2020 Home Health Section Awards
The following recipients were nominated by various members of the HHS, and were selected based on the outlined criteria below by the executive committee of the Home Health Section. The Home Health Section Awards are presented to recipients at the APTA Home Health business meeting at APTA's annual Combined Sections Meeting on Friday, February 14th.
- Friends of the Home Health Section Award: Acknowledges an individual, group or organization that has made an enduring contribution to the home health industry and that has been an advocate of the profession of physical therapy in the home, as is relates to clinical practice and/or regulations.
- 2020 Friend of the Home Health Section Award Recipient - Senator Susan Collins
 Susan Collins is Maine’s senior United States Senator. She was first elected to the Senate in 1996 and ranks 12th in Senate seniority. For the last six consecutive years, Senator Collins has ranked as the most bipartisan member of the U.S. Senate. As the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, Senator Collins has been a strong advocate for home health care and hospice agencies. Last year, Senator Collins spoke from the Senate floor about two bipartisan bills she introduced that would help to preserve and expand access to home health services — the Home Health Payment Innovation Act and the Home Health Planning Improvement Act. Additionally, Senator Collins introduced the Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act, bipartisan legislation to increase the number of geriatric health professionals to support our aging population. A native of Caribou and known for her Maine work ethic, Senator Collins has never missed a roll call vote. She has cast more than 7,200 consecutive votes and holds the longest perfect voting record in the history of the U.S. Senate.
- Excellence in Home Health Leadership Award: Recognizes the exceptional contribution of an APTA Home Health member in promoting home health physical therapy practice.
- 2020 Excellence in Home Health Leadership Award Recipients -
 Celeste Cheek, PT, DPT is a physical therapist currently living and practicing in the Tulsa OK area in home health. Celeste started physical therapy school at Langston University in OK as a single mother of two, and while in school was awarded a scholarship for Brain and Spinal Cord Injury treatment. She graduated summa cum laude in 2000 with her BS in PT and began working as a home health PT in various states across the country. As a lifelong learner, Celeste obtained her transitional DPT from Langston University in 2015 and became certified as a lymphedema therapist in 2018. Celeste has worked in home health for 15 of her 19 years as a PT. In 2017, she was invited to join the toolbox taskforce for the home health section by Ken Miller, practice chair, and was soon appointed as a member of the practice committee of the HHS. After serving in several groups on the taskforce, she became managing editor of the soon to be released Home Health Toolbox II. Celeste is passionate about her patients can often be found researching treatment methods for every case in order to maximize their full potential. She is also a fervent believer of collaborating care and is often found picking the brains of every other discipline available in order to achieve the best results. When Celeste isn’t reading CMS regulations or researching on best practice she is adoring her 2 grandchildren, creating new craft projects, or yelling at Alexa to do what she told her to do.
 Kenneth L Miller, PT, DPT, is a board-certified geriatric specialist, advanced credentialed exercise expert for aging adults and credentialed clinical instructor from APTA. He has over 24 years of clinical practice with the older adult population. Dr. Miller is an assistant professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center serving in the department of physical therapy. His clinical focus is on best practices and optimal care of the pre-frail and frail populations. He is an international and national speaker presenting topics related to gerontology in Australia and across the United States at national level conferences including the combined sections meeting and NEXT conferences of the American Physical Therapy Association. He has multiple peer-reviewed publications on clinical pharmacology and has recently been a guest editor for the Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation peer-reviewed journal issue focusing on medications and nutrition. Dr Miller is considered an expert in the field of home care and has authored numerous articles including co-authoring an article on the value of home health physical therapy. He serves the physical therapy profession as director of practice for the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy and additionally as the Chair of the Practice Committee for the Home Health Section of the APTA. In this capacity, he led the development of the Providing Physical Therapy in the Home handbook and other resources such as home health student roadmap and toolkit and the home health section’s objective test toolbox.
 Clay Watson, PT, MPT is a Physical Therapist and owner/operator of Western Summit Rehabilitation. Western Summit is a therapy services staffing agency for home health and provides consulting services for home health agencies. Watson is the Past President of the Utah Association for Home Care, previously serving as President Elect and Therapy Chair. He helped merge the organization with the state hospice association and now serves as Chair of their Home Health Division. Clay is a member of the Steering Committee for the Utah Falls Prevention Alliance and a grant recipient for an NIH falls prevention grant. When not busy with the PT lifestyle, he and his wife struggle to remodel their home and parent 4 teenagers.
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PTs in the Community
The mission of "PT in the Community" is to impact the lives of locals living in the community that we visit for National PT Conferences, with an emphasis in school-aged children and the homeless population.
The idea of “PT in the Community” came about in New Orleans, 2018, during CSM. A few of PT's decided to leave the conference center, the area of town all together, and went to a local school fundraiser. They spent time in the community, broke bread with them, danced with them, and donated to their cause. They then realized something that most of us probably already knew, but thought little about. And that is that thousands of us, upwards of 17 thousand, descend upon a city for a few days, but do little for the folks that actually live there. Yes, there have been a couple events geared towards donating money to a local cause, but nothing that facilitated real face-to-face interactions.
