Calling all HH Nurses, roll call

Specialties Home Health

Published

Hi, as a newly appointed moderator, I want to live this forum up a bit. I just resigned my position as a HH supervisor, to go back to the field.

I have been a nurse 20 years, 17 in critical care, mostly cardiac critical care, and the last 2.5 years in HH, or asthma disease management , which I also had to leave because I hated to be in a cube farm all day.

I still love HH, even though PPS is the pits, even though the OASIS would make good kindling for a massive bonfire, and even with all the rest of the paperwork, it is the most rewarding nursing I have ever done!!

PS, I went back to my former VNA who is now paying $30/hr, yes, you read that right, to work 3 out of 4 weekends. Since weekends work well for me, it's a good deal.

Let's hear from all the HH nurses out there. Out of all those registered members, there's got to be plenty of us on this BB!! :D

Hi,

I am a HH nurse and have been for 10 years. I have had every position from field nurse/case manager to administrator but elected to go back into the field because being with the patients is what I truly love, not all the confusion and chaos and uncertainity of management.

I have just taken a travel assignment in the Massachusetts area to do home health. Can anyone out there tell me about the Mass area and the patient population??

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LVN here and is only working in HH for only a month. love the job in all aspects, way better than LTC.;)

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Hello!! I am a hh lpn. I have 2 adult patients, alternating day shifts. I have also done peds with trachs, g-tubes , vents. I have tried ltc facilities, and hospital, neither of which was for me. I felt like all I did was hurry around passing meds. I left hh because everyone kept saying all we were was glorified babysitters so I figured I was missing out on something. In the ltc facility and hospital, I felt like a glorified drug pusher. Hh is definately my niche. My patients families have been so appreciative and thankful. They are , thank God, stable patients so the only small drawback is sometimes it can get a little boring, but I have become quite creative in coming up with crafts, cookies, and games to entertain. I also love the fact that I know my patients inside out. At the hospital when I had 10 to 14, a doctor would ask "do you have Mr._____?" and sometimes I honestly would not know,. It is nice to hear from all you other hh nurses!!!!!

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thats the beauty of HH..:)

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resume help PLEASE!!!! i have worked as a rehab rn for 9 years, now working for the past year in hh, want to update my resume to start per diem nursing hh... any links with samples or any info would be greatly appreciated.. covered so much in hh phlebotomy, vacs, iv's wound care etc and looking to not make resume too wordy and not wordy enough.. :) :bowingpur :bowingpur resume phobia...

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Specializes in LTC, HH, clinic.

Hi All! I am a new HH nurse. I have been a LPN for almost 12 years most recently working for a site review company, but I really miss the patient interaction. I have never worked HH before and would like to know what "the veteran HH nurses" think of it overall. I live in Washington state and so am not going to burdened with th OASIS part of the process(sounds like a pain anyhoo):lol2: My admin says I will be seeing 5-7 patients a day. I am so excited about it! So hit me with your words of wisdom!:studyowl:

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Welcome to the new folk!

LPN's not responsible for OASIS---RN required to complete assessments per Medicare,,,,,,,you still get the fun of verbal orders and lot's other forms though. Good Luck!

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Hello, I have been a HH nurse for the past 4 years. Some of that time with an agency, and the past 2 years as an IP (independant provider). I used to like the agency visits, but I realized how much the agency made off me per visit and decided to go IP. I absolutely love it. I have worked up to 12 hour shifts, and I have done quick visits. I prefer the shorter shifts like 6 hours or less. The pay is great, the atmosphere is soooo much better than the facilities and you get to spend more 1:1 time with your patients, you know the stuff you learn in school but never really get to do in a facility.I will never go back to the facility work, I just never felt like I was doing actual nursing, just contributing to the "corporations" fat wallet, cutting corners that they knew about but never wanted to hear about. It is an industry, and it's sad. Now I know alot of nurses that will argue that facility work is great, and all I can say is that that is their niche, I found mine in HH and love it!! By the way I have been a nurse for a total of 11 years. I have also worked in life support, juvenile corrections, geriatrics, pediatrics, and as an on call supervisor of HHA's. Still never enjoyed any other nursing as much as HH.

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I've been in HH over 2 years. I've done mostly the Medicare program (horrendous paperwork), but lately I've been doing Medicaid CBA, and so far I like it. Paperwork is also horrendous, but much easier in terms of seeing the clients only quarterly for a nurse assessment . I found the weekly visits for the Medicare program to be a drag when you had to come up with something different to teach on for every single visit. That was soooooo tiring. Of course, in CBA, if it involves hiring attendants, the nurse will probably see the client more often than every 3 months. (Attendants who aren't family members don't often stay around long.) The only thing I don't like is that the RN Supervisor (me) is expected to cover for the attendant if one is not available. My clients are as far as 2 hour drive away.....that isn't really realistic, but that's what the company expects. I prefer HH because I'd much rather be on the road than stuck in a facility for 12 hours!

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Specializes in Adult, Gero, NICU, Peds, wound medicine.

Home Health RN here for the last 8 years. Have been a visiting nurse, Nurse Educator, Branch Manager and now just a Team Leader. I like middle management much better.

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I am a new lpn nurse trying to become independent. I have a patient that wants me to care for her. My question is this: Do we have to work for CareStar clients? If I had someone who wanted to pay me directly, is this okay?

Any and all responses would be appreciated. Would love to hear from nurses working on their own and not through an agency or organizatoion.

Thank you. Bless all of you. This field is Tough.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Home Health.

Hi everyone,

I just started my new HH job last Monday and I'm very excited about my new job. I've been a nurse for 3 years, 1 as an LPN and 2 as an RN.

Everyone is right about the paperwork! There sure is alot of it!

The people I work with are wonderful! Several have pulled me aside to warn me it can be overwhelming at first, but not to give up and give myself atleast 6-12 months. Many have encouraged me to call them if I need help. So far I feel very supported, seems like everyone wants to help the newbie out.

The job is salary and on a point system which breaks down to 4/5 visits a day. Mileage is reimbursed and there's an opportunity to get bonuses. My base salary is more than I was making in the hospital working nights!

I really hope things keep going well, this seems like a job I could really come to love!

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