NORTH COUNTRY HOME CARE NAMED ONE OF THE TOP 500 HOME HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS OF 2009 BY HOMECARE ELITE

           [Bemidji, MN]— The Home Care division of North Country Home Care and Hospice has been named to the 2009 HomeCare Elite™, a compilation of the top performing home health agencies in the United States. This annual review 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.
            “The 2009 HomeCare Elite winners exemplify a commitment to providing their patients with the best possible care while performing at the highest level,” said Nancy Buller, senior director of marketing communications at OCS HomeCare. "We congratulate North Country Home Care on being one of the Top 500 home care agencies in the country."
            North Country Home Care’s Director, Susan Dobbelstein, credits our strong clinicians, nurses, therapists and home health aides, with the North Country’s ability to rank as one of the HomeCare Elite. She said, “Our goal in home care is to keep our clients independent so they may remain in their own home whenever possible.  Nursing’s healing and education along with therapy’s strengthening and adaptations are what make a difference for our clients.”
            “DecisionHealth would like to congratulate the top HomeCare Elite agencies that achieved excellent clinical and financial outcomes by providing quality care to their patients,” adds Marci Heydt, executive editor of DecisionHealth’s Home Health Line.
            The 2009 HomeCare Elite is the only performance recognition of its kind in the home health industry. The 2009 HomeCare Elite is brought to the industry by OCS, Inc., the leading provider of homecare information, and DecisionHealth, publisher of home care’s most respected independent newsletter Home Health Line. The data used for this analysis was compiled from publicly available information. The entire list of the 2009 HomeCare Elite agencies can be viewed by visiting the OCS Web site at www.ocshomecare.com.

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About North Country Health Services
North Country Health Services is a community-owned, nonprofit healthcare organization. Nationally recognized for healthcare excellence, North Country Health Services is dedicated to providing healthcare services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care. NCHS is comprised of the following entities – North Country Regional Hospital, North Country Home Care and Hospice, North Country Peak Performance, Senior Behavioral Health Unit, WoodsEdge at North Country Health Services: Trillium, Neilson Place, and WindSong, Baker Park Apartments, Bemidji Medical Equipment, and the North Country Health Services Foundation. To learn more about North Country Health Services, visit www.nchs.com or call 218-751-5430.

About OCS HomeCare
OCS HomeCare empowers home health and hospice organizations with results-driven data intelligence, plus the largest and most accurate homecare database in the industry. Homecare providers, payers, associations, government agencies, vendors, and consultants all turn to OCS 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 industry's leading source for news, analysis and instructional guidance with cutting edge information sources such as Part B News, Home Health Line, Medicare Compliance Alert, Inside the Joint Commission and Specialty Coders Pink Sheets. Our unique blend of award-winning on-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 that’s 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.