2019 was different. A spark was hit and a flame of passion was lit. A handful of PT's decided to pitch in and get supplies to distribute to the homeless of DC. Grabbing others along the way, they put together care packages containing soap, toilet paper, socks, gloves, protein bars, peanuts, sanitary wipes, bananas, oranges, and bottled water. A total of 36 bags were made and distributed, while also getting to learn a little from those that would share.
For CSM 2020, the plan is to do it again! This time an initiative that is two-fold. Educating school-aged children and helping the homeless population.
Educating Kids on Health & Movement
In collaboration with the Colorado Chapter of APTA and the Denver Public Schools, educational assemblies will be held at multiple school locations the afternoon of WEDNESDAY (February 12th) of CSM. The educational material will consist of information on healthier living, the importance of movement & safe physical activity, as well as break out sessions to “MOVE.” We will also be educating on the Physical Therapy profession!
Helping the Homeless
In collaboration with Father Woody's Haven of Hope (a Denver Homeless Shelter), we will be helping to put together care packages and also helping with other hands-on opportunities, such as serving meals!
As you could image, both parts of this initiative will require volunteered time and donated funds to pull it off. We are offering opportunities to present at the school assemblies and serve the undeserved. Donated funds will be used to purchase equipment (such as exercise bands and balance pads) for the schools and items for the homeless care packages. Whether you plan to be in Denver or not, we hope for your support!
Click Here to Donate Your Time!
Click Here to Donate Financially! |
APTA Home Health Joins Other Components In Surveying PTs, PTAs For PDGM, PDPM
Over the past several months, some significant changes have occurred in payment methodology for skilled nursing facilities (PDPM) and home health agencies (PDGM). The changes may have led to shifts in practice patterns that may be impacting the patients we serve and you as an individual in the workforce. Three components of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) have joined together to create a survey we hope will provide some important insight and guidance. Those components are APTA Geriatrics, the Home Health Section, and the Health Policy & Administration Section (HPA the Catalyst).
Your responses are very important and will inform future legislative and regulatory priorities as well as the development of tools and resources to help busy therapists and therapist assistants. The survey is expected to take no more than 10 minutes. Participation is voluntary and all responses are completely anonymous. You are free to share the link with others in the industry (including non-APTA members and those from other disciplines). Please know that the survey link is the same regardless of which section communication leads you to it. You should complete it only once.
Thank you in advance!
Greg Hartley, President APTA Geriatrics
Dee Kornetti, President Home Health Section
Matthew Mesibov, President HPA the Catalyst
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APTA Magazine Features Home Health Physical Therapist In Story Titled 'Good To Be Home'
The February edition of PT In Motion magazine features author Chris Hayhurst's article on changes in practice in the home health setting with the admonition "not to believe all the doom and gloom you've been hearing about PDGM," the acronym for the Patient-Driven Groupings Model, the new Medicare payment system for home health providers.
As Hayhurst writes, "This segment of the health care industry is growing faster than any other in the United States. According to the latest analysis by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as reported in a February 20, 2019 article in Health Affairs, total spending on home care services nationwide is expected to reach nearly $186.8 billion by 2027, up from $108.8 billion in 2019. By 2021, CMS predicts, the annual growth rate for expenditures in the sector is likely to exceed 7% per year — the highest rate of expansion among the categories the agency tracks.
The article quotes top Home Health Section leaders, including President Diana "Dee' Kornetti, Vice President Matt Janes and Treasurer Philip Goldsmith, who provides Hayhurst's anecdotal lead paragraphs.
At the American Physical Therapy Association's National Student Conclave on a Friday morning early last November, Philip Goldsmith, PT, MSPT, EMT, DScPT, took a few minutes to prepare for the day ahead. He was there to represent APTA's Home Health Section, he explained, and over the course of the next 36 hours he'd share his experiences as a home health physical therapist (PT) with anyone who asked. He'd focused on this niche of the profession for the majority of his 20-year career and recently had taken a new position with Southeastern Home Health Services in Pennsylvania.
The students, if they were like those he'd met before, would have questions about potential opportunities in home health, but they'd also want to know about the practice setting's particular challenges. He'd be ready, Goldsmith told them, with an honest assessment of the home health career path and a pitch he hoped would persuade them to join the section and give it a try.
Read the full story here (you must be signed in as an APTA member to view).
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Dr. Jason Falvey is a physical therapist and board-certified geriatric clinical specialist who focuses his research on home and community-based care for older adults recovering from major disabling hospitalizations, such as surgery and critical illness. He received his bachelor’s degree in English and his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Husson University and Bangor Maine, a PhD in Rehabilitation Science from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and is currently completing a post-doctoral research fellowship at Yale University to receive training in epidemiology of aging.