Tag: Kristen Wheeler

Connecticut Dept of Consumer Protection Issues Updated Advertising Guidance

Restricts the use of the word “care” in HCA advertising Earlier this month, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) updated its advertising guidance for Homemaker Companion Agencies (HCA) banning the use of the word “care” in any advertising, stating that the use of the word suggests medical services that are outside the scope of services HCAs…

Connecticut Dept of Consumer Protection Issues Updated Advertising Guidance

  • Restricts the use of the word “care” in HCA advertising

Earlier this month, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) updated its advertising guidance for Homemaker Companion Agencies (HCA) banning the use of the word “care” in any advertising, stating that the use of the word suggests medical services that are outside the scope of services HCAs are credentialed to provide. Additional words cited as prohibited include “patient”, “healthcare”, and “nursing”. The DCP recommends using words such as “services” or “assistance” instead.

Moreover, HCAs are also stricken from advertising their employees’ credentials, such as “home health aide” or “CNA”, even if their employees do indeed have such credentials, again citing this has the potential to mislead the public as to the scope of services provided.

NAHC connected with Tracy Wodatch, President and CEO of the Connecticut Association for Healthcare at Home, for input. As expected, Tracy reported that Connecticut’s providers are insulted by this restriction, arguing that “the term ‘care’ does not insinuate ‘medical care’. Our care providers…provide ‘care’ in the home every day and it is because of this ‘care’ that people are able to stay in their homes.”

Connecticut SB1025 An Act Implementing the Homemaker-Companion Agency Task Force was to have a public hearing earlier this week, however, it was postponed due to a statewide internet outage.

The rescheduled hearing is today, Thursday, February 23rd. NAHC will provide updates as soon more information is available.

If you have questions about this issue or anything to do with private duty home care, please contact Kristen Wheeler, Executive Director of Private Duty Home Care at NAHC at kwheeler@nahc.org.

2023 Growth Summit By Home Care Pulse

February 15-16, 2022 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM EDT Get your exclusive NAHC discount in our Communities Have you registered for the 2023 Growth Summit yet? It’s a two-day virtual summit put on by our friends at HCP, and we’re excited to be part of the event. NAHC’S Kristen Wheeler, Executive Director, Private Duty Home Care, will…

The 2023 Growth Summit, with NAHC’s Kristen Wheeler

You might have heard: our friends at Home Care Pulse are hosting the third annual Growth Summit, February 15-16, 2023 —a two-day virtual conference with top experts in sharing their knowledge, experience, and advice, all available from where you are.

We’re excited to be a part of the event—in fact, our very own Kristen Wheeler, Executive Director of Private Duty Home Care at NAHC, will be discussing the latest updates on the legal issuse facing your organization. There will also be live Q+A sessions throughout the event so that you can get exactly the answers you need to help your business grow.

Here are some of the sessions to be excited for:

  • What’s Next for Home-Based Care Marketing in 2023
  • 2023 Benchmarking Report Sneak Peek
  • How to Foster a Culture of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
  • The Latest on Legal Updates
  • How to Standardize Your Recruiting Process

Having the event online allows it to be priced much cheaper than other conferences so that more people can attend —
howeUse our exclusive NAHC discount for $50 off. You can view details about the event and get your tickets here:

Notes from the Private Duty Advisory Council

NAHC’s Private Duty Advisory Council monthly meeting this week, featuring an update on NAHC’s advocacy efforts as well as potential policies being monitored from Co-chair Brittnei Salerno of La Jolla Nurses Homecare and Executive Director of Private Duty at NAHC Kristen Wheeler. Legislation being watched by the NAHC Advocacy Team includes:

NAHC President William A. Dombi reminded the group that these bills will need to be reintroduced next year for the new Congress. We are very unlikely to see any movement on this legislation during the lame duck session of the current Congress.

Council Co-Chair Brittnei Salerno of La Jolla Nurses Homecare and Private Duty Executive Director Kristen Wheeler shared updates on these items, as well as a regulatory update that may potentially affect providers in the Southeast United States. The US Department of Labor (DOL) announced a new initiative to better enforce violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The campaign aims to improve compliance in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

“The US DOL is determined to ensure these workers are not denied any of their hard-earned wages. Our current initiative combines compliance assistance and enforcement to decrease violations by employers in the care industries,” said DOL’s Wage & Hour Division Regional Administrator Juan Coria. The initiative will focus on resources to educate care workers in the industry along with targeting the misclassification of workers as independent contractors. A public webinar hosted by the DOL on Thursday, November 17, 2022, will review the protections for care workers so that employers and workers alike will understand their rights and responsibilities currently protected by the FLSA. The states being targeted are a result of division investigators identifying violations in nearly 89 percent of investigations completed in home and nursing care completed between 2020 and 2022.

