There’s never been a more challenging time in home health and hospice care delivery. Payments are in decline, and more cuts are on the horizon (Kaiser Health Network, 2013). Meanwhile, the population is getting older and sicker, demanding more--and more complex–services (HHS, 2013) (Murtaugh, et al., 2009) (Avalere, 2010). We continue to see a shift toward more skilled nursing and therapy services (Congressional Research Service, 2013). As a provider of home health and hospice care, more is expected from you than ever before. And let’s be frank: We know home health and hospice care are under scrutiny (Kaiser Health News, 2011) (USGAO, 2012). Don’t you want your staff trained and ready with the processes and tools that embrace best practices?

You need the best available tools in order to meet these new challenges and still deliver exceptional care to your patients.

That’s where the VNAA Blueprint for Excellence comes in. It is the premier quality improvement and workforce education resource for an industry hungry for valid, trusted training curriculum and hands-on tools for improving care transitions.

This isn’t merely a collection of academic articles–although we do include many of those. This is a simple, modular, off-the-shelf resource you can use today, for yourself or your entire team.

Designed with nonprofit home health and hospice organizations in mind, the VNAA Blueprint promotes quality in home health care practice and care transitions. It is also a valuable resource for hospitals, physicians and other providers researching best practices for improving care transitions.

Developed by VNAA's Best Practices Work Group, the VNAA Blueprint includes training programs and tools used by the nation's top performing home health and hospice agencies and evidence-based practices from clinical and academic experts. Adopting the VNAA Blueprint as your organization’s guide and training resource for quality processes and practices demonstrates your commitment to industry-recognized best practices and quality reporting expectations.