A Hot and Sweaty Email

Dearest Julianne;

I will seek and find you.
I shall take you to bed and have my way with you.
I will make you ache, shake & sweat until you moan & groan.
I will make you beg for mercy, beg for me to stop.
I will exhaust you to the point that you will be relieved when I’m finished with you.
And, when I am finished, you will be weak for days.
All my love,

The Flu

I received the above love letter in my email box today. It certainly got my attention although I would prefer a different suitor.

In addition to protecting yourself and your family so you don’t miss work, consider that many current home health care patients will be on service in January of 2010. The OASIS-C discharge assessment will ask if the patient has been immunized against the flu for ‘this year’s influenza season’ which is October through March. Although CMS has not announced which outcomes will be publicly reported, it is my guess that CMS will look favorably on agencies that ensure their patients are protected against the flu.

Furthermore, as patients become vaccinated, it is important that you document the vaccine status of your patient in an easy to find location. Agencies with high acuity patients may find themselves with an enormous chart to review at discharge if they don’t implement processes for easy retrieval of data.

Note that H1N1 flu vaccine is not considered in the OASIS data. As vaccine becomes available in your area, check with your local health departments for immunization recommendations.

If you have questions or comments, please feel free to leave a comment below or email us at haydelconsulting@bellsouth.net.