News Release 

TOMPKINS COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
Frank Kruppa – Public Health Director
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information contact:
Sigrid Larsen Connors at (607) 274-6603 or Frank Kruppa at (607) 274-6674

Home Health Care in Tompkins County – Will Services be Affected if the Health Department Doesn’t Provide Them? – Panel Discussion

 
May 5, 2011 (Ithaca, N.Y.) — The Tompkins County Health Department (TCHD) operates one of two Certified Home Health Agencies (CHHA) in the County. (Certification means that under New York State and Federal Medicare regulations, the agency may bill to and accept Medicare payments. Not all home care agencies are certified.)

The Tompkins County Legislature is considering transferring the operation of Tompkins County Health Department’s CHHA to a qualified not – for – profit or proprietary Home Health Care Agency. This consideration is due to the increase in property tax subsidy necessary to operate TCHD’s CHHA and New York State cuts in aid to publicly owned CHHAs as well as other factors. This financial trend has led other counties in New York State to end their direct involvement in home health care.

On Tuesday, May 10 at 4:30 p.m. at the Health Department at 55 Brown Road, the County will host a panel discussion that will focus on how or whether home health care services would be affected in Tompkins County if those services were provided by another agency other than the Tompkins County Health Department. The discussion is open to the public.

Panelists will include representatives from two other New York State counties, and a community representative with extensive experience in Long Term Care and Adult Protective Services in Tompkins County. These experts will speak to the various facets of home health care with the intention of helping the community attain a clear picture of the programmatic implications of keeping or transferring the CHHA.

The County also commissioned a report to assess the current and projected financial condition of TCHD’s CHHA as part of its review. That report is available at the Health Department’s website: www.tompkins-co.org/health under Special Topics.

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