BIRMINGHAM, Ala., – Alacare Home Health & Hospice has announced that it has been named a Top Agency of the 2014 HomeCare Elite™, a recognition of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States. Now in its ninth year, the HomeCare Elite identifies the top 25 percent of Medicare-certified agencies and highlights the top 100 and top 500 agencies overall. Winners are ranked by an analysis of publicly available performance measures in quality outcomes, best practice (process measure) implementation, patient experience (Home Health CAHPS®), quality improvement and consistency, and financial performance. In order to be considered, an agency must be Medicare-certified and have data for at least one outcome in Home Health Compare. Out of 9,994 agencies considered, 2,501 are elite.
The award is sponsored by OCS HomeCare by National Research Corporation, the leading provider of home health metrics and analytics, and DecisionHealth, publisher of the most respected independent newsletter in the home health profession, Home Health Line.
“The 2014 HomeCare Elite winners demonstrate a commitment to providing high quality care in their home health communities and we recognize them for their remarkable achievements,” said Mary Oakes, Senior Vice President of Post-Acute at National Research. “We congratulate Alacare Home Health & Hospice on being recognized as a top home care agency.”
Alacare’s President, John G. Beard, MBA/JD, credits a commitment to excellent quality standards and compassionate staff members with the agency’s ability to achieve recognition as one of the HomeCare Elite. “To have all of our Alacare locations throughout the state be named to the HomeCare Elite list is a true testament to the care the Alacare staff provides to our patients. My father, Maj. Charles D. Beard, Jr. founded Alacare in 1970 and his legacy is shown in the care the Alacare staff provides to our patients,” said Beard.
“HomeCare Elite recognition is a significant acknowledgement. In today’s healthcare ecosystem, it is imperative that our seniors have access to quality home healthcare in order to ensure better patient outcomes and improve overall cost, and therefore, home healthcare continues to remain an integral part of the care continuum. The winners of the HomeCare Elite Award are proving that a heightened focus on clinical outcomes, patient experience, and financial management lead to success,” said Marci Heydt, Product Manager for the post-acute care business group of Decision Health.
The entire list of 2014 HomeCare Elite agencies can be downloaded by visiting the National Research Corporation website at www,nationalresearch.com/homecareelite.
