MedStar Health Home Care Named HomeCare Elite Top Agency For Sixth Consecutive Year

ELKRIDGE, MD (November 28, 2016) – MedStar Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) today announced that their Central Md. and D.C. agencies were both named Top Agencies of the 2016 HomeCare Elite^TM, a recognition of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States. For more than ten years, HomeCare Elite annually 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 performance measures in quality outcomes, best practice implementation, patient experience, quality improvement and consistency, and financial performance. Out of 9,406 agencies considered, 2,353 were awarded an elite title.

“Improving quality of care and the patient experience continue to underpin a rapidly evolving healthcare environment,” said Christine Lang, Senior Director, Product Management, for ABILITY Network. “At the same time tracking, measuring and interpreting data that support these efforts is becoming more complex. The 2016 HomeCare Elite winners have demonstrated the highest-quality care in their communities, which is a remarkable achievement. We congratulate MedStar VNA on being one of the top home care agencies in the country.”

MedStar VNA President, Traci Anderson, credits the organization’s dedicated Quality department, operations leaders, educators, nurses, therapists and other clinical and support staff members with the ability to achieve national recognition as one of the HomeCare Elite. “I am thrilled that MedStar VNA received this honor for the sixth year in a row,” says Anderson. “It is a testament to how hard our team works to deliver high quality care and put our patients first. We constantly work to identify and implement clinical best practices that help maintain our organization’s high service standards, while preserving efficiency and cost-effectiveness.”

“We are proud to recognize the HomeCare Elite agencies for demonstrating a commitment to improving quality patient care at low costs. The clinical best practices and data tracking skills these agencies have implemented can position them for future success in government programs such as value-based purchasing and star ratings,” said Marci Heydt, Senior Content Manager, DecisionHealth.

The HomeCare Elite ranking is developed by ABILITY® Network, a leading information technology company helping providers and payers simplify the administrative and clinical complexities of healthcare; and sponsored by DecisionHealth, publisher of: Home Health Line, The Complete Home Health ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Coding Manual and The Home Health Coding Center. The entire list of 2016 HomeCare Elite agencies can be downloaded by visiting the ABILITY Network website.

About MedStar Visiting Nurse Association

MedStar VNA, a non-profit, Joint Commission accredited, in-home healthcare provider, offers skilled nursing, rehabilitation and infusion therapy for homebound, disabled and chronically ill patients in the Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia region. To support good health in the community, MedStar VNA offers vaccination and wellness programs across the region. For more information about MedStar VNA, call 800-862-2166 or visit www.medstarvna.org.

About ABILITY Network

ABILITY^® Network is a leading healthcare information technology company helping providers and payers simplify the administrative and clinical complexities of healthcare through innovative applications and data analytics. ABILITY is headquartered in Minneapolis with principal offices in Boston and Tampa. For more information visit www.abilitynetwork.com or write to resources@abilitynetwork.com.

For more information about HomeCare Elite, call 888.572.4009, write to HomeCareElite@abilitynetwork.com or visit www.abilitynetwork.com/hce.

About DecisionHealth^®

For over 30 years, DecisionHealth has served as the home care industry’s leading source for analysis and tools to improve revenue cycle performance, profitability, regulatory compliance and quality patient care. Agencies nationwide turn to DecisionHealth for education and training, coding and billing solutions, and ongoing expert guidance through its family of online products, print solutions, and live training events. DecisionHealth also certifies home health agency professionals in ICD-10 coding and OASIS-C2 through its Board of Medical Specialty Coding & Compliance (BMSC), and provides custom consulting services to agency leaders through its DecisionHealth Professional Services unit. For product information, call 1-855-CALL-DH1 or visit www.decisionhealth.com.