Messages from Merrily

Pieces Energy Abounds

Is today the first day of the rest of your life?

Pieces Energy Abounds
Soothsayers would focus on the future and the now

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Well, not exactly today, but at the end of this week, one of my main jobs for the last eight years is ending. And today, I have a conflict for a regular meeting that I have attended for eight solid years, a leadership meeting with the global technology company that I have worked for in addition to my own care at home marketing company. I still have a podcast to record and publish, and that will also end (for me) four years of my Help Choose Home podcast series that is targeting the consumer and educating on the industry, so when people have a need for care they consider home care. COVID has changed the care at home industry. Once the redheaded stepchild of the health care continuum, care at home is now coming of age. We see that in policy at the national level as well as in local decisions made as to where care is best provided. Part of that feels successful. The current caregiver shortage, however, makes it feel less like a win.

Have my contributions to the industry made a difference? Since 1981 (40 years now, if your math is failing you) I have been involved in either providing care at home, marketing those services to others, or working on creating a better technology solution to make care at home easier for the recipient and the provider. So, what is next? That is the question I am getting constantly now, as I close in on the actual date of almost full retirement, November 20, 2021. Time will tell.

My current focus is more localized as both my partner and I are getting older by the day, and our care needs are evolving. I will say that one decision I have made is to build a smaller, handicapped-accessible home that requires less maintenance. When I renovated this home in Asheville, NC, I thought I was being clever in creating a space on the lower level for someone to live and take care of us as we needed care. You would think that 40 years of experience would have lent itself to making the proper design choices. However, what I now find is that I need another bedroom on the same floor as the main bedroom. Having three floors with space for another on the bottom and top does not make for easy caregiving when there is only one bedroom on the main floor. A poor choice, and one that is a deal-breaker. I always recommended that people have at lest two bedrooms so there was room for a care provider to have some private space, but I did not realize that a close bedroom to where the person needing care is essential. We used to use baby monitors to know when care was needed, so the care provider could monitor the person needing care and come when needed. However, that prevents the care provider from sleeping. Why did I not think of that earlier? Also, bathroom/bedroom placement. Which SIDE of the bed the person needing care sleeps on should be closer to the bathroom. Duh. Again, you would think that decades in the industry would have made that simple fact prominent in my house planning. Next time, my friends. This next house that I plan is going to be very well thought out and planned for aging in place, or living in place as a better phrase, since we are all aging, daily.

So what is next for me? A planner by nature, I usually have a plan for almost everything, and slowly execute those plans. My favorite activity is the planning. I enjoy the execution, but can almost say that when executing I am thinking of the future and the next plan. Right now, I do have an opportunity that excites me, but I have put that off until January to commit totally. Right now, today, I just want to clean the slate and have nothing on my to-do list except activities with the grandchildren, my children, my partner, and my new puppy. Stay tuned as I try to figure out how I can best contribute while creating a better place to make daily living a little easier.

Think Freedom and Remember

Freedom Has Its Price

Remembering Pearl Harbor today, and that we, as a nation, have sacrificed much over the years to have freedoms: speech, religion, press, the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Whatever your political persuasion, take a moment today to think of how you can best ensure that we continue these freedoms so that our nation and our people can be strong and leave a legacy to our children and grandchildren of which we are proud.

Are you doing all that you can?

Mix up the ages of your playmates for some joy and longevity

Playfulness May Be One Key to Intellectual Longevity

Do you have grandkids or have exposure to those at differing ages and interests than you? Do you spend time each day in some kind of mental exposure to things outside work, or drudgery? Can you say that you enjoy life and have a smile on your face most times during the day? Turns out that some good old fashioned fun in life may be one key to keeping the mind (and body) healthy.

When I was assessing frail elders for their options for care in the home, I had a wrinkle rule that worked 100% of the time. That rule was to look at the lines on the face, and if those lines were pinched around the mouth, that meant the person was, indeed, a sourpuss. The face lines do not lie. At rest, a face is either a reflection of happiness or a reflection of the pain, suffering, hardship, meanness, or cruelty that has imprinted itself after a lifetime of living those feelings and actions. And, working with those pinched-faced folks, was, indeed, a lot harder than working with those who had smile lines and took life easier.

There is research emerging now that spans the spectrum of things that may help or harm the brain, but, it is clear that doing things differently, trying new things, getting outside, moving, eating healthier and socializing are all good for the brain and the body. Barring genetics and some predisposition to disease, the world is a place to continue to explore as you age. The world is a place where you have to take chances and do things outside your comfort zone. The world is a place meant for multi-generations to mix and mingle.

We have somewhat lost the extended family component of our society, but you can make your own family. All is takes is a smile, over time, and some kindness, and you will find that others gravitate to that kindness, and sooner or later, you will be rewarded with kind acts in return.

