I start home health Thursday!!!

Specialties Home Health

Published

Hey everyone!

Well, I finally did it, I put in my 2 weeks notice at my current job, and I start my new home health job this Thursday!! I'm terribly excited and nervous, but I don't think it can be any worse than my job now!!!!! Anyway, just wanted to let y'all know another home health nurse has joined the ranks! Wish me luck!!!!!!

-Colette

Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

My tale of woe: I have had patients on my own now for 3 days ( I missed 2 days because I was in the hospital. At orientation they assured us that our team leader or assist team leader would always be available. Well, my team leader is new and hence clueless. Between her and the scheduler, I've had a mucked up schedule since I started. They give my patients to see who then tell me they've either switched to a differenc agency or were already told a different nurse would be seeing them today. They haven't sent me to the same pt. twice. And today, I had to do med pre-fills for 2 patients and one guy had more bottles than CVS, no clue what he was taking, and a difference between the bottles and the orders I had. I am a real ninny with meds so I called the doctor. Seems he sees several docs and one doesn't know what the other does. I had to do something so I called the office to speak to a team leader. Oh, the operator said, there aren't many here today. I don't care, I said. Let me speak to somebody!

Don't you think it'd make more sense to give the new person the same patients until the new person (yes, that's what they call me) gets used to the routine and the paperwork? As bad as it seems today, I had dinner with the friends I left behind at the SNF, and their days are much worse.

Thanks for letting me rant.

Specializes in ICU, SDU, OR, RR, Ortho, Hospice RN.

Hi Paravell,

So how did your Thursday go?

I work in the Hospice field now after working in Home Care for 2 yrs.. I loved it and loved the fact that my 'office' is forever changing depending on where I am driving. Love love love it.. :)

Enjoy the change in your career. I bet you are smiling huh? :)

I had my HH interview and they hired me on the spot! I am going to do one weekend a month to see if it is something I am going to like before I quit my hospital job. I am excited and needing a change! The hospital is a bit of a drudge!

hi, I just had my interview this past friday and was told they usually have 2 interviews for each person. The first was to see if your right for the agency basically and the second to hammer out negotiations. They told me they would call me by the end of next week.. Now, after reading your post, Im second guessing my interview last friday. Im thinking that Im pretty clueless over here and I better start sending out some more resumes. I mean why should it take them an entire week to decide to hire me. Thats just a nice way of being told "sorry, your not right for this agency"...

~ slowly deflating~

Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.
After 31 years of hospital work, I truely believe HH is nursings best kept secret! Welcome to HH !!

You've got that right, DN !!! :D

Dutchgirl, I agree. Home Health care is the best part of nursing. CapeCod, be careful. Working per diem, you may have some problems with making that 5-6. IT is hard to do it with no case management. You may find that in order to keep that 5-6 patients a day, you may have to case manage. The good thing is you can chose where you want to case manage. I did that for a while but even that started to get slow and was working for 3-4 agencies to make my financial quota. I finally went full time with one of the agencies but unfortunately, got laid off. Just food for thought. Good luck!

hmmm... I don't do case management, either, but I still get 6-7 patients a day regularly with no problem.. we all do at our agency.

But I'm not per diem.. maybe that's why. But we get paid per pt., not by the hour, either.

I've been doing HH for a year now, and still loving it! My agency is similar to Dutch Girl's, only hers sounds even better. Heh. I work five days, we rotate weekend call, so I have call about once every 6-7 weeks on the W/E, and usually pm call once a week.

Wish all those of you new to HH the very best! ENJOY ! :Melody:

Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
hi, I just had my interview this past friday and was told they usually have 2 interviews for each person. The first was to see if your right for the agency basically and the second to hammer out negotiations. They told me they would call me by the end of next week.. Now, after reading your post, Im second guessing my interview last friday. Im thinking that Im pretty clueless over here and I better start sending out some more resumes. I mean why should it take them an entire week to decide to hire me. Thats just a nice way of being told "sorry, your not right for this agency"...

~ slowly deflating~

Don't Despair! The first agency I worked for hired me on the spot. They were an awful agency desperate for help, little did I know. I stayed for a year (PRN) just to get the experience. The company I work for now is awesome, really first class. When I interviewed with them they took a week or so to get back to me. They took their time checking references, etc because they wanted to make sure they had a qualified applicant and wanted someone they felt would stay, keeping in mind there is alot of time involved (or should be) in orienting to HH. Keep your chin up!

Specializes in Lie detection.
$84,000.....that is great! where in the northeast is that? i work in philadelphia, pa and do not make that much. please pm me and let me know where you are located. thanks.

sorry it took me so long to reply, i'm in ny. now mind you, my salary is also based on years of experience pay as well. i work for a hospital based agency and our pay is actually more than the hospital rn's make.

true, some nurses don't appreciate what it is that we do out in the field. some don't even have a clue. think we're settling for less. well......i am not stressed, my patients, as a rule, appreciate me, !

most nurses have no idea what home care is about. i didn't either when i did hospital work. i was worried about losing my icu skills but guess what? i don't care anymore! i doubt i'm ever going back into icu so it doesn't matter anyway.

