Novel home health care service uses artificial intelligence to schedule brief visits

I had an informative visit with Natalya Rubel a few days ago. Natalya is the CEO for ABOVE Home Health, located in Olympia and serving our surrounding counties. The acronym ‘ABOVE’ stands for Absolutely Best Option - with our Vision you have Exceptional care.

ABOVE Home Health provides the usual services you associate with home health; RNs, licensed vocational nurses, physical and occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, medical social workers, home health aides and attendants/companions.

They use a team approach that provides solutions to ensure seamless coordination of medication management and continuity of care, which is especially helpful after discharge from hospital or rehab facility to home.

Studies have shown that collaborative care transitions, such as home care support, can reduce hospital readmissions by up to 30%.

Neighborhood care, supported by artificial intelligence

Natalya told me their business is using a model currently only found in Hawaii. It’s called Vivia and it is an AI (artificial intelligence) software program that allows them to set up neighborhood care.

The number of medical providers’ has steadily shrunk, especially since COVID, but even before the pandemic struck. Home health companies are faced with the ongoing problem of being able to pay their employees a living wage. Care providers want/need eight hours a day, and many home health agencies cannot guarantee those hours will be available.

To make a living, some caregivers work for more than one agency at a time. This can make scheduling care a nightmare for agencies and discomfort for clients, who sometimes don't know whom to expect to walk through the door.

Many homebound clients may only need help getting up in the morning or going to bed at night. They may need help with laundry, medication supervision, meal preparation or someone to be present while they bathe, help to take their blood pressure or monitor their sugar levels.

While this support can put the clients and family members minds at ease, it simply does not require an eight-hour day; Despite this, some home agencies require a four-hour minimum fee for each visit, as a way to retain their staff.

This can become very costly quickly, so many would-be patients rely on family or friends to help when they can. Sometimes, that might mean an elderly or disabled person who needs medical care goes without it.

It simply isn’t logical to assume volunteers have the knowledge or skills to provide the help necessary to improve or stabilize the health condition that requires the help in the first place.

Eight-hour days for providers

ABOVE Home Health guarantees their staff pay for an eight-hour day. This program takes a “neighborhood” approach to care. If one person needs a ten-minute assist two or three times daily, Vivia includes this in caregivers’ schedules. Elsewhere in the caregiver’s assigned neighborhood, another person may need an hour or two. Someone else might only need physical or occupational therapy for an hour three times a week.

Under the Vivia neighborhood approach, a case manager assesses the level of care needed. When this has been determined, the same medical professional or caregiver shows up for the same client each time to provide the needed services, providing continuity of care and relationships.

Another one of the best parts of this program is the ongoing patient and family education of their disease process.

The end goal for both ABOVE Home Health and their client is to remain in their own home.

That said, if your loved one is already living in an active senior community or assisted-living facility and their care level reaches a point where they might have to be moved into a skilled nursing setting, ABOVE Home Health can provide services at their ‘home’ facility.

This may enable them to stay where they are, in their familiar, comfortable surroundings, instead of moving to a more costly setting.

For more information about services and/or the Vivia Neighborhood Program contact ABOVE Home Health. 

Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week from her home in Olympia.  Contact her at  kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comment below.