HHT #158 - Home Health Care Around the World

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Home Health Care Around the World

A live report from Cape Town, South Africa

April 15, 2009

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In this issue...

-- Home Health Care Across the Pond

-- Employee Focus Groups as a Tool to Assess Your Current Reality

-- Be a Friend on Facebook

-- We're Coming to Your Neighborhood

-- Follow Stephen Tweed on Twitter

-- Private Duty Business Builders Strategy Retreat

-- Recent Postings To Our Home Health Care Leadership Minute BLOG

-- About the Author

-- Permission to Reproduce

Happy Tax Day,

We hope you are doing well enough in your business that you'll be among that select group of people who will be taxed at the highest rates next year.

Welcome to the April 15th, Tax Day issue of Home Health Care Today, the leading electronic newsletter for home care executives who want to grow their business and get ready for the future.

For ideas to grow your Private Duty Home Care business, subscribe to Private Duty Today, the bi-weekly newsletter for non-medical home care CEOs. Your complimentary subscription is available at www.privatedutytoday.com.


Home Health Care Across the Pond

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As you read this issue of Home Health Care Today, I'll be waving to you from across the pond. I'm in Cape Town, South Africa, where I will be speaking at the International Federation for Professional Speakers, Global Speakers Summit. We're here in this beautiful city with about 150 of our speaker colleagues from around the world to learn how to speak more effectively and more frequently.

I'll be doing a presentation called, "Book More Speeches: Using Multiple Streams of Revenue to Sell More Speaking Engagements." I'll share with my professional speaker friends some of the elements of our business at Leading Home Care, and how speaking at association conferences and corporate meetings fits into our business model.

I'll also spend some time learning about the health care system here in South Africa. Although our business is focused on home health care in America, I'm learning that home care is also a popular form of care in most of the other English speaking countries of the world including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Ireland and Canada. I'm sure it is growing in other non-english speaking countries as well.

While there is much to learn about health care in other countries, there is one thing that is clear to me. We in America have the best home health care and hospice agencies in the world. While many folks complain about the quality of care in America, and want us to move toward a more socialized health care system like Canada or England, I'm convinced that is not in our best interest for home health care.

There are many areas where we can improve, but I have not seen another home health care system around the world that comes anywhere near the quality and compassion demonstrated by home care in America. As I continue to explore, and to talk with my colleagues around the world, I'll share what I learn in future issues of this newsletter.

In the mean time, let's celebrate our successes, and continue to deliver the highest quality home health care and hospice services with compassion and caring.


Employee Focus Groups as a Tool to Assess Your Current Reality

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The week before last I was working in Connecticut with a very successful home health agency leading their Executive Strategy Retreat. As you know, one of the cornerstones of my strategic planning process is assessing your current reality.

It's important to begin by creating a snapshot of your agency as it exists today.

One of the ways to do that is by conducting employee focus groups. These are small groups of 12 to 15 employees organized by discipline. For example, in Connecticut I facilitated three groups; clinicians, office support staff, and business development staff.

I passed out index cards and felt markers to the group. I asked them four questions and had them write their answers on the cards. Then we collected the cards, pinned them up on storyboards, and used them as a basis for more in-depth discussions. These discussions are designed to get employee issues that the senior leadership team needs to address in their strategic planning process.

Here are the four questions I begin with:

  • How do you feel right now about working in this agency?
  • What frustrates you most?
  • What are you most proud of?
  • If you could wave your magic wand and fix three things, what three things would you fix?

These are what I call intuitive questions. They get at the feelings and emotions of the employees. Once I have their answers to these questions up on the storyboard, I ask more in-depth follow up questions to get at the real issues that need to be addressed.

As the CEO of your agency, you can do this same exercise with your employees. However, some words of caution. If you are going to lead these focus groups yourself, be very careful not to become defensive when they tell you things that sound critical of the agency or of senior management. These questions are designed to solicit that kind of feedback, and you'll get it.

The key is to get their thoughts written down on the cards. Then ask clarifying questions. Dig out the information that will help you understand how your employees really feel. But don't try to explain or defend. Just listen.

You'll be amazed at what you learn about what's really going on in your agency. You'll get a real clear sense of employee morale. Put this focus group information together with the data from your employee satisfaction survey and you'll have a much clearer picture of the culture and leadership style of your agency.

Then you can develop action plans to address the issues and get ready for the future.

In the Connecticut agency I asked these same questions in a planning session for all managers and supervisors. Then I shared the results of the employee focus groups. We were able to clearly identify some issues with the culture of the organization that the senior leadership team wants to address.

