ACHH Graduate Virtual Journal Club

When: Thursday, January 11, 2024 | 7:00pm - 8:30pm Eastern 

The ACHH faculty have worked with the APTA Home Health Board to initiate a journal club exclusively for the PT and PTA graduates of the ACHH certification program.

The FREE ACHH journal club will take place three times a year on the second Thursday of January, May, and September, from 7:00pm – 8:30pm EST.  The first 30 minutes will be a happy hour of networking and discussion and then one member will lead a guided journal club.  Participation in the club will carry points towards recertification, with one point for each club attended, to a maximum of 5, and 3 points for the individual leading the discussion.  The club will be held virtually, and details and the link will be sent by the section to all graduates of the program.  It is planned that the topics will rotate through different major areas such as neurological, cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal and issues specific to PTAs. 

The next event will be on Thursday, January 11, 2024. Any volunteers to lead journal discussions in the subsequent meetings will be appreciated. Remember - 3 points will be awarded towards your ACHH Certification Renewal if you volunteer to lead these discussions. If interested, please email us at [email protected].

ACHH program graduates, click here to register for free! 

ACHH Face-to-Face Seminar in Los Angeles Open For Registration

When: Saturday, February 3 and Sunday, February 4, 2024  |  8:00am - 5:30pm PT (Each Day) 

Location: Providence Home Health - LA County South
                 5315 Torrance Blvd, Suite B
                 Torrance, CA 90503

CEUs - This seminar qualifies for 15 hours of credit.

Effective March 1, 2023 - All aspects of the ACHH will be stand alone, including the 2 day seminar, which can be taken as a 15 hour high quality home health continuing education course. 

If an individual wants to pursue the ACHH certificate, they will be required to take what was formerly known as the pre-requisites and will now be called the core bundle.  (These can now be taken before or after the 2 day seminar, but must be within 18 months total to be certified).  PTs will continue to take 4 additional hours of electives and PTA will have no elective requirement.

This 2-day live in-person seminar is a critical part of the Advanced Competency in Home Health (ACHH) program. If you are not already familiar with the requirements of the ACHH program, please review the requirements. This seminar is designed to complement and build on the core courses of the ACHH program. During the 2-day seminar, participants will revisit and practice skills required for quality cardiopulmonary, orthopedic and balance assessments that will be integrated into clinical vignettes. Throughout the seminar, ethical and regulatory issues, as well as documentation will be incorporated into clinical case studies. Participants should be able to take the skills covered back to their home health settings and incorporate them immediately into patient care. The seminar also offers a huge networking opportunity which is one of the strengths of the program.

Registration for this seminar is limited and on a first-come first-served basis.

CLICK HERE for more information and to register!

Survival Instincts, Inevitable Tailwinds Will Guide Home-Based Care Providers Through Current Tough Times

Home Health Care News | By Andrew Donlan
 
There’s a confusing outlook right now for both providers of home care and home health care. More value, worth and attention is being placed on those respective industries than ever. But, all the while, providers are facing some of their toughest challenges as 2024 nears.
 
The attention being placed on home-based care is not leading to a windfall for them. Increased awareness and attention on an industry generally means its operators stand to benefit. That has not been the case for most thus far.
 
In 2020, that’s what many of us expected, even with an acute pandemic and staffing shortage to get through.
 
Instead, longtime providers with the sense to see home care’s value years before it was widely popularized are handcuffed by inflation, rate cuts and internal operational challenges.
But their leaders, front-line workers and back-office staff would be wise to keep their heads up.
Demand will continue increasing for the foreseeable future. And, though there’s always been ebbs and flows in the home-based care business, providers are now dealing with those ebbs and flows from a much more advantageous position than they were in years past.
 
When Bo Schembeckler took over Michigan’s football program – during a period of turmoil in the late 1960s – he coined a phrase as players were deciding whether to stay and put in the work under a new regime or, alternatively, to quit or leave.
 
“Those who stay will be champions.”…

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Long COVID: New Info on Who Is Most Likely to Get It

Medscape | By Solarina Ho

The COVID-10 pandemic may no longer be a global public health emergency, but millions continue to struggle with the aftermath: Long COVID. New research and clinical anecdotes suggest that certain individuals are more likely to be afflicted by the condition, nearly 4 years after the virus emerged. 

People with a history of allergies, anxiety or depression, arthritis, and autoimmune diseases and women are among those who appear more vulnerable to developing long COVID, said doctors who specialize in treating the condition.

Many patients with long COVID struggle with debilitating fatigue, brain fog, and cognitive impairment. The condition is also characterized by a catalog of other symptoms that may be difficult to recognize as long COVID, experts said. That's especially true when patients may not mention seemingly unrelated information, such as underlying health conditions that might make them more vulnerable. This makes screening for certain conditions and investigating every symptom especially important. 

The severity of a patient's initial infection is not the only determining factor for developing long COVID, experts said.

"Don't judge the person based on how sick they were initially," said Mark Bayley, MD, medical director of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute at University Health Network and a professor with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. "You have to evaluate every symptom as best you can to make sure you're not missing anything else." 

Someone who only had a bad cough or felt really unwell for just a few days and recovered but started feeling rotten again later — "that's the person that we are seeing for long COVID," said Bayley…

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