was the relationships you build with people. I really wanted to feel like I was helping people. I wanted to wake up every morning happy with what I was doing. So she set out to find a career that would match her passion. She tried studying physical therapy but only lasted a semester. She found work where she could, spending time selling furniture and even spent a summer as a roofer. I ve really been like a chameleon, I ve had to constantly reinvent myself, she said. Fortunately I have an extremely supportive husband and a very supportive family. Finally, a friend recommended the CNA class at Homefront. She came to the Providence office, took the placement test and was accepted to the program in 2008. She admits that she was a little nervous. She didn t really like blood, she says, and found the first few days of the class a little intimidating. But she could tell it was the career she d been looking for. It is a professional relationship (with your clients) with a tremendous amount of love and respect, she explained. I like that you really get to know your clients. You can read between the lines and really get a full picture of what s happening. I really enjoy that relationship. 10 HOMEFRONT HEALTH CARE
I REALLY WANTED TO FEEL LIKE I WAS HELPING PEOPLE. I WANTED TO WAKE UP EVERY MORNING HAPPY WITH WHAT I WAS DOING. HELEN, CNA Since that class in 2008, Helen has embraced her new career. She enrolled in nursing school at the Community College of Rhode Island. Her clinical rotations have exposed her to the entire nursing spectrum Pediatrics at Hasbro Children s Hospital; Maternity at Kent Hospital and Psychiatric at Butler. She will earn her Associates degree this spring. The CNA class she took in 2008 has opened a whole new world. She s not sure where her new career will take her but says the decision to become a CNA was one of the best she s ever made. What I like is the real impact I have on the clients I see every day, she said. I really like what I do. 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 11
BETTER CARE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY Homefront Health care invested more than $130,000 in technology last year as it looks to capitalize on advances in electronic medical record keeping and remote patient monitoring to better serve its clients. An anonymous corporate donor helped jumpstart the Homefront technology push with a $63,000 Challenge Grant. Homefront was able to match that donation with grants from the Champlin Foundations, Shriners of Rhode Island, Verizon, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island and the Roddy-Holden Foundation. Homefront also received $6,000 in individual gifts and staff donations. The grants allowed Homefront to invest in a Medicare billing platform, implement an electronic medical records system and establish a Telehealth Program. The Medicare billing platform will make it easier for Homefront to offer services through Medicare. Homefront became Medicare certified in 2010 and now offers acute care services under Medicare in addition to the long-term care services it has always offered under Medicaid. Acute care includes skilled nursing care as well as speech, occupational and physical therapy. The Electronic Medical Record system will have the most immediate impact on clients care. Through the technology grants, Homefront purchased 14 laptop computers for use by nurses in patients homes. Utilizing the CareAnyware software, Homefront nurses can now create an electronic medical record of all Medicare clients. We now have instant access to the patients recent medical history which really helps a lot, explains Homefront RN Paula Bousquet. We have access to the patient s diagnosis, a medications list and their care plan. It makes for better communications and better continuity of care. Homefront uses CareAnyware with skilled Medicare clients, who usually receive services following a hospital or nursing home stay. Upon admission to the program, Homefront creates an electronic record for that patient that includes the discharge summary and important vital statistics like height, weight, blood pressure and blood sugar. The record is then updated throughout the patient s care with visit notes and notes on communications with doctors and other health care providers. 12 HOMEFRONT HEALTH CARE
BETTER COMMUNICATIONS = BETTER CONTINUITY OF CARE Usually the same nurse admits and follows a patient but sometimes you have different nurses making visits, Paula says. Some patients aren t able to give you their medical history so from a case management standpoint, all the information is crucial. You can look up various charts and see what happened on a previous visit. Sometimes you ll take a vital sign and see that something is running a little high. You can look back and see if that s normal for this patient. It saves a call to the offi ce. In 2012, Homefront will also add a Telehealth Program where it can monitor clients vital signs remotely. Through a user-friendly device in the clients homes, Homefront will be able monitor weight, blood pressure, blood oxygen content and other important health measures. For chronically ill individuals, these basic measurements indicate changes in their health status. With remote monitoring, Homefront will be better able to address the health issues before they rise to an emergency, resulting in emergency medical attention and hospital stays. 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 13