These senior leaders came away excited about the potential to make some significant change in their culture, and impact the way they deliver care and provide service to their patients and referral sources.

If you'd like more information on our Strategic Planning services, click on the link below or call Julie Raque at 502-339-0653 and she will help you get the process started.

For more information on Strategic Planning, visit our web site.


Be a Friend on Facebook

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Social networking is all the rage with the younger set, and as an old guy, I am just learning about these new uses of technology. However, I have been amazed by my ability to connect with friends and colleagues around the world on Facebook. I'm using this cyber tool to stay linked to my family, my speaker friends, and my home health, hospice, and private duty connections around the country.

If you are on Facebook, look up Stephen Tweed and we'll become friends in cyberspace.

Let's be Friends on Facebook


We're Coming to Your Neighborhood

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Spring time is a busy season for home health care association conferences and corporate meetings. I'll be on the road in April, May and June speaking at a number of conferences around the country. If I'm going to be in your neighborhood, please come and visit.

  • April 18th - Global Speakers Summit - Cape Town, South Africa
  • April 28th - Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina - Durham
  • May 8th - Colorado Association for Home Care - Vail
  • May 12th - Corporate Client - White Plains, New York
  • May 15th - VNAs of America - San Antonio, Texas
  • June 3rd - Maryland National Capital Home Care Assn. - Columbia, Maryland
  • June 10th - Corporate Client - White Plains, NewYork
  • June 12th - Corporate Client - Louisville, Kentucky
  • June 24th - Home Care Association of Florida - Orlando, Florida
  • June 30th - Corporate Client - San Antonio, Texas

For more information about my availability to speak at your association conference or corporate meeting, call Julie Raque at 502-339-0653.

Information on Keynote Speeches and Learning Seminars


Follow Stephen Tweed on Twitter

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For an up-to-date notice of Stephen Tweed's latest adventures and locations, follow him on Twitter.

Follow Stephen on Twitter


Private Duty Business Builders Strategy Retreat

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Many of you who are executives in Medicare Certified Home Health agencies also have a private duty home care business. If you're like most home health agencies, you struggle with making your private duty business profitable.

If you and your private duty director would like to come together with other successful private duty companies for a one-day executive strategy retreat, here's an exciting opportunity.

Join me in Columbia, Maryland - right near BWI airport - for a one day focused strategy session designed to help you develop a business growth plan for your company. We'll look at the 27 elements of a successful private duty business, and give you an opportunity to focus on those elements that are most important to you.

We'll share with you the best practices and proven techniques to grow your private pay business. We'll show you how to recruit and select the caregivers you need to take on more clients. And we will give you specific tips to increase the profitability of your business.

Join the folks from the Maryland National Capital Home Care Association on June 3, 2009 for the Private Duty Business Builders Strategy Retreat. See you there!

Register today!


Recent Postings To Our Home Health Care Leadership Minute BLOG

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Visit our BLOG, Home Health Care Leadership Minute for Stephen Tweed's observations on the latest happenings in home health care around the world. The latest BLOG postings include:

  • Hospitals losing money. What will be the impact on Home Health Care?
  • Ohio Home Health Agency Issues Press Release about Muffins for Doctors
  • Obama Budget Proposal Cuts Money from Home Health Care
  • Do Female Executives Lack Vision?
  • Home Health Nurse Writes Editor about Information Technology
  • Gentiva Refocuses on Home Health Care for the Elderly
  • Amedisys reports growth in Home Health Earnings
  • Celebrating 100 Years of Home Health Care

Visit Stephen Tweed's Home Health Care Leadership Minute


About the Author

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Stephen Tweed, CSP, is Chairman and CEO of Leading Home Care ... a Tweed Jeffries company. For over 25 years he has been a recognized leader in strategy and leadership development for home health care companies and associations. He is the author or co-author of seven books, five of which were written specifically for the home care industry. He has served on the boards of directors of three not-for-profit home care agencies, and has served as interim President & CEO of a $25 million home care company.

Stephen is a past-President of the National Speakers Association, a 3500 member international society of experts who speak professionally. He is also the father of a 38 year-old son who is physically disabled and uses the services of home care on a daily basis.

Meet the entire Leading Home Care Team


Permission to Reproduce

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Permission is granted to healthcare publications, associations and companies to reproduce this article in your publication, or to distribute copies to your leaders, on the condition that you reproduce the credits and contact information as follows: "Reprinted with permission from Home Health Care Today. Copyright 2009 Stephen C. Tweed. To receive a FREE subscription to this newsletter, log on to www.leadinghomecare.com."



Contact Leading Home Care

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phone: 1-866-209-5101

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