Corsicana — A Trinity Valley Home Health

A Trinity Valley Home Health and Therapy Services has announced it has been named to the top 500 of the 2012 HomeCare Elite, a compilation of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States. Now in its seventh year, the HomeCare Elite identifies the top 25 percent of agencies and further highlights the top 100 and top 500 agencies overall. Winner are ranked by an analysis of publicly available performance measures in quality outcomes, process measure implementation, patient experience (Home Health CAHPS), quality improvement and financial performance.

“The 2012 HomeCare Elite winners demonstrate a commitment to providing patient-centered care and serving as leaders in the home health community. Their success offers data-driven proof of being well-managed and high quality care providers to hospitals, managed care organizations, ACOs, and other potential referral partners across the healthcare continuum,” said Susan L. Henricks, president and COO of National Research Corporation, the parent company of OCS HomeCare. “Again this year, we updated our methodology to reflect the rapidly evolving quality-focused healthcare landscape and national value-based purchasing trends. We congratulate A Trinity Valley Home Health and Therapy Services on being one of the top 500 home care agencies in the country.

A Trinity Valley Home Health and Therapy owner Bill Miller, Physical Therapist, credits “a dedicated staff, hard work, loyalty and a strong sense of business ethics” with the agency’s ability to achieve recognition as one of the HomeCare Elite.

“It’s not every day a great mix of patients, physicians, and healthcare professionals get to come together to achieve great things,” Miller said. “Our patients reap the benefits of the output of our hard work together. We are honored to have been the only agency chosen for the fifth year in a row in our regional to be included in the HomeCare Elite list.”

“HomeCare Elite recognition continues to gain importance given the increased regulatory mandates and the threat of shrinking reimbursement revenue. Home Health agencies that have earned recognition among the HomeCare Elite demonstrated that they not only can adapt to an evolving marketplace, but continue to excel in clinical, patient experience, quality improvement, and financial outcomes,” said Marci Heydt, product manager for the post-acute care business group of DecisionHealth.

The entire list of 2012 HomeCare Elite agencies can be downloaded by visiting the National Research Corporation website at www.nationalresearch.com







Oncor Electric

Oncor, a Texas-based electricity provider, is working with its suppliers to offer 12,000 free trees to customers through Energy-Saving Trees, an Arbor Day Foundation program that conserves energy and reduces household electricity bills through strategic tree planting.

Oncor customers can reserve their free trees today at arborday.org/oncor. Within seconds of accessing the website, an online tool helps customers find the most strategic location for planting and estimates the annual savings that will result from the tree. Customers can reserve up to two trees per household, and the program will continue until all 12,000 trees have been reserved.

In exchange for the free trees, beneficiaries are expected to care for the trees and plant them in the location provided by the online tool. The tool will explain where the right place to plant is and where not to plant. Specifically, staying away from planting the trees under power lines. The two-to-four-foot trees will be delivered directly to the customer at an ideal time for planting.

“This exciting program will give Oncor customers the chance to get some energy efficiency measures around their home, while also helping the environment,” Oncor Vice President of Distribution Operations Keith Hull said.

The Energy-Saving Trees online tool was created by the Arbor Day Foundation and the Davey Institute, a division of the Davey Tree Expert Co., and uses peer-reviewed scientific research from the USDA Forest Service’s i-Tree Software to calculate estimated benefits. In addition to providing approximate energy savings, the tool also estimates the tree’s other benefits, including cleaner air, reduced carbon dioxide emissions and improved storm water management.

Within 20 years, mature trees will yield hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings.

Oncor delivers electricity to more than ten million people and operates approximately 118,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines in the state of Texas.