Recognizing Melissa Greer’s dedication to clinical excellence and leadership in home health care, this exclusive feature highlights her journey, the impact of patient education, and the role of technology in enhancing care delivery. Her insights offer valuable perspectives on the evolving home health landscape and strategies for ensuring high-quality patient outcomes.
I began working with CenterWell Home Health 2.5 years ago as an LPN, as a field nurse. During this time, I also began the process of advancing my career by returning to school for my RN. Once I graduated with my RN in the spring of 2023, I transitioned to an RN role at CenterWell Home Health. I then worked as a Clinical Assessment Advisor as an RN for a little over a year, which is part of the admissions team. From this role, I applied for and was promoted to a role as Clinical Manager in December of 2024. During my time as a field nurse, I exhibited strong work ethics, advanced nursing skills and an influential leader to my teammates.
Enhancing Patient Care Through Education And Home Adaptation
My healthcare experience has shown me how valuable patient care is for the well-being of people. Especially with home health, so many patients are sent home still sick. Without home health intervention, these patients would likely end up back in the hospital or, inevitably, death. Making sure patients leave the hospital with proper care and education sets the foundation for them and being able to manage care until home health is arranged.
Patient education is one of the most important tasks that a home health nurse must do at every visit. In home health, we look at the patient’s overall health, well-being and referral reasoning to tailor the right education needs to their care plan. We use written, verbal and hands-on methods to teach the patients and their caregivers about their conditions and ways to improve. The teach-back method is always used when possible to make sure the patient/caregiver has a complete understanding of what has been taught.
Patient Education Is One Of The Most Important Tasks That A Home Health Nurse Must Do At Every Visit
Home environment plays a crucial role in a patient’s care plan in home health. During start-of-care visits, we assess the home's accessibility, safety hazards and the presence of a caregiver. We address safety concerns by conducting a home assessment and our social worker evaluates further needs. We also listen to the patient's own concerns to tailor their care. At CenterWell Home Health we take a collaborative approach, involving all clinicians in the care plan. If modifications are needed, we consult with an occupational therapist. For wound care, we educate patients on proper infection control and carry supplies to prevent contamination when necessary.
Leadership, Technology, And Best Practices In Home Health Nursing
With home health, point-of-care documentation with my clinical staff is vital to make the documentation real-time and as accurate as possible. Here at CenterWell Home Health, each field nurse has a tablet with access to electronic health records, so as soon as they finish documentation and submit it, I can view their documentation as well. With our EHR, templates are available to fill in the documentation needed for each visit, making it more efficient. With my team, I do weekly education/training on ways to improve areas that I find need improvement.
Being able to adapt is very important in a leadership role when managing a team in home health. Being open to change and flexibility are key when working in an industry that is always changing. Collaborating effectively is another top quality for me in leadership. Having my team work together and work through patient care together brings openness to the team as well as giving the best patient care. Lastly, integrity is a quality that I am sure to uphold with my team as their leader. I use the values I have been taught in my career as well as honesty to make ethical decisions when it comes to my clinicians and my patients.
Technology has been a great thing for home health and patient health/well-being. With electronic health records, we are able to receive faxed orders for labs from providers and generally obtain them on the same day. We use our EHR to document labs drawn and facilities they were taken to. The lab departments fax or call results to us within 24 hours typically. Technology has made the process more efficient and we are able to address any issues found sooner rather than later to keep the patient safe and at home.
Same with the telemonitoring. This advancement has been an amazing thing for patients who qualify. Patients are checking all of their vitals daily, including weight; any discrepancies are sent to us by electronic health record notification as soon as they are obtained. With this advancement, we can know as soon as the change occurs, have a nurse follow up and take appropriate measures to keep the patient safe in this scenario.
Home health is a wonderful and growing area in healthcare, especially as baby boomers are aging. Developing strong patient assessment skills, as they are vital in the home health setting, is so important. Have adaptability—with home health, every patient is different, and every day is different with needs that arise. Be dedicated to educating and empowering your patients, as a lot of times you are the only healthcare provider they will see regularly. Have great communication skills to be able to actively listen to your patients, explain medical information in an understandable way and be able to collaborate effectively with your teammates.
