Home Care of Rochester: Homeward Bound
Home Care
Written by Eric Slack   
Sunday, 01 November 2009
Home Care of Rochester: Homeward Bound
With more and more healthcare being provided in the home, this Upstate New York home care agency has expanded services while continuing to offer the highest quality.
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Many things have changed since Louise Woerner, chairman, CEO, and founder of Home Care
of Rochester (HCR), started the company in 1978. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the company’s commitment to providing the people of the region with an independent choice for home healthcare.

HCR operates primarily in Monroe County and the five contiguous counties. It operates out of one central office in Rochester and employs approximately 900 people. The company’s headquarters are home to supervisors, administration, billing, clinical managers, and IT services, but most of its people are caregivers out in the field, providing services to patients and reporting back to the office and recording patient data on laptops.

When asked to point out the biggest difference between the services HCR provides now as opposed to when it first opened up shop, Woerner said patients ended up staying in hospitals for much longer time periods after many different procedures three decades ago. These days, improvements in medical technologies and procedures have lessened the length of hospital stays, as has the fact that hospitals are constantly looking to open up beds because of capacity constraints.

Home Care of Rochester: Homeward Bound
Louise Woerner, chairman, CEO, and founder
“The major change in the practice of home care is that it is a much more acute care practice than it was 30 years ago,” Woerner said. “People come out of the hospital ‘quicker and sicker,’ so nurses and therapists are working with people who are much earlier in their recuperative phase than when we started. We can also provide more services at home now than we could back then.”

Connecting with patients
The majority of patients HCR’s caregivers work with are senior citizens. The primary health problems patients have include cardiac conditions, diabetes, strokes, Parkinson’s Disease, and joint replacements. Woerner said increasing the specialty services HCR can provide has been critical to the company’s success. More services are moving to the home at the same time that people are less willing to spend significant time in hospitals.

As the scope of home healthcare has been altered, HCR has worked to find ways to stand out in the region. The company has two major competitors: one that is owned by a local hospital and another that is owned by an insurance company. That independence allows HCR to position itself as the home health agency that has no agenda other than providing the best care available.

“We impress on people the importance of having a choice,” said Woerner. “I think by constantly being recognized for best practices and presenting at many professional organizations and events, we’ve differentiated ourselves.”

Indeed, HCR is known for its award-winning quality and innovation. In the last few years, the company has been named the top performing home health agency in New York in 2007 and 2008 by IPRO, an independent, not-for-profit healthcare consulting organization. In addition, it was named to the 2009 HomeCare Elite list as one of the top 500 home care providers in the country—a list the company has been on every year since the rankings began.

Beyond that, HCR has established itself as an important community partner. It is the second-fastest growing company and the fourth-largest privately held company in the area. The company has established partnerships with entities like the Susan B. Anthony House, promoting healthy aging. “Aging
is not an illness, and we want to help people maintain or even improve their health as they age. Ms. Anthony is an ideal role model for active aging,” Woerner said.

“We also partner with organizations like the Parkinson’s Support Group of Upstate New York, and we host the Parkinson’s Cafe once a month,” she continued. “That program provides socially and mentally stimulating activities for Parkinson’s patients and their caregivers to help improve their quality of life.”

Power to the people
Another way the organization has gotten closer to the community has been its transcultural approach. This allows HCR to care for the underserved ethnic communities, including Latino, Russian, Ukrainian, and African American populations. Particularly with those for whom English is a second language, home care has often been provided using translators. HCR has multilingual, culturally competent teams within the organization that help reach what has been an unmet need in the community.

Three years ago, HCR became an ESOP when Woerner sold large portions of the company to its employees. She said her people now feel like they have a stronger say in the direction of HCR and a closer connection to its outcomes. It also helps with recruitment and retention. In addition, HCR places emphasis on employee recognition programs. It funds scholarships for employees to continue their professional education.

The company is always looking to ways to improve support for employees in the field as well. It has a large IT support group to assist with documentation. It entered into a partnership with the county clerk to create a driver’s license program to help some of its caregivers become proficient behind the wheel, which has allowed the company to become more effective in rural areas.

It also has a strong administrative support group for nurses so they know all needed supplies will be delivered to patients’ homes. “That employee-centric attitude is an important characteristic of our company,” Woerner said.

In the future, Woerner sees acquisition as a method for HCR to continue growth. In fact, it has several acquisitions pending that are in the midst of the state approval process. Expansion of its private care services, which include additional home care, help around the house, and extra help with caring for a family member when those services are not eligible for insurance coverage, will be another way HCR will continue to expand in the market. Woerner said keeping pace with Web developments will also help disseminate information in the way customers are becoming accustomed to using. Although there are challenges ahead, Woerner is confident in HCR’s ability to succeed.

“Although it is unclear how home care compensation will be addressed by healthcare reform, we are confident we can adjust to the rules and regulations that may be instituted,” she said. “That is because we strive to deliver the highest quality, and if you do that, everything else will follow.”
 
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