Home Health Care & Hospice

NCHC CEO, Michael Costa, wrote the following op-ed which was published on VTDigger and discusses health care reform throughout the uncertainty of COVID-19.

Health Care Reform Can Make an Uncertain World More Predictable

The COVID-19 lockdown reinforced two major health care reform goals. First, Vermont needs strong and innovative partnerships with community organizations to make sure Vermonters are physically healthy, mentally healthy, well nourished, well housed, and financially secure. Second, Vermont needs a health care system that can promote health in our communities no matter how many patients walk through the doors of our health care institutions.

Community partnerships are more important than ever. Hunger, despair, and economic insecurity have an enormous impact on health. Each car in line, waiting for miles and hours to pick up food, tells a story of the precariousness of our population’s health and well-being. Vermont’s health care organizations know this truth, and were collaborating with the rest of the health and human services care continuum to act upon it when COVID-19 hit.

During the lockdown, Vermont’s health care system faced the greatest challenge in its history. Hospitals reconfigured space, redeployed staff, and managed a disruption of the global supply chain to meet the challenges of a once in a century pandemic. Hospitals were not the only organizations caught in this storm. Primary care providers, home health and hospice agencies, and designated mental health agencies changed their operations rapidly, encouraging remote care using technology, to continue to serve as the first line of defense to keep people healthy and out of the hospital. Yet, keeping people away from our hospitals and clinics to promote safety created real financial insecurity. The fee for service health care model, getting paid only when patients come through the door, attached an unprecedented financial crisis to a global health crisis. The solvency of our health care system was threatened just when we needed these institutions most. Monthly fixed payments, like those contemplated by Vermont’s All-Payer ACO Model and being tested in other states, could have reduced the risk to innovative partnerships and mitigated the financial crisis thrust upon health care organizations.

Health care reform is important because it pushes us to transform our health care system from one that incentivizes more care to one that focuses on the quality of our community’s health, addressing the underlying drivers of poor health. A more predictable and durable funding model promotes innovative partnerships and protects access to care even during our darkest hours. Health care reform that brings a predictable and durable funding model would allow health care organizations to provide the care and partnerships the community needs, where and when they need it, no matter how many people walk through the doors of a health care organization. This ought to be a key lesson from the present crisis for health care leaders and policymakers and, if not, it will be an opportunity cost to add to the terrible human and economic costs of COVID-19.

Northern Counties Health Care’s doors are open and our team of health care providers are available to provide you with care. NCHC is promoting safety through rigorous cleaning, physical distancing and testing all of our staff for COVID-19. Even with all of these changes, you will still receive the same compassionate care that you always have when you enter of health centers or someone visits your home for care. Our Dental Centers are closed for routine care, but open for Dental Emergencies. If you are concerned about your oral health, please call your Dental Center home today!

Watch for fever, coughing and shortness of breath; if you are experiencing symptoms, the first and crucial step is to call your health care provider. If you are an essential worker and are concerned over a possible exposure to COVID-19, call NCHC for guidance. Please make your health a priority. Don’t delay your care and contact your primary care provider today to make an appointment by video, telephone or in person!

If you are not showing signs or symptoms of COVID-19 but would still like to be tested, Vermont Department of Health will be hosting popup testing. Northern Counties Health Care is providing space for this pop-up testing in the Caledonia Home Health Care & Hospice Parking Lot at 161 Sherman Drive in St. Johnsbury on Friday June 5, 2020 and in the Orleans Dental Center Parking Lot at 11 Union Street in Orleans on Monday, June 8, 2020. To register, please navigate to the following website: https://humanresources.vermont.gov/popups. This testing is only for those who are NOT experiencing any symptoms.

Northern Counties Health Care – Compassionate Care in Our Home or Yours.

Northern Counties Health Care’s doors are open and our team of health care providers are available to provide you with compassionate care. NCHC is promoting safety through rigorous cleaning, physical distancing and testing all of our staff for COVID-19.

Please make your health a priority. Don’t delay your care and contact your primary care provider today to make an appointment by video, telephone or in person!

Caledonia Home Health Care & Hospice: 802.748.8116
Concord Health Center: 802.695.2512
Danville Health Center: 802.684.2275
Hardwick Area Health Center: 802.472.3300
Island Pond Health & Dental Center: 802.723.4300
St. Johnsbury Community Health Center: 802.748.5041
Dental Emergencies: 802.754.6973

Northern Counties Health Care- Providing Compassionate Care in our Home or Yours.

Our Priority. As always, the care and safety of our patients, staff, and communities is Northern Counties Health Care’s (NCHC’s) top priority. The COVID-19 pandemic is a state and national emergency. Our organization has emergency procedures designed to maximize our ability to respond to patient health needs while protecting staff so that we can continue to offer necessary medical services.

Calling First is the Key. Calling us first is crucial to maintaining a safe environment for patients and staff. Please call the site where you normally receive your care if you have questions or concerns about your health or care.

Caledonia Home Health Care & Hospice: 802.748.8116, (800)924.8116

Concord Health Center: 802.695.2512, (800) 339.0799

Danville Health Center: 802.684.2275, (800) 489.2275

Hardwick Area Health Center: 802.472.3300, (800) 339.0740

Island Pond Health & Dental Center: 802.723.4300, (800) 339.0227

St. Johnsbury Community Health Center: 802.748.5041

What We’re Doing. As NCHC continues to work to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, we continue to provide compassionate care! NCHC is actively working to ensure that our patients, employees and communities are cared for and stay safe.

• NCHC has switched all appointments to telehealth visits when possible. This will be done through either a phone call or through a video conferencing tool called Zoom with your Home Health or Primary Care Provider.
• Essential Face to Face visits will still be held for Home Health, Primary Care and emergent Dental appointments.
• NCHC is working to evaluate patients with fever and respiratory symptoms in their vehicles to further evaluate them for COVID-19.
• Upon entering an NCHC site, whether an employee or a patient, your temperature will be taken. This has been done in order to prevent against the spread of transmission.

Reminder to Protect Yourself. If you have come in contact with a patient who has tested positive for COVID-19 or are experiencing fever, cough, or shortness of breath please consider yourself positive as well and stay home. If you need to be in public for any reason, please do not forget to practice social distancing by staying six to eight feet apart. If your symptoms become severe, please call your Primary Care Provider. Continue to take action to help stop the spread of germs by washing your hands, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth as well as cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

We Are Here to Help. NCHC wants to help our patients meet basic needs during this difficult time. Please call 748-9405, x1042 to talk to a Community Resource Coordinator or go to www.nchcvt.org and click Resource Help to fill out a web form.

This is a rapidly changing situation. Please expect updates to be posted on our website, www.nchcvt.org and on our Facebook page.