Homecare and the Swine Flu

Concern about the spread of the Swine Flu has reached a fever pitch in recent days; just this morning I fielded my first phone call from a public official about readiness and supplies in the event this went to pandemic status and began spreading faster.  That call was illumating to me, it demonstrated the critical value homecare companies and agencies play in any serious public health emergency.  We are frequently engaged by public officials who understand the infrastructure and inventory we have and how that can make their jobs easier and more efficient during any sort of public health, weather, or other state of emergency.

This fact is almost never recognized on Capitol Hill or by the governing agency of Medicare, CMS.  Without homecare agencies and professionals available to respond when needed these issues promise to overwhelm first responders and take away attention from those citizens who truly require emergency care personnel, rather than those who simply need some basic triage or a supply replenishment.

AAHomecare released a thoughtful piece on the subject through their blog that is worth a read; YOU CAN ACCESS BY CLICKING HERE.

We take great pride in the role we play in the communities we serve and look forward to stepping up and demonstrating our value when it is most needed...it may not be during a flu or pandemic situation, more often it's a weather issue or extended power interruption that causes our largest emergency workloads.  But whatever the situation we take our responsibility very seriously and take great pride in our ability to help.

For more information on the Swine Flu I reccomend visiting the following websites:

Centers for Disease Control

US Department of Health and Human Services