‘Home Care, the Greatest Story Never Told’

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.