If you live alone, see where you can go to help others. Start finding time in your day to mix with those not just like you, either in age or socioeconomic status or ethnicity. Like to cook? Take some cooking classes. Like to garden? Make some raised beds and try new vegetables or exotic flowers. Like to read? Go to the library and read to some kids, or to a hospital and do the same.

Got the trend? Mind games, body games, people games. Think about how you can add some levity and playfulness in your life and your relationships and, I guarantee you will find it rewarding now, and if the new research is right, well into the future.

 

,

#Healthcare2030

First you have to realize there is a problem. Then you have to accept the responsibility to do something about it. We all live in today and the near future, but, what if we looked ahead 10-15 years and imagined a life with altered outcomes because we aimed at making change, positive change, and we set about trying to make our outcomes different? That is the premise of “Healthcare2030”, an interactive presentation that Sam Smith, VP Business Development, AXXESS and I presented at the Minnesota HomeCare Association technology conference this past week in Minneapolis. We polled the audience as we spoke as to what they felt were the biggest challenges to our being able to meet the demands of the demographic, technological and regulatory changes that are happening and that will all collide around 2030 when the boomers hit 80-85 and the stresses and strains on our system will become overwhelming, unless we set about to make different outcomes.

Technology is the biggest driver of change. We see it all around us. Mobile communication is pervasive and becoming more so. If you cannot do it, reach it, buy it or communicate with it on a mobile device, you are left behind. Communication and businesses alike are all focusing on mobile, and, as the world becomes more connected, the importance of mobile will continue to increase. This instant access, and micro-marketing moments of possibility changes all. The “uberization” of business is also eliminating the middle man. Now, in home care there are some limiting factors, but, the ability to connect those who provide service with those who need service increases the chances of getting service where it is needed, when it is needed, and, that will, no doubt be a model that just continues to grow and gain acceptance.

There are lots of other insights to be gained, and many questions to be asked and left unanswered, as we explore this futuristic exercise that will, hopefully, be a catalyst for change in our industry. We all know that as we age, and become frail, we want to remain in our familiar and comfortable home settings. How we do that is really left up to us to figure out, since we are in the industry and should be charged with those things. Simply sitting back, accepting the regulations, restrictions, limitations and reimbursement refinements that are coming our way will not get us there. It is going to take an army of dedicated, professional and committed people to create our own future for healthcare at home. Are you up to the challenge?

Join your state home care association. Join the VNAA. Join the Alliance for Home Health Quality and Innovation

. Become active in the industry. And, watch for future presentations of #Healthcare2030 and keep abreast of ideas that float to the top.

Bergy Bits and Growlers Dot the Healthcare at Home Landscape

Adventure awaits home health in the future
Exploring the unknown is akin to the home health landscape for 2016

At this exact time of the year 4 years ago in 2012, I was sailing to Antarctica on a National Geographic Expedition with some folks from NOAA who were tagging killer whales. One of the many joys of that once-in-a-lifetime trip was getting to stand watch on the bridge while the ship churned and rocked to look out for bergy bits and growlers. These small icebergs can be very dangerous to ships, because, as we all know, the tip of the iceberg is what one sees, and the mass is below water. Not a recipe for a good meeting between ship and berg.

Yesterday ended the Northeast Home Health Leadership Summit in Boston, and I could not get bergy bits and growlers off my mind as the realities about industry changes set in. At present, there are nine states that have been chosen to participate in the Value Based Purchasing trial. The baseline year for measurement for improvement in the chosen outcomes was 2015. That means that, for those nine states, their payment (reimbursement) for services in 2016 will be tied to their performance improvement in the chosen outcomes. So, the image of bergy bits and growlers in my mind is because this really is the tip of the iceberg for many home health companies. If a company does not know how they measure up against these 24 selected measures in both process and outcomes, then they have no clue as to what their reimbursement will be. Can you imagine running a business without knowing what you are getting paid for the service you are providing? That is exactly what is happening to these nine states. And, I truly believe that this pay for performance model will be extended to all healthcare in all states in the future.

So, think about being on the bridge and scanning for bergy bits and growlers as you plan for the future for your home health agency. Seems the government is serious about providing quality care at lower costs and making our population healthier as we continue down this path towards an aging society.

My latest presentation which will premiere at the MN Home Care Association’s Future of Home Care conference in Minneapolis next week is “Healthcare2030: Are You Prepared?” This interactive workshop takes the participant well into the future to envision life 15 years from now, and then backtracks to what we can do today to be prepared to meet the future. VBP is just one item that healthcare at home has to think about. Demographics, transportation, workforce, housing and technology are all pieces of the equation for the future.

1 2 3 4 5 ›»