During the state share portion of the meeting, the Council discussed the recently passed $15 minimum wage for Medicaid direct service providers in Florida. Council member Maxine Hochhauser of LHC Group told the group that the Medicaid fee schedule increase simply does not cover the cost of providing services. Expectations are that many Medicaid recipients will no longer have access to care unless the reimbursement rates are increased. The Home Care Association of Florida has joined the Florida Assisted Living Association and the Florida Ambulance Association in challenging the state’s Agency for Healthcare Administration on this requirement, maintaining that the agency did not use a proper rule-making process to define “direct care” workers who would be affected by the wage change. Further information will be shared as it becomes available.

Council members that sit on various workgroups of the Home Care Action Alliance updated the group on the efforts of those groups. Meetings are in their final stages and Project Manager Pat Kelleher is compiling recommendations of the groups. An early December release of these recommendations and action items is on track.

NAHC’s Private Duty Summit is expected to come to fruition in 2023 as a “conference within a conference” at the Annual Conference & Expo in October. The summit will feature robust educational sessions and will be individually branded to ensure attendees understand the separation. However, attendees will also be allowed access to the keynote general sessions as well as the lively trade show hall.

Bill Dombi rounded out the meeting with an update on what’s happening on Capitol Hill with home care legislation.

Interested in being a part of the Private Duty Advisory Council in 2023? Let us know!

Webinar: 2022 Workforce Data Study Overview

Tuesday, November 15, 2022 2:00 PM Eastern/1:00 PM CT REGISTER With nearly 5 million direct care workers, this workforce is the largest workforce in the United States. Despite the high demand for caregivers, who provide essential services for older adults and people with disabilities- too few people are entering the profession, workers are leaving in…

Webinar: 2022 Workforce Data Study Overview

Tuesday, November 15, 2022 2:00 PM Eastern/1:00 PM CT REGISTER With nearly 5 million direct care workers, this workforce is the largest workforce in the United States. Despite the high demand for caregivers, who provide essential services for older adults and people with disabilities- too few people are entering the profession, workers are leaving in…

5 Critical Problems the Home-Based Care Industry is Facing

Kristen Wheeler, Executive Director of Private Duty at NAHC, shares some of the most common issues in the industry and what providers need to focus on to create long-term career for their employees. Question #1: What are the five critical issues issues affecting the care industry. Question #2: When we combine these 5 problems, how are…

We Need You for the Home Care Workforce Action Alliance!

The Home Care Workforce Action Alliance (HCWA), a collaboration between the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, the Home Care Association of America (HCAOA) and other stakeholders, met on Thursday, August 4 for an official kick off in Washington, D.C., following the announcement of the alliance earlier this year.

NAHC President, Bill Dombi, along with Executive Director of Private Duty at NAHC, Kristen Wheeler, joined NAHC and HCAOA board members to speak with the US Department of Labor’s Rhonda Basha about the Office of Disability Employment Policy’s (ODEP) federal workforce priorities and to learn about PHI’s recently released Caring for the Future Report.

Attendees were assigned as co-chairs and broken into four workgroups that will focus on:

  • Wages, Benefits, Supply and Demand for Direct Care Workers;
  • Wages, Benefits, Supply and Demand for Home Care Nurses;
  • Education, Career Paths and Elevation of the Profession for Direct Care Workers; and
  • Education, Career Paths and Elevation of the Profession for Home Care Nurses

Each workgroup is tasked with developing actionable recommendations regarding opportunities and challenges in these areas with a target date of December 2022.

Both NAHC and HCAOA welcome volunteers that are members in good standing to join a workgroup, noting that each group will contain approximately ten members, including the co-chairs.

Contact Kristen Wheeler at kwheeler@nahc.org if you are interested in getting involved.

Please stay tuned for more information on this issue.

We Need You for the Home Care Workforce Action Alliance!

The Home Care Workforce Action Alliance (HCWA), a collaboration between the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, the Home Care Association of America (HCAOA) and other stakeholders, met on Thursday, August 4 for an official kick off in Washington, D.C., following the announcement of the alliance earlier this year.

NAHC President, Bill Dombi, along with Executive Director of Private Duty at NAHC, Kristen Wheeler, joined NAHC and HCAOA board members to speak with the US Department of Labor’s Rhonda Basha about the Office of Disability Employment Policy’s (ODEP) federal workforce priorities and to learn about PHI’s recently released Caring for the Future Report.

Attendees were assigned as co-chairs and broken into four workgroups that will focus on:

  • Wages, Benefits, Supply and Demand for Direct Care Workers;
  • Wages, Benefits, Supply and Demand for Home Care Nurses;
  • Education, Career Paths and Elevation of the Profession for Direct Care Workers; and
  • Education, Career Paths and Elevation of the Profession for Home Care Nurses

Each workgroup is tasked with developing actionable recommendations regarding opportunities and challenges in these areas with a target date of December 2022.

Both NAHC and HCAOA welcome volunteers that are members in good standing to join a workgroup, noting that each group will contain approximately ten members, including the co-chairs.

Contact Kristen Wheeler at kwheeler@nahc.org if you are interested in getting involved.

Please stay tuned for more information on this issue.