Each November, the California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH) along with the entire home care industry throughout the country celebrates National Home Care and Hospice Month to honor all home care workers who make a remarkable difference in the lives of patients and the families they serve. It is an important opportunity to recognize the health care administrators, nurses, clinicians, therapists, aides, homemakers, chore workers, companions and other home care professionals who assist some of our most frail citizens and help them to remain at home and in the community.
-CAHSAH President Dean Chalios
This year it is especially important that we take time and effort to celebrate Home Care & Hospice Month due to recent legislative threats at the state and federal levels, including cuts to Medicare and Medi-Cal. For this reason CAHSAH has created a package of materials and resources that will help each member agency to highlight their caregivers and to make connections with local lawmakers and media. This package includes posters and flyers, ideas and suggestions for celebrating, information on how to contact your local legislators, and information on how to invite a legislator on a home care visit.
Click the links in the right-hand side box for all of the materials and resources.
As the legislature is currently out of session in November, there is no better time to establish relationships with your state and federal legislators. Your ongoing communication with your state and federal representatives is an integral part of CAHSAH's ongoing advocacy efforts.
You can find your local legislators by clicking here. Some ideas for connecting are to invite them on a home care visit, invite them to your celebration of home care month and ask them to speak, or visit them in their office to talk about your company and clients. CAHSAH makes itself fully available to assist you in setting up meetings with your local representatives. Please just contact Mary Adorno at (916) 641-5795 x124, or madorno@cahsah.org, and we will do all the work necessary.
As our country's population continues to age and as the cost of health care continues to be one of our most common and critical challenges, CAHSAH is proud to represent home care, home health, hospice, and other home services that lower the cost of care and support an individual's freedom and dignity by remaining at home. We salute the heroes of home care who make this possible and offer our gratitude in November and beyond.