March 4, 2021 Washington, DC — Home care and hospice are changing at an unprecedented rate. Last year agencies faced two of their biggest challenges—COVID-19 and Payment Driven Groupings Model (PDGM)—on top of staffing shortages. As a result, the sector is evolving and needs national research to guide efforts and help define what it means to provide healthcare in the home.

LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, which now has an expanded footprint in the home care sector after its affiliation with VNAA earlier this year, is joining forces with others in the field to co-sponsor the 2021 National Study on Best Practices and Future Insights. Designed to produce insights that will ensure quality, outcome-driven care in the new reform environment, the research project aims to help identify clinical and operational best practices for care and training that agencies can implement to position themselves for future success.

“Given the shifting landscape of care delivered in the community and in the home, the study’s independent findings will provide important insights into the challenges and opportunities around better quality care, better quality jobs, and how the public and private sectors can work together to achieve successful outcomes,” said Robyn Stone, senior vice president of research at LeadingAge and co-director of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston.

Methodology for the study will include three phases. Phase I, which is now open, includes a web-based input survey allowing providers to suggest issues and questions they would like to see addressed in the study. LeadingAge encourages all agencies to complete the input survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BDstudy. Deadline to complete the input survey is Friday, March 12. The results will help to determine the direction of the following phases.

Phase II will involve an in-depth online survey with input from nearly 1,000 agency leaders. The final phase will include distribution of free national data and reports as well as presentations at national and state conferences.

A unique feature of the study is the collaboration between national associations. Joining LeadingAge as cosponsors are: the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC), NAHC Forum of State Associations, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), Home Care Association of America (HCAOA), and Council for State Home Care and Hospice Associations. National best-practice research firm BerryDunn will design and facilitate the national effort with the assistance of Delta Health Technologies and HealthPivots as technology and data sponsors.

More information about the survey can also be found on the BerryDunn website.

We represent more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-minded organizations that touch millions of lives every day. Alongside our members and 38 state partners, we use applied research, advocacy, education, and community-building to make America a better place to grow old. Our membership, which now includes the providers of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America, encompasses the continuum of services for people as they age, including those with disabilities. We bring together the most inventive minds in the field to lead and innovate solutions that support older adults wherever they call home. For more information visit leadingage.org.