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2011 HomeCare Elite Recognizes Top Amedisys Care Teams Nationwide

^{Published on 2011-10-21 14:06:22 - Market Wire}
 

BATON ROUGE, La.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Amedisys, a leading home health care and hospice company (NASDAQ: AMED), today announced that 257 of its care centers across the country have been named to the 2011 HomeCare Elitea", a compilation of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States compiled annually by OCS Home Care and DecisionHealth. Now in its sixth year, the HomeCare Elite identifies the top 25 percent of agencies and further highlights the top 100 and top 500 agencies overall. Winners are ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, quality improvement and financial performance.

"This year, we updated our methodology to reflect industry focus and, based on this rigorous analysis, we congratulate Amedisys on being one of the top home care agencies in the country."

The Amedisys care centers recognized this year include 13 winners that have been acknowledged every year since the inception of the HomeCare Elite list six years ago. The winning agencies also include 12 first-time winners, 24 two-time winners, 22 three-time winners, 24 four-time winners and 21 five-time winners. This recognition comes in advance of National Home Care and Hospice Month which is observed in November each year, raising awareness of the importance of home health care throughout the country. Nationwide, just 338 winners have made the HomeCare Elite list six times.

aIt is increasingly challenging to manage the cost/quality equation. The 2011 HomeCare Elite winners demonstrate a commitment to providing patients with the best possible care while managing their business efficiently and effectively,a said Amanda Twiss, CEO of OCS and My InnerView. aThis year, we updated our methodology to reflect industry focus and, based on this rigorous analysis, we congratulateAmedisyson being one of the top home care agencies in the country.a

aMaking the HomeCare Elite list is an important honor that shows the quality of care offered by the dedicated employees of Amedisys,a said Jim Robinson, executive vice president of Amedisys Home Health and Hospice Care. aThe one constant goal of all of our care teams is to provide the best possible healthcare for our patients and their loved ones. Our employees are focused on quality every day with every patient visit, and this recognition is a clear result of their efforts.a

The 2011 HomeCare Elite is the only performance recognition of its kind in the home health industry. The 2011 HomeCare Elite is brought to the industry by OCS HomeCare, the leading provider of homecare information, and DecisionHealth, publisher of homecarea™s most respected independent newsletter Home Health Line. The data used for this analysis were compiled from publicly available information. The entire list of the 2011 HomeCare Elite agencies can be viewed by visiting the OCS HomeCare website at [ www.ocshomecare.com ].

About Amedisys

Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) is a leading health care company focused on bringing home the continuum of care. Amedisys delivers personalized health care services to patients and their families, in the comfort of patientsa™ homes, with approximately 10 million patient care and education encounters per year. Amedisys has two divisions, home health care and hospice. The Companya™s state-of-the-art advanced chronic care management programs and leading-edge technology enables it to deliver quality care based upon the latest evidence-based best practices. Amedisys is a recognized innovator, being one of the first in the industry to equip its clinicians with point-of-care laptop technology and referring physicians with an internet portal that enables real-time coordination of patient care. Amedisys also has the industrya™s first-ever nationwide Care Transitions program. Amedisys Care Transitions is designed to reduce unnecessary hospital readmissions through patient and caregiver health coaching and care coordination, which starts in the hospital and continues throughout completion of the patienta™s home health plan of care. For more information about the Company, please visit: [ www.amedisys.com ].

About OCS HomeCare

As the industry leader in benchmarking, reporting and analytics, OCS HomeCare empowers home health and hospice organizations with results-driven data intelligence, plus the largest and most accurate comparative database. Homecare providers, payers, associations, government agencies, vendors, and consultants all turn to OCS HomeCare to elevate decision-making, raise the bar on results, and bring home positive outcomes. For more information about OCS HomeCare, please visit [ www.ocshomecare.com ] or call 888.325.3396.

About DecisionHealth^®

For more than 30 years, DecisionHealth has served as the industrya™s leading source for news, analysis and instructional guidance with cutting-edge information sources such as Home Health Line, OASIS-C & Outcomes Solutions and Diagnosis Coding Pro for Home Health. Our unique blend of award-winning staff journalists and unmatched access to health care executives, providers, healthcare organization managers and their revenue-cycle staffs enables us to provide solutions, tools and guidance relied on by nearly 100,000 home health care and specialty physician practice professionals. For more information, please visit [ www.decisionhealth.com ] or call 877.602.3835.