National Nurses Week (May 6-12, 2013) a week during which we take some time to single out the nurses and home care aides who do such a fantastic job of caring for our patients.

A nurses job is not easy, but the things they do every day make a real difference in the lives of the sick and elderly, their families and the community. Thank you for your tireless efforts on behalf of our patients, your willingness to go the extra mile, and your dedication to Alacare. While Nurses Week is the time we set aside to honor your work, please know that we appreciate you all year long.

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Alacare Home Health & Hospice along with the National Association of Home Care & Hospice celebrates National Nurses Week. From May 6 to 12, we honor the special home care and hospice nurses who serve those in need. “Our focus is to highlight the impact that nurses make day in and day out in homes across the country,” said Andrea L. Devoti, RN, chairman of the NAHC board. “This week we have a unique chance to put a human face on our industry.”

“It’s time for the public to honor nurses and thank them for all they contribute. And it’s our chance to remind everyone how hard it is for nurses to do their vital work while facing senseless cuts in reimbursement,” said Elaine Stephens, RN, chairman of HHNA.

“Nurses truly are angels of mercy; they make the difference between life and death on a daily basis,” said NAHC president Val J. Halamandaris. “They are the very personification of ‘caring,’ the one-word summary of the Golden Rule that runs through all the great religions of the world.”

HHNA has joined NAHC in launching the 2nd annual Nurse Recognition Program. HHNA has received numerous nominations from home care and hospice nurses nationwide who have provided exceptional care, reduced hospital readmissions, and made a difference in patients’ lives. Now a selection committee is reviewing all these worthy nominees to choose one nurse from each state. The committee will also identify the top 10 contenders for Home Care & Hospice Nurse of the Year.  NAHC members and the American public will cast the final vote from this select group of nurses.

The celebration of their achievements begins when their stories and photos appear in the May issue of CARING Magazine. It continues in October when NAHC invites the 50 nurses to its Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington DC. Their registration fees will be waived, and they will be honored at a reception. One of them will also be selected as Home Care & Hospice Nurse of the Year. NAHC will pay the travel and hotel expenses for this very special nurse and reward them with the gift of a new Apple iPad.  Alacare Home Health Hospice nurse, Becky Williams, RN of Muscle Shoals was named National Home Health & Hospice Nurse of the Year in 2012.

But the real reward of nursing is that it responds to a pressing demand as our aging country needs more nurses. There are now 2.6 million registered nurses, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and that number should reach 3.2 million by 2018, amounting to a 22 percent increase. Demographic change should lead to especially vigorous growth in the field of home health care, where the number of nurses is projected to increase 33 percent by 2018. This makes it the second most-needed job in the United States, according to the latest data from the DOL.

About NAHC

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) is the voice of home care and hospice. NAHC represents the nation’s 33,000 home care and hospice providers, along with the more than two million nurses, therapists, and aides they employ. These caregivers provide vital services to Americans who are aged, disabled, and ill. Some 12 million patients depend on home care and hospice providers, who depend on NAHC for the best in advocacy, education, and information. NAHC is a nonprofit organization that helps its members maintain the highest standards of care. To learn more about NAHC, visit http://www.nahc.org/.

About HHNA

The Home Healthcare Nurses Association (HHNA) is a national professional nursing organization involved in home health care and hospice nursing practice, education, administration and research. HHNA provides leadership and a unified voice so that home care and hospice nurses may improve their specialty and influence public policy as it relates to home care and hospice. You can learn more by going to http://www.hhna.org/.

The proceeds benefit the Hospice and Home Health Fund of Alabama. 

Tickets:
Adults $25
Children 4-12 $15
Children 3 and under free 

Checks should be made payable to Hospice & Home Health Fund of Alabama and mailed to 2400 John Hawkins Parkway, Birmingham, AL 35244

You may pay online by clicking donation online. Visa/Mastercard/Discover/American Express accepted.

Please call Barbara Pierzakowski at 205-981-8585 or email Barbara.pierzakowski@alacare.com if you have any questions.

Call 1.855.981.2719 to rsvp.

Job Fair Montgomery

When:  May1, 2013

Where:  Comfort Suites 10015 Chantilly Parkway Montgomery, AL 

Time:     8:00a.m. to  5:00 p.m.

Alacare Hospice Palliative care Conference Muscle Shoals 2013

Alacare Hospice is presenting the Palliative Care Conference:a Holistic Approach to Care April 4, 2013 from 2:00-5:15 on the Campus of Shoals Hospital. CEU (Contact Hours) for RNs and Social Workers are available for $15. Contact Barbara at 205.981.8474 or email rsvp@alacare.com to reserve your seat. Hope to see you there!

 WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 31, 2012)

 The themes for this year are:

Home Health Care:                               Celebrating Freedom—Quality Care at Home

Hospice:                                               Taking Care and Compassion to the Next Level

Private Duty:                                        The Right Care at the Right Place at the Right Time

Home Care Aide Week (Nov. 11-17):     Celebrating Love in Action

 Many of our country’s seniors and disabled oppose the idea of being placed in a nursing home or assisted living. And they shouldn’t have to be there, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a 22-year-old law that bans discrimination on the basis of disability. In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people who live in institutions like state hospitals and nursing homes, but could live successfully on their own, have a civil right under the ADA to get their care at home.

