NAHC's Hurricane Relief Task Force Continues Work Communicating, Responding to Needs of Agencies and Patients in Katrina's Warpath

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DATED INFORMATION
Contact: Richard Brennan, Jr., Director of Communications
National Association for Home Care & Hospice
Phone: 202-547-7424
pr@nahc.org

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice's Hurricane Relief Task Force, which was formed last week to coordinate home care's response after the Katrina disaster (NAHC Report 9/6-7/05), has continued to meet throughout the week to communicate and respond to the needs of home health agencies and employees in affected areas. The group also has monitored regulatory developments in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama as agencies adjust and find ways to provide care to patients and contacted officials from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to resolve issues when necessary.

Like the damage in the Gulf Coast region, the situation and status of home care agencies across the hurricane's path varies, with Louisiana hardest hit. A surge of patients and displaced employees is being seen in Baton Rouge, LA, and many of the evacuees there have developed increased pressure ulcers and infections as a result of the evacuation conditions. An estimate earlier this week placed the number of home health agencies left completely nonfunctional in the state after the hurricane at more than 90, and only about 20 of them have been able to be contacted.

HRTF member Warren Hebert, executive director of the HomeCare Association of Louisiana, noted that the situation is difficult even for Louisiana agencies in disaster areas that are operating. "It's not just workers who have been scattered, but patients have been scattered across the country. I know an agency that before this had a census of 300 [patients], and now they have a census of one. As we said, this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint." He added that home care nurses are staffing refugee shelters for now to tend to patients and those in need. Meanwhile, the situation in Mississippi has shown improvement, with all home health agencies reportedly again up and running.

NAHC and HRTF have stressed that financial assistance is what is needed now so that organizations can channel the funds based on actual needs. NAHC member Business Management Services' Joe Crouch, who also serves on the board of directors of the Salvation Army chapter in Alexandria, LA, notes that the need for financial assistance is great, but clothing donations are now swamping relief workers.

With rough estimates of about 15,000 to 20,000 people staying in official or scattered, makeshift shelters in his area, Crouch says that assistance will be needed for the long haul. "We need all of the help we can get right now. We are swamped with evacuees needing the basic necessities of life. We have set up a distribution center to give away clothing, toiletries, baby needs, and school supplies and toys for the displaced children; while many things are needed, clothing is not a high priority right now. We have been overcome with donations of clothing and will spend many weeks and months of volunteer labor sorting out the items we now have. The best thing you can do right now is to send monetary donations, and donations will be needed for quite some time. Locally, we are hearing that it may be eight or nine months before our shelters may be closed, so the needs will continue," he says.

The items, issues, and action steps that came from HRTF's meetings this week included:

Fundraiser Teleconference
Fazzi Associates, Corridor Group, and Simione Consulting have offered to conduct a fundraiser teleconference, with all proceeds to go the HRTF fund.

Medicaid
Although Louisiana and Alabama have agreed to pay for health care services provided to Medicaid patients evacuated to other states, the states receiving evacuees do not have adequate information about the extent of home health and hospice benefits paid by Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama.

Issue: Professional licensure reciprocity information needed.
Action: NAHC will begin investigating licensure status in each state, create resource files (#1 and #2, NAHC Report 9/8/05), and press CMS to urge all states to consider emergency reciprocity.

Issue: Information needed on infectious diseases.
Action: NAHC will connect with Associated Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) about its work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide access to needed information (NAHC Report 9/8/05).

Issue: CMS contractor PGBA's knowledge of provider situations in impacted areas limited.
Action: Hebert has invited PGBA to send representatives to LA for firsthand view.

Issue: Status of agencies impacted unknown.
Action: HRTF members Hebert and Curtis Bray are preparing a list of agencies operating in the affected areas; phone access in many areas has continued to make information gathering problematic.

Issue: Patient information unavailable, spotty.
Action: Task force will maintain contact with PGBA, which is creating lists of patients receiving home health and hospice services at the time of the disaster. HRTF will advise PGBA of other information needs: (1) Locations of down agencies; (2) Help in promoting transfer services via contract; and (3) Assistance in transferring clinical information to transfer agencies.

Issue: Activities continue on placing volunteers and home health workers, identifying staffing needs, meeting mental health needs of all.
Action: HRTF examining recruitment and placement of teams of workers at shelters and in agencies.

Issue: Transportation costs for volunteers.
Action: HRTF to request donations from membership, larger members to defray transportation costs.

Issue: Home care workers seeking jobs, housing.
Action: NAHC investigating creation of national locator website, has opened use of its 1-888-HOMECARE line for displaced home care and hospice professionals (NAHC Report 9/6-7/05).

Issue: Information and education needed about disaster and preparedness issues.
Actions: Val J. Halamandaris, Barbara Citarella will work on panel discussion, consider a mock drill.

Issue: Dissemination of information required about conditions of homes, lost workers, family members.
Action: NAHC to continue identifying, posting resources.