What does it mean for a home health agency to be state-licensed?
First, being state licensed means that we’ve gone through a long, comprehensive process to become licensed and that moving forward, we agree to frequent audits by the state that ensures we are maintaining certain standards at all times. From a hiring standpoint, it means that we must interview all prospective hires in person, do fingerprinting and run nationwide background and criminal record checks via the Caregivers Criminal History Screening Program to ensure that the individual has never been flagged or arrested for abuse, neglect or financial exploitation. Applicants must then pass a written test as well as a hands-on test of practical skills, such as how to transfer someone from a wheelchair safely.
Once hired, all new staff must be certified in Basic Life Support (BLS), which means that they are able to provide CPR, choking assistance and defibrillation in the event of a life-threatening situation. State-licensed agencies are also required to provide all staff training in-house and have a Registered Nurse (RN) conduct an in-depth clinical evaluation and risk assessment for every new client.
In addition, many Long-Term Health Care Insurance Policies will only be reimbursed if the Home Health Agency you are receiving services from is a State Licensed Agency.
WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE
a Home Care Agency licensed by the Maryland Department of Health, and we emphasize this Licensing is a long, painstaking process, but it’s one we undertook because of our commitment to quality and safety. What does it mean to you? Among other things, it means that we must adhere to higher standards, undergo frequent audits, and run nationwide background and criminal record checks on all our staff. But that’s just the beginning. For more on what state licensing involves and guarantees.