Charting the course for home health care quality: action steps for achieving sustainable improvement: conference proceedings.

On June 30 and July 1, 2003, the first national meeting Charting the Course for Home Health Care Quality: Action Steps for Achieving Sustainable Improvement convened in New York City. The Center for Home Care Policy & Research of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) hosted the meeting with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Fifty-seven attendees from throughout the United States participated. The participants included senior leaders and managers and nurses working directly in home care today. The meeting's objectives were to: 1. foster dialogue among key constituents influencing patient safety and home care, 2. promote information-sharing across sectors and identify areas where more information is needed, and, 3. develop an agenda and strategy for moving forward. This article reports the meeting's proceedings.