[color=#483d8b]dg, i too have many of the same perks you do. i can get personal stuff done durimg the day. no work on weekends, holidays or nights. i can take breaks and pee. i can go to macy's on my lunch hour.

[color=#483d8b]if i'm done at 2, i can choose to go home and finish up my paperwork there. yes i may complain now when we're short but overall, it's a sweet deal.

hi, i just had my interview this past friday and was told they usually have 2 interviews for each person. the first was to see if your right for the agency basically and the second to hammer out negotiations. they told me they would call me by the end of next week.. now, after reading your post, im second guessing my interview last friday. im thinking that im pretty clueless over here and i better start sending out some more resumes. i mean why should it take them an entire week to decide to hire me. thats just a nice way of being told "sorry, your not right for this agency"...

~ slowly deflating~

no, don't deflate! a week is not bad. did you call them? many employers say they will call but actually want you to call and wait to see if you do. it shows if you are interested. i always called if i hadn't heard from them after a week.

i would call on monday. say "i am calling as a follow up to my interviews. i'm very interested in the position and wanted to know what your decision is." that way you will knwo either way.

or if you don't want to call do you have an email address? i have done that as well. i have had jobs including my present one take up to 2 weeks to notify me i was hired.

good luck.

thank you for your replys. It did makeme feel hopeful again and I am back to thinking positive. I would love a chance to learn about homehealth and hoping this agency will take a chance on me. I have been a nurse for 10 years but mostly OR experience. I had only 1 year as a new grad of floor nursing.

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice about how to go about setting up/ starting my own HH agency?

Vivstar

Specializes in LTC and Critical/Acute Care/Homehealth.

I am also starting in HH on Monday. I am going into Pediatrics. Big change from geriatrics. Nervous? You betcha!!!!! LTC just was not an option any more.

Hi Everyone,

I am in my second week of home health nursing. Things were going well until yesterday. I ended up in this dark basement with one lamp on the table and cock roaches everywhere. I kept kicking them off our belongings while my preceptor was talking. There were also other critters that it was too dark to identify! I don't know if I can handle this!!

I couldn't stop thinking about it. The worst part is you schedule these visits in the morning to avoid safety issues. Then you go to your next visit in an upscale area. I worry about dragging infestations all over town.

I have never been a quiter but I am having serious doubts.

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice about how to go about setting up/ starting my own HH agency?

Vivstar

Starting a Home Health agency is a very complex business. Probably one of the first decisions to make is whether or not you want to service government funded patients ie medicare and medicaid patients. If so there is a certain financial structure that you must follow that once implemented, will guarantee reimbursement so long as the proper paperwork is submitted. One must also decide upon the geographic area that one plans on servicing as reimbursement rates vary according to location. One must know the state and federal guidelines for operating a Home Health Agency for your particular state. Medicare and Medicaid guidelines are considered the "gold standard" in the industry. You must have certification by these agencies in order to bill the government for health care services. The JCAHO accreditation is also required if you wish to bill insurance companies. The National Association for Home Care as well as your state's

Department of Health Services will give you information concerning the government regulations concerning the operation of a home health agency. You usually must have a business license in addition to the other accreditations that I've mentioned. You must also decide upon what type of services that you wish to offer, nursing, occupational therapy etc. In order to meet certain state and federal guidelines, specific services must be available, such as the services of a social worker. Of course all of this ground breaking enterprise will need funding and the amount of money you will need will be dependent to a large extent upon how large or small you want your business to be as you begin. It will be a time consuming endeavor at least for the first 6 months to one year, a 24-7 job with no guaranteed income. It is an exciting experience and the rewards can be fantastic. Good Luck! Terry

Specializes in Case Managemnt, Utilization Review.
Hi Everyone,

I am in my second week of home health nursing. Things were going well until yesterday. I ended up in this dark basement with one lamp on the table and cock roaches everywhere. I kept kicking them off our belongings while my preceptor was talking. There were also other critters that it was too dark to identify! I don't know if I can handle this!!

The patient in the poor neighborhood, in the basement is the patient that needs you the most. You are a kind, compassionate soul and you are probably going to be one of their only links to the outside world. This is where you make a difference in the quality of a patient's life.

Do not take your personal belongings into these types of homes.

Just take those things absolutely necessary with you. Bring a lab coat on your arm so you can keep as much stuff in your pockets as possible, so minimal stuff is on the floor or the tables. You could also bring a chuck(blue pad) from the agency and fold your supplies inside it. I used to bring a chux in my pocket, clear a small spot and put my supplies in it each time I needed something, I would go get what I need and then fold it back up again. I also had trash bags in my car (garbage size with scent) when I was done, I threw the chuck in it and tied it tight, disposing at the nearest trash bin.

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