HCAC Encourages Colorado Home-Care Agencies To Nominate Nurses For The Nightingale Luminary Awards

Nominations are now open online for the Nightingale Luminary Award, Colorado nursing's highest honor.

For 2017, the award honors up to 60 nurses luminaries, picked regionally from across the state. Twelve of those luminaries are to be selected as recipients of the 2017 Nightingale Awards.

Online nominations are only accepted at https://nightingaleluminary.awardsplatform.com/

Download the 2017 Nightingale Nomination Poster (suitable for printing)

Key Dates

• Nominations close statewide on 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017, except in Southwestern Colorado AHEC and San Luis Valley AHEC
• Nominations close earlier in Southwestern Colorado AHEC (11:59 p.m., Monday, Dec. 12, 2016)
• Nominations close earlier in San Luis Valley AHEC (11:59 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, 2016)
• Please note the entry deadlines, these dates are final and there will be no extensions provided. The system will automatically prevent entry submission after the deadline.
• Regional Luminaries announced: Varies by region
• Regional Luminaries recognized and state recipients announced: Saturday, May 13, 2017, at 7 PM Mountain time (tentative)

Support

If you have any questions on the entry process, please contact the Colorado Nurses Foundation by email or call 720-457-1004.

Tips

• You may edit your entry after submitting, up until the entry deadline.
• Please make sure all your personal details are entered accurately, including contact details, as this will be used in the awards presentation if selected as a finalist.
• You can use the ‘copy’ feature to create a copy of your entry and change the category as required.

Journal: Home Health Care Is a Big Money-Saver After Hospital Visits

Posted: Dec. 31, 2017

Patients who receive home health care after a hospital discharge are saving the health care system some serious dough, on average, according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Medicine and reported on by Home Health Care News. 

With $40 billion spent on hospitalizations annually, the study furthers the value proposition of home health care as a major driver of health care savings and improved clinical benefits.

The study, which was conducted by authors at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, looked at 65,541 patients who were discharged from the hospital with self-care and 6,560 home health care patients over a 365-day-post-discharge period. The retrospective cohort study was conducted between Jan. 1, 2013, and June 30, 2015.

American Journal of Medicine report

Home Health Care News story

Home Health Medicaid Reimbursement Rates Up Slightly Last Year, Report Shows

The average Medicaid reimbursement rate for home health and personal providers increased modestly in 2015, according to a new report from Kaiser Family Foundation distributed by the National Association of Home Care & Hospice.

According to the report, home health agencies received an average of $93.93 per home health visit in 2015, an increase of $1.24 from 2014.  In states that paid registered nurses or home health aides directly the average rate per visit was $87.26. In states that mandated reimbursement rates, the average rate per visit was $52.19. For the personal care services state plan option, the average rate paid to provider agencies was $18.82 per hour in 2015, a slight increase from $18.73 per hour in 2014. In states where personal care services providers were paid directly by the state or where reimbursement rates were determined by the state, the average reimbursement rate was $13.43 per hour in 2015.

Read the story