 Home care is the answer to that costly 5 percent of Americans who suffer from multiple, chronic conditions. By keeping them out of hospitals and in their homes, home care saves money — and supports an even greater cause.

 “Home care nurses, therapists and aides are the troops in the last great civil rights battle of our time, that to guarantee people the right to get the care they need at home,” said Val J. Halamandaris, President of NAHC. “They combine high tech with high touch as they do what is best for the patients they serve.”

 The latest data from the Department of Labor (DOL) shows that home care has boomed as America ages and the baby boomers begin entering their golden years. Registered nurses, home health aides, and personal care aides are among the top five occupations projected to see the largest increase in jobs by 2020 as more people need their services than ever before.

 The Affordable Care Act has put forth several initiatives to support aged and disabled people in their homes. The Community First Choice Option assists states with the costs of in-home programs for people who would otherwise wind up in institutions, and the Balancing Incentive Program increases federal matching grants in states with less coverage for home and community-based services.

 “In 1999, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued the Olmstead decision, they articulated a constitutional right to home care,” said Halamandaris. “The present health care system is geared toward acute care when what is needed is more coverage of chronic disease. What home care and hospice offers patients is great care that preserves their dignity in the comfort of their own homes.”

 Hospice is based on the belief that every life matters and on giving state-of-the art medical care that comforts and eases pain. When medicine can add no more days to your life, hospice can add more life to your remaining days. Hospice turns illness into an inner journey by committing to the highest quality of care. Hospice uses new technologies to speed up its response to patients’ needs, gives bereavement support, and offers public education on end-of-life care. 

 For more information on the National Association for Home Care & Hospice – National Home Care and Hospice Month, and Home Care Aide Week (November 11-17, 2012), visit www.nahc.org.

Mr. Charles D. Beard Jr. has been called the father of the privatization of home health care in Alabama. As a staunch champion and advocate of home health nurses in the state, Mr. Beard revolutionized home health care as a result of his own experiences trying to find in-home care for his mother and other elderly relatives while stationed away from his native Birmingham.

Mr. Beard enlisted in the Army Air Corps during World War II and became the copilot on a B-17 Flying Fortress that was part of the Eighth Air Force flying missions into Germany. His plane was shot down over Belgium and he was rescued by the Belgian Underground. He returned home to Birmingham and attended The University of Alabama.

Despite having no prior formal education or involvement in health care, when Mr. Beard discovered the public’s extremely limited choice of providers in Alabama, he advocated that more committed private citizens take an active role to meet the needs of the state’s homebound elderly and disabled. In 1970, Mr. Beard’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to found a company that would later be named Alacare, one of Alabama’s first privately sponsored home care agencies. He believed that nurses were able to provide highly skilled care in the home setting. Furthermore, compassionate and skillful care from educated nurses using the most up-to-date methods and technology was a sound solution to meeting the needs of Alabama’s homebound elderly and disabled.

Under his leadership, Alacare was one of the founding members of what is now the Homecare Association of Alabama and the American Association for Homecare. Through his commitment to serving homebound patients, Mr. Beard has gained much respect for his shared vision of home health care and its need for skilled nurses.

Receives 2012 NAHC Nurse of the Year Award

Birmingham, Alabama—The Home Health Nurses Association honored Alacare Home Health & Hospice’s Muscle Shoals’ Becky Williams, RN, with its inaugural Nurse of the Year award at the National Association for Home Care & Hospice Convention in Orlando, Florida.

 Williams has been a nurse for 20 years. Earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from the Capstone College of Nursing at the University of Alabama, Williams gained experience in medical and outpatient surgery care before joining Alacare Home Health & Hospice four years ago. “Becky has been a tremendous asset to Alacare,” said Alacare President John G. Beard, MBA, JD. “We’re pleased that her skills and commitment to excellence have been recognized.”

 Certified in End-of-Life Continuous Care, Williams specializes in hospice care. Her expertise is particularly important, as NAHC president Val J. Halamandaris noted, “The care of the disabled and elderly may well be the defining issue for America in the early years of this 21st century.”

 The award was presented at the 2012 NAHC Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla., from Oct. 21-25. This year’s Meeting, themed “Technology the Great Equalizer,” focused on how technology is transforming the home health industry and how it might reshape the health care system.

 About Alacare

Founded by Charles D. Beard, Jr., the Beard family is proud that Alacare Home Health & Hospice is Alabama’s oldest and largest family-owned, Medicare-certified home health agency. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alacare is dedicated to providing patients the highest level of skilled nursing, rehabilitative, palliative and hospice care available in the most cost-effective environment—the patient’s own home.

 Since 1970, Alacare has provided patients with quality home healthcare. Services provided include diabetes education, home care aides, hospice/palliative care, medical social services, mental health nursing, occupational therapy, pain management, physical therapy, skilled nursing, and speech/language pathology.

 For more information, visit the Company’s corporate Web site: www.alacare.com.

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