For Immediate Release: 15.March.2012
WILMINGTON, NC, March 6, 2012: As the health care reform debate sweeps across America, it has become increasingly evident that Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement and coverage will impact thousands of elderly patients. However, what is not making national headlines is the fact that home health and home care services cost a fraction of preventable hospitalizations and have better outcomes and patient satisfaction ratings for the elderly. One Wilmington provider, Well Care Home Health, is taking a proactive approach to make a difference in the lives of North Carolina patients statewide.
As changes in the impending health care arena create apprehension for some providers and many patients, Wayne Long, CEO of Well Care Home Health and Home Care, sees this as a unique opportunity. “Well Care has been a trusted health care agency in southeastern North Carolina for 25 years, the industry is changing and we must change and adapt to the needs of patient care.” As Medicare and Medicaid rules will most certainly change in the coming months and years, the gaps in services will be difficult for patients to understand. “We have a responsibility to serve the local communities and assure patients receive the best home health care available,” said Long in a statement earlier this week at the announcement of his March 5, 2012 acquisition of At Home Quality Care, based in Raleigh North Carolina. The previous agency owner served 500 patients per year in home heath, where over 45,000 patients qualify and need home health services. Long went on to say, “The cost of hospitalization is increasing, the health care needs of patients with chronic diseases are complex and elderly patients want to remain at home and independent for as long as possible. At Well Care, we can help patients receive the care they need, and will be a partner in containing the rising health care costs of the Medicare and Medicaid population in the Triangle.”
The matrix of health care costs going forward is staggering for the nation. According to the North Carolina Hospital Association, $8.2 billion was paid to hospitals for Medicare and Medicaid patients throughout North Carolina in 2008. “If somebody has a registered nurse 24 hours a day in their home, it is actually less expensive than going into the hospital,” said Long. The study, sponsored by the industry-affiliated Alliance for Home Health Quality and Innovation, concluded that Medicare could save $31.1 billion over a decade through better home health utilization alone.
While the debate over health care reform will likely drag on for many years, the care in our local communities will continue to improve. At the opening of their new Raleigh office at 7721 Six Forks Rd, Nikki Patton, Director of Business Development said, “WellCare Home Health is new to Raleigh, but not new to providing exceptional customer service and high quality home care service to North Carolinians.”
ABOUT WELL CARE
Well Care is a privately owned North Carolina Corporation. Licensed by the North Carolina Division of Facility Services to provide home health care services. Certified for Medicare and Medicaid under the centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation for Health Care Organizations. Well Care provides services to patients in the care of a licensed physician without regard to race, creed, sex, national origin, or handicapped condition. (Affiliate of Well care LLC and Well Care Home Health.) For more information about Well Care Home Care or Well Care LLC, please visit their website at www.wellcarehealth.com or call (888) 815-5310.
