•  As changes in health care continue to take shape, we have established shared positions with other healthcare providers for key programs and projects that will benefit the patients we all serve. One of these programs is our Telehealth Monitoring Program. Telehealth is a monitoring system placed in a patient home that is not much bigger than an old style telephone. The machine is set to ask a patient to take their blood pressure, weight or oxygen level. The results are sent electronically to a computer at Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice for the nurse to assess. This new initiative ensures high risk patients are provided with telehealth monitoring and support to prevent unnecessary rehospitalization and maintain optimal health. Our Chronic Disease Management Program will benefit patients receiving home care services in the 113 communities and unorganized territories that make up our service area. The program will specifically target patients with chronic diseases where close monitoring of vital signs are essential to a successful recovery.

• Our employees are always in the forefront of every decision we make; they are the reason why we have been in existence for 45 years and are considered one of the top home care and hospice organizations in Maine. With this in mind, we contracted with Central Maine Medical Center (CMMC) to offer a health and wellnees program for our employees. The program included health risk assessments, on-site screenings, education sessions on a variety of health topics, and a wealth of connections to health and wellness resources. The program's goal is to motivate and foster good lifestyle choices each of us make daily that can result in long-term health and wellness benefits. We encourage our staff to take as good care of themselves as they do our patients.

• We are excited to announce that Maine Quality Counts and the Maine Patient Centered Medical Home Pilot (PCMH) organizations recently confirmed that we were selected as a Maine PCMH Pilot Community Care Team Provider. Community Care Teams (CCTs) are envisioned as a key element in our efforts to improve care and reduce avoidable costs for Maine people, especially those with complex or chronic conditions. The teams coordinate and connect patients to additional healthcare and community resources in order to support their health improvement goals, achieve better health outcomes and reduce avoidable cost.

To ensure success we have partnered with Central Maine Medical Center, St. Mary's Health System, DFD Russell Medical Center, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Quality Counts, Tri-County Mental Health Services, Spectrum Generations and SeniorsPlus.

• We are pleased to announce a successful Joint Commission Accreditation. The Joint Commission (TJC) sets standards for healthcare organizations and issues accreditation to organizations that meet those standards. TJC conducts periodic on-site surveys to verify that an accredited organization substantially complies with Joint Commission standards and continuously makes efforts to improve the care and services it provides. We completed their most recent survey in June of 2011 with a high note from the lead surveyor saying, "If I were going to choose home care for myself or my loved ones, it would be here." We were also asked to publish three of our practices as "leading practices" to TJC website for access by other agencies as best practices. We celebrate and thank our staff, volunteers, and supports for the efforts necessary to create a service of high quality to our patients and community.

• We have begun the process of rolling out a new initiative called "M.O.D.E.L. Care". This program is a template that we will use to educate clinicians and guide best practice in the delivery of care provided by Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice.

M.O.D.E.L. Care is an acronym for:

Meaningful - each visit and plan of care for every patient will require being intentional about making care meaningful.

Organized - organizing for the care of a patient is critically important to the quality of care that will be provided and the outcomes related to that care.

Developed - conducting visits in a standardized way that is well developed with the understanding that all patients require patient specific care.

Effective/Efficient - all visits and care requires providers to educate patients and caregivers on all aspects of the plan of care as well as evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, patient satisfaction and progress towards goals including needs and concerns.

Lasting Quality - care is provided in a standardized best quality care model that provides lasting quality effects for the patient, family and caregivers.

This program is the heart and soul of our organization and one that will keep us at the forefront of the home care and hospice industry well into the future.