NKyTribune staff
Lifeline Home Health of Northern Kentucky has been named a top agency of the 2017 HomeCare Elite, a recognition of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States.
For 12 years, HomeCare Elite has annually identified the top 25 percent of Medicare-certified agencies and highlights the top 100 and top 500 agencies overall.
Lifeline Home Health of Northern Kentucky, a local provider of home health services in Lakeside Park, is part of LHC Group, a national provider of post-acute care services with over 14,000 employees operating more than 400 locations in 27 states.
“We commend our team members at Lifeline Home Health of Northern Kentucky for their hard work and dedication in achieving this honor,” said Keith G. Myers, LHC Group chairman and CEO. “Quality patient care is the top priority at all LHC Group locations and providers. We are proud to have 217 locations – more than 70 percent of our home health agencies – earn HomeCare Elite recognition.”
Myers
The ranking is developed by ABILITY Network, a leading information technology company helping providers and payers simplify the administrative and clinical complexities of healthcare. It is sponsored by DecisionHealth, publisher of Home Health Line and the Complete Home Health ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Coding Manual.
“The team at Lifeline Home Health of Northern Kentucky has demonstrated an impressive ability to deliver great patient care,” said Christine Lang, senior director for ABILITY Network. “This is due to the skill and dedication of their clinical professionals, as well as the proficiency and efforts of their quality team tracking, measuring and interpreting the data that supports the delivery of care. Together, they have earned this recognition as one of the top home care agencies in the country.”
HomeCare Elite agencies are determined by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, best practices implementation, patient experience (HHCAHPS), quality improvement and consistency, and financial health. In order to be considered, an agency must be Medicare-certified and have data for at least three outcomes in Home Health Compare. Out of 9,064 agencies considered, 2,268 are recognized on the 2017 HomeCare Elite winners list overall.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services gives Lifeline Home Health five stars
In recently released results, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Five-Star Quality Rating System recognized Lifeline Home Health of Northern Kentucky with a 5-star rating in quality. According to the data, the Lakeside Park home health provider achieved the highest rating possible in the quality category.
The star rating system was instituted by CMS as part of its Home Health Compare website to provide a “tool for consumers to use when choosing a home health care provider.” The system ranks providers in two categories: “Quality of Patient Care” and “Patient Satisfaction.”
The ratings – issued quarterly – are highly sought after by home health providers and seen as a key differentiator and indicator of overall quality in the home health industry.
Lifeline Home Health of Northern Kentucky is part of LHC Group, a national provider of post-acute care services with over 14,000 employees operating more than 450 locations in 27 states.
“The entire LHC Group organization extends our congratulations to the team at Lifeline Home Health of Northern Kentucky for this outstanding recognition of quality and commitment to serving our patients,” said LHC GRoup chairman Myers. “The CMS star ratings are among the healthcare industry’s best indicators of who is providing best-in-class service. We couldn’t be more proud to have this outstanding team helping us carry our mission forward.”
In total, LHC Group saw 89 of its provider locations achieve a 5-star rating in at least one of the two categories.
