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 Assistant Secretary of Aging Validates Mission of Home Nursing Agency January 13, 2006 - Home Nursing Agency Administration, Board Members, Staff and Patients welcomed a visit from the Assistant Secretary of Aging for the US Department of Health and Human Services, Josefina Carbonell, who was accompanied by United States Congressman Bill Shuster, R-9th. Shuster, a member of the Rural Health Care Coalition in Congress, worked with Administration officials to secure the visit by Assistant Secretary Carbonell. Home Nursing Agency is very grateful for an opportunity to showcase its unique network of diversity as an in-home and community-based provider. The Agency highlighted some of its in-home and community-based initiatives that parallel with the priorities currently advocated by health policy officials during last month's White House Conference on Aging. Opening remarks at the Conference on Aging, which is held once every decade, underscored the need for a healthcare model to allow older Americans to maintain their independence as long as possible and to keep them in their homes. During a press conference immediately following the presentations, Assistant Secretary Carbonell commented that "Home Nursing Agency is a perfect model (of service integration) for the rest of the country." Throughout the meeting and during the press conference both Assistant Secretary Carbonell and Congressman Shuster continually emphasized that agencies need to be adaptable and ready for change. Part of that change is the integration of both health and human services in the delivery of care. These two groups can no longer be mutually exclusive as state and federal governments continue to search for ways to meet the growing demands for services. Furthermore, the current Administration's New Freedom Initiative focuses on the creation of a system of care that reflects the needs and preferences of Americans of all ages with illness - and disabilities while seeking to preserve the values of choice, control and independence. For nearly 40 years, the mission of Home Nursing Agency has been abiding by a mission that emulates the premise of the New Freedom Initiative. “The nation is on the threshold of the first-ever mass geriatric society, yet we strongly believe, with the help of our community partners, that we'll continue to perpetuate a healthcare model of the highest quality which will allow area residents to maintain their independence as long as possible and to remain in their homes,” said Robert Packer, Home Nursing Agency President and Chief Executive Officer. Assistant Secretary Carbonell had the opportunity to visit with several patients and caregivers. The visit was also part of an initiative to raise awareness on the Agency's telehealth services and outcomes. Placed in patients' homes, the telemonitoring unit detects symptoms faster and helps to prevent and minimize complications as well as unnecessary readmissions to the hospital. Carbonell discussed the cost-effectiveness and patient satisfaction resulting from in-home and community-based services. The Agency was fortunate to host several local Area Agency on Aging officials, and the Chief of Staff for the Pennsylvania Department of Aging. The Agency was also honored to have representation from several of leading alliances including the Altoona Regional Health System, Visiting Nurse Associations of America, and the Pennsylvania Homecare Association.  Left to Right: Bruce Erb, Home Nursing Agency Board Chair; Congressman Bill Shuster; Assistant Secretary Josefina Carbonell; and Robert Packer, Home Nursing Agency President & CEO. 
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