Magnet designation: a model for home healthcare practice.

Nurses at 1 hospital-affiliated home healthcare agency (HHA) found that being a department of a Magnet-accredited hospital had a significant impact on the culture of their HHA. Important lessons were learned in conjunction with the Magnet designation journey. In this article, the authors describe the history of the Magnet recognition program, the components of the Magnet model, and how these are applicable to nursing practice within HHAs.

Creating a meaningful infection control program: one home healthcare agency's lessons.

Creating a meaningful infection control program in the home care setting proved to be challenging for agency leaders of one hospital-based home healthcare agency. Challenges arose when agency leaders provided infection control (IC) data to the hospital's IC Committee. The IC Section Chief asked for national benchmark comparisons to align home healthcare reporting to that of the hospital level.

Preparing for the unexpected: violence in the home care environment, one agency's story.

Home care and hospice agencies, bound by regulations, prepare for emergencies and disasters by creating policies and protocols for management of emergency situations, perhaps conducting table top or other types of drills, and discussing hazards likely to impact home care. Is this preparation merely an exercise to meet a requirement, or is it life-saving preparation? For one home care agency, the emergency exercise saved the day as the scenario enacted in the drill was actually lived out a few weeks after the exercise-a scenario the agency leaders hoped they would never face. This account explores how the agency prepared to meet the emergent situation and details lessons learned in the aftermath.

Telehealth monitoring: a smart investment for home care patients with heart failure?

This telehealth project was positive overall. It was an agency goal to utilize telehealth to augment, not replace, SN visits while improving quality outcomes for the patient. The findings of this project supported that goal.