STATEMENT OF REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES Year Ended December 31, 2011 REVENUE R. I. Department of Human Services $3,628,218 R. I. Department of Elderly Affairs 1,088,571 Medicare 604,379 Insurance 317,870 Contracts 1,128,496 Rhode Island Housing 183,466 Client Fees 977,778 Lifeline Monitoring Fees 223,827 Grants 144,859 Other 44,918 $8,342,382 EXPENDITURES Salaries and Wages $6,083,503 Employee Benefits and Payroll Taxes 1,388,323 Lifeline Monitoring Fees 174,218 General and Administrative Expenses 768,551 $8,414,595 Surplus (loss) ($72,213) CLIENTS BY AGE Number Age of Clients 1 5 18 6 20 22 21 40 40 40 60 182 Number Age of Clients 61 70 254 71 80 313 81 90 620 91 and older 256 TOTAL 1,705 14 HOMEFRONT HEALTH CARE
CLIENTS SERVED BY CITY AND TOWN Barrington 12 Newport 2 Bristol 17 North Kingstown 40 Burrillville 64 North Providence 31 Central Falls 21 North Smithfield 60 Charlestown 10 Pawtucket 43 Coventry 36 Portsmouth 12 Cranston 93 Providence 220 Cumberland 108 Richmond 8 East Greenwich 50 Scituate 12 East Providence 54 Smithfield 64 Exeter 1 South Kingstown 31 Foster 12 Tiverton 1 Glocester 29 Warren 3 Hopkinton 17 Warwick 210 Jamestown 2 Westerly 81 Johnston 31 West Greenwich 2 Lincoln 63 West Warwick 43 Narragansett 20 Woonsocket 198 MA 4 TOTAL 1,705 LENGTH OF TIME CLIENTS SERVED 1 3 3 6 6 12 1 2 2 5 5 10 10 25 months months months years years years years 261 137 202 288 463 282 72 TOTAL 1,705 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 15
GRANTS & CORPORATE CONTRIBUTIONS United Way of Rhode Island $72,528 Tufts Health Plan Foundation $59,438 Shriners of Rhode Island Charities Trust $18,400 The Champlin Foundations $17,350 Emma G. Harris Foundation $10,000 Roddy-Holden Foundation $10,000 Ida Ballou Littlefield Memorial Trust $7,500 John Clarke Trust $5,000 Barrington District Nursing Association Fund $5,000 June Rockwell Levy Foundation $5,000 Verizon $3,500 The Mary Dexter Chaffee Fund $3,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island $2,500 Harry M., Miriam C., & William C. Horton Fund $2,000 National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation $2,000 Grant Sherburne Fund $1,000 Episcopal Charities $1,000 TOTAL GRANTS $225,216 16 HOMEFRONT HEALTH CARE
CONTRIBUTIONS $500 TO $1,000 Marilyn Broussard Patricia Fuller and Tom Oakes Eric and Cindy Swanson $100 TO $499 Allie s Inkwell Lee and Becky Arnold Axion Janet Galli Kent Hospital Friends Eugene Leco Dorothy Mullen George Nunes UP TO $99 Lisa Bathgate Joseph Padyhag Richard and Suzanne Palmieri Norm Piche Nancy Polseno Nancy Ruotolo Hull Smithfield Senior Center 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 17
2011 STAFF GIVING TOTAL $6,240 Gina Andriole Kristina Arnone Nancy M. Back Marie Barron Donna Borges Debralee Bowen Bob Caffrey Candice M. Champeau Ashley Cinquegrana Kathleen A. Cullen Karen T. Deslauriers Mildred Dexter Florence Duguay Anne Dussault Nora J. Gavitt Sharon A. Gentry Maria Gill Ellen M. Giurleo Sherry A. Hawkins Paulette C. Holbrook Noelle Ingegneri Nancy L. Jennings Joan C. Kabbas Lorraine LaCroix Barbara Lavallee Paula Leep Donna Marley Trudy McClure Deborah L. McMahon Mary Ann Mello Christine A. Miley Patricia Miller Jeffrey Moore Donna J. Mull Mary M. Murphy Diane M. Nichols Janet Ordung Viviana Pena Jennifer Pestana Agnieszka Porabik Maria Rees Donna Rivet Maria Sadlier Jacklyn M. Ross Phyllis M. Smiley Jeanette E. Souza Lauris R. Speid Sarah A. Stelmach Laura E. Stratman Lisa Taber Patricia A. Tremains Melody A. Trenteseaux Mabel Warszawski 18 HOMEFRONT HEALTH CARE
PLEASE REMEMBER HOMEFRONT WHEN YOU GIVE As a voluntary, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, Homefront Health Care is able to receive tax-deductible contributions. The most important services that we provide are to those individuals who are in need of care but do not have the resources to pay for it. We continually face a demand in this area that far exceeds our financial resources. There are many ways to give. Current giving would include general contributions, designations from United Way contributions, gifts in lieu of flowers and memorial gifts. Deferred giving might include naming Homefront Health Care as a beneficiary in your will or life insurance policy. VISIT US ONLINE AT WWW.HOMEFRONT.ORG 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 19
725 Branch Avenue, Providence, RI 02904