CMS Reports Capital Health Home Care in Ashtabula Tops Most Medicare-Certified Agencies

ASHTABULA, OHIO – CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) awarded Capital Health Home Care in Ashtabula four and a half stars for clinical outcomes and four stars for patient satisfaction in October of 2016. According to these ratings, Capital Health Home Care in Ashtabula provided a higher standard of care than most Medicare-certified homecare agencies for the reporting period from April of 2015 to March of 2016.

CMS began ranking Medicare-certified agencies using a 5-star system last summer with more stars indicating better quality of care. Stars for clinical outcomes are based on 9 measures derived from homecare assessments and Medicare claims data. The nine measures include timely initiation of care, medication education, improved ambulation, bathing, and shortness of breath.

Stars for patient satisfaction are assigned based on information gathered from HHCAHPS (Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) Surveys, and are calculated by comparing the information gathered for all agencies. CMS publishes new rankings quarterly in an effort to support consumers with healthcare decision making and in an attempt to motivate providers to make improvements.

Home health care agencies differ greatly in the quality of care they provide. “We embrace the need to constantly be improving upon quality of care including clinical outcomes and a positive patient experience,” says Kara Bernsen, Owner & Chief of Network Development at Capital Health Care Network. Debbie Boyle, Administrator at Capital Health Home Care in Ashtabula, attributes their success to strong leadership and clinical oversight complimented by on-going customer service training. “We simply have a great team and many of our team members have been with us for more than a decade,” says Boyle.

The Ashtabula agency belongs to a network of providers known as the Capital Health Care Network. According to their website, they specialize in senior care at home because they believe seniors have earned the right to age on their own terms.

To learn more about Capital Health Home Care and Home Care Concierge services in and near Ashtabula, Dayton, Steubenville, and Dublin Ohio, and Wierton, West Virginia, visit www.capitalhealthhomecare.com or contact COO Lisa Brown at 440 964 3332.

To learn more about the star ratings for home health care agencies visit Home Health Compare at www.medicare.gov. The site allows consumers to do side by side comparisons for quality of care measured by clinical outcomes and patient experience for all Medicare-certified home health care providers.