(December 11, 2012) Sellersville, PA – Grand View Hospital Community Nurse-Home Care today announced that it has been named a Top Agency of the 2012 HomeCare Elite™, a compilation of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States. Now in its seventh year, the HomeCare Elite identifies the top 25 percent of Medicare-certified agencies and further highlights the top 100 and top 500 agencies overall. Winners are ranked by an analysis of publicly available performance measures in quality outcomes, process measure implementation, patient experience, quality improvement, and financial performance.

“The 2012 HomeCare Elite winners demonstrate a commitment to providing patient-centered care and serving as leaders in the home health community. Their success offers data-driven proof of being well-managed and high quality care providers to hospitals, managed care organizations, ACOs, and other potential referral partners across the healthcare continuum,” said Susan L. Henricks, President and COO of National Research Corporation, the parent company of OCS HomeCare. “Again, this year, we updated our methodology to reflect the rapidly evolving quality-focused healthcare landscape and national value-based purchasing trends. We congratulate Grand View on being recognized as a top home care agency.”

“Our home health program brings the compassionate and quality care that Grand View Hospital is known for into a person’s own home,” said Donna Manning, Director of Grand View Hospital Home Care. People who use our home health services include those recovering from surgery, stroke, and cardiac conditions as well as those needing wound care or infusions. As many people prefer to receive care in their own home rather than in a hospital, this is a great service for them.”

Grand View provides home care by a multi-disciplinary team of health care professionals that includes registered nurses; physical, occupational and speech therapists; home health aides; and medical social workers. “We have a caring and experienced team,” Manning said. A range of skilled nursing services is available and may include patient assessment and monitoring; intravenous therapy; dressing changes; catheter care; injections; medication monitoring; and pain management.

Additionally, home health aide services are available and include bathing, personal hygiene, and dressing. Individuals coping with chronic medical conditions, diabetes, and those undergoing rehabilitation also use the service. Manning explained, “Home care provides a level of care, support, and education designed to improve health outcomes.” Grand View’s record of preventing unplanned hospital care is an important indicator of performance. For new mothers and babies, maternal-newborn care is provided by experienced maternity nurses who provide assessments and care and inform a physician of any concerns.

“HomeCare Elite recognition continues to gain importance given the increased regulatory mandates and the threat of shrinking reimbursement revenue. Home health agencies that have earned recognition among the HomeCare Elite demonstrated that they not only can adapt to an evolving marketplace but continue to excel in clinical, patient experience, quality improvement, and financial outcomes,” said Marci Heydt, Product Manager for the post-acute care business group of DecisionHealth.

The HomeCare Elite is the only performance recognition of its kind in the home health profession. The 2012 HomeCare Elite is co-sponsored by National Research Corporation (also known as OCS HomeCare), the leading provider of cross-continuum healthcare metrics and analytics, and DecisionHealth, the publisher of the industry’s most respected independent newsletter Home Health Line. The data used for this analysis were compiled from publicly available information. The entire list of 2012 HomeCare Elite agencies can be downloaded by visiting the National Research Corporation website at www.nationalresearch.com.

About Grand View Hospital Community Nurse-Home Care
Grand View Hospital Community Nurse Home-Care is a not-for-profit, state licensed, Medicare-certified home health agency and is accredited by the Joint Commission. Community Nurse became a department of Grand View Hospital in 1983, although its roots date back to the 1940s. The organization serves Upper Bucks and Montgomery counties. A person does not need to be a patient of Grand View Hospital to use Home Care services. Many health insurance programs - Medicare, Medical Assistance, and others – provide coverage for the service. For more information, call Grand View’s Community Nurse-Home Care Department at 215-453-4265 or visit www.gvh.org.

OCS HomeCare is a product of National Research Corporation. For more than 30 years, National Corporation (NASDAQ: NRCI) has been at the forefront of patient-centered care. Today the company’s focus on empowering customer-centric healthcare across the continuum extends patient-centered care to incorporate families, communities, employees, senior housing residents, and other stakeholders.

About National Research Corporation and OCS HomeCare
Currently recognized by Modern Healthcare as the largest patient satisfaction measurement firm in the United States, National Research is dedicated to representing the true voice of patients and other healthcare stakeholders. This integration of cross-continuum metrics and analytics uncovers insights for effective performance improvement, quality measurement, care transitions, and many other factors that impact population health management. For more information, visit www.nationalresearch.com.

About DecisionHealth®
For over 30 years, DecisionHealth has served as the leading source for home health news, coding tools and resources, and training materials found in reputable products such as Home Health Line. Our unique blend of award-winning staff journalists and unmatched access to health care executives and industry experts enables DecisionHealth to provide solutions, tools, and guidance that are relied on by nearly 100,000 home health care and specialty physician practice professionals. For more information, visit www.decisionhealth.com.