The Thorne Group Ranks in the TOP 500 out of 7,500 Agencies
The Thorne Group was named to
the Top 500 Home Health agencies in the United States and the
Top 10 in Pennsylvania! Approximately 7,500 agencies were
ranked.
The ranking, performed by Outcome Concept Systems, scored
agencies on three categories – quality of care, quality
improvement and financial performance. The data utilized
comes from CMS’ Home Health Compare database and cost reports
submitted to CMS. Selection of top agencies by this independent
organization is quite an honor.
We’re very proud of our achievement, and prouder still that we
have been able to attain and maintain high quality performance
standards. We credit our administrator, Cheryl Dott, and our fine staff of nurses, aides and office assistants, for
continuing dedication and hard work.
We appreciate the contributions made by all of our staff. Keep up the good work!
Care Transition Project Participation
The Thorne Group is one of only a few selected agencies in
Western PA selected by CMS (Medicare) to participate in a
project aimed at reducing the 30 day rehospitalization rate
within our community.
The primary goal of improved care transitions is to provide
patients with the tools and support that promote knowledge and
self-management of their transition as they move from one level
of care to another. This project focuses on improving the
communication and coordination between providers to ease the
transition from hospitalization to home or to skilled care.
The Thorne Group is proud to work with local hospitals and
skilled care facilities to reduce rehospitalization rates.
Caring at a Distance
As more and more families have children and potential care
givers living away from home, or working in various areas of the
country, it becomes difficult to care for parents and
grandparents from a long distance.
The Thorne Group, Inc. can help bridge the distance and make
family members aware of the best options available.
Available care systems for older adults can appear confusing and
fragmented to those unfamiliar with them. At The Thorne
Group, our Geriatric Special Services Coordinator can help bring it all together
for you.
Visit our Distant Caring page to
learn more.
2007 National Campaign names The Thorne Group a Premier
Campaign Participant.
As one of the first home health agencies to register, The
Thorne Group, Inc. has been granted Premier status in the 2007
Home Health Quality Improvement National Campaign.
The goal of the campaign is to help home
care patients remain comfortably at home, resulting in
fewer avoidable hospitalizations. By participating, The Thorne
Group pledges to work toward reducing the number of
hospitalizations while improving clinical outcomes and patient
satisfaction
The
campaign offers each participating agency a monthly Best
Practice Investigation Package. These packages highlight
best practice interventions that assist in reducing avoidable
acute care hospitalization.
Agencies also receive monthly data benchmarking reports to
assist in tracking progress. To learn more, visit
www.homehealthquality.org.
The Thorne Group, Inc. is committed to ensuring that home health
patients receive the right care in a caring and concerned
atmosphere, every time.
Support for the Community
Agency owners Bill and Becky Thorne are both active in many community organizations, which they support with contributions of both time and dollars. “Westmoreland
County is a great community, with good people and lots of culture,” Becky says. “We are fortunate to live and work
in Youngwood and its surrounding communities, and we believe in giving back to the community that we enjoy so much.” Becky
supports the efforts of the Women’s Leadership Council, a
philanthropic organization committed to bringing about positive
community change. The Council’s initial project is to fund Faith
in Action, a local organization which serves the elderly with
escort, respite and other services which are free to the
recipient.
Becky believes that it is important to assist our elderly through every available means, including volunteer organizations.
The Thorne Group Nursing Scholarship
The Thorne Group Nursing Scholarship was awarded for the first time in the spring of 2007. Candidates
were eligible to apply for funds that substantially defrayed tuition and other expenses related to earning a registered nursing degree through Westmoreland County Community College. The Thornes are addressing the critical shortage of nurses in this way and are also exploring options for promoting the teaching of nursing, another area of demand.
Medicare Statistics Show Agency’s Excellence
According to
Home Health Compare, the Medicare-maintained
webpage on home health agency performance statistics, The Thorne
Group consistently exceeds both state and national averages in
improvement of certain patient outcomes, even though our patient
population is much older than state and national averages. In
addition, The Thorne Group typically surpasses the performance
of other local home health agencies in many outcomes categories
such as improvement in bathing, dressing, managing medications,
hospital admission, etc.
Administrator Honored for Project Performance
The Thorne Group’s administrator, Cheryl Dott, was honored
for her excellence in completing an outcome-based quality
improvement project mandated by CMS (Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services). Cheryl was recognized in a special ceremony
by Quality Insights of Pennsylvania, the Medicare Quality
Improvement Organization for PA and the firm chosen by Medicare
to implement the project and monitor its results, for the way in
which she set up and executed a project designed to produce
improvement in breathing. Quality Insights commended the agency
on the “superior quality of care that you provide to your
patients.”
Agency Chosen to Participate in Special Study
In addition, because of Administrator Cheryl Dott’s
distinguished performance, The Thorne Group was hand-picked to
participate in a collaborative for a small group of home health
agencies in PA which will track improvement in the management of
oral medications. As Quality Insights wrote in a letter to our
agency, “In recognition of the excellent care that you provide
to your patients and your commitment to continuous quality
improvement, Quality Insights has selected your agency as one of
23 home health agencies across the state [out of hundreds] to
participate in this project.”
Agency Owner Earns Honors
The Thorne Group’s President/CEO, Rebecca Thorne, was recently named one of Pennsylvania’s 2005 Best 50 Women in Business for professional achievement and community involvement and for “bringing new and innovative ideas and techniques to businesses that are shaping the economic future of our state”. She was honored in a ceremony in Harrisburg.
Ms. Thorne was also a finalist for 2006 Entrepreneur of the Year for “demonstrating the entrepreneurial spirit of ingenuity, fortitude and perseverance.” In addition, she was named one of the Top 100 People in the Region for both 2005 and 2006.
In addition, Ms. Thorne recently received the 2007 Woman of
Distinction Award from the Keystone Tall Tree Girl Scout
Council. The award honors women who are recognized as role
models for young women. She was specifically recognized
for her philanthropy, promotion of the community, and
entrepreneurial spirit.
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