ATLANTA — If you're attending Medtrade 2009, then get ready to stand up for home care, said Randy Wolfe, president of Lambert's Health Care in Knoxville, Tenn.
"Home care is the greatest story never told, and it's time to do something about it," said Wolfe, who serves as chairman of the American Association for Homecare's Stand Up for Homecare public awareness campaign.
Begun in 2007, the ongoing campaign focuses on educating the general public, consumer media and Congress about the value of home care.
"Standing up for home care is an idea that must become a priority of everyone who goes to Medtrade, including all the exhibitors, the educators, the company owners and all the industry employees who work in this field," Wolfe said. The goal ahead, he added, is "winning the battle for the minds, hearts, and votes of everyone who has an influence on our industry or has had an encounter with it."
Medtrade attendees can make their own media statement and learn about getting more involved in the campaign at a special booth in the lobby of the Georgia World Congress Center Oct. 13-15.
Comments will be posted on AAHomecare's new Facebook page and will immediately be seen on a large screen TV in the booth, compliments of Philips Respironics. Brochures and resources such as press releases and positive news articles for providers and others to use back home also will be available.
"We in the home care industry have a great story to tell to this country that is not being told ... It's now time we became organized and funded in order to tell the story directly to people who vote for our legislators: our patients, their families, the patient advocacy groups and the business and government leaders in our local communities," said Wolfe.
"We must focus attention on the big picture that shows how truly valuable home care is to this nation and what an opportunity it offers our ailing health care system and the aging population," he continued. "This story is ultimately what connects and unites everyone in this industry; it's about the patient and the family unit we serve and enable to stay together in their own home, independent, with better outcomes, all at a fraction of the cost of institutional care."
AAHomecare will host the fifth Stand Up for Homecare reception and fundraiser during the annual trade show on Tuesday, Oct. 13, from 5:30-7 p.m. For more information, visit the AAHomecare Web site at www.aahomecare.org.
