For five months, Home Health Therapists have been working in partnership with Kaiser to develop a Predictive Guidelines Training. We are pleased to announce the completion of the training video and guide that highlights a shared understanding of 10 patient scenarios. The development and implementation of this training is part of our first contract agreement and intended to reduce work assignments that push many home health therapists beyond an 8-hour workday. The training should be reviewed by labor-management teams in local offices and used as an opening to discuss how much time visits and other tasks take. 

The factors that makeup Home Health Therapists’ workday can vary widely. During bargaining, we agreed to “Predictive Guidelines” (PGs), which created a common language to discuss how much time different types of visits and other work-related activities would take (e.g., a complex or simple visit, a start of care or return visit, admin time and case management time). After the training, continuous engagement on these issues through our contractually mandated  Professional Practice Committees is critical to prevent long-hour days and being overworked. 

Thank you to all those who diligently worked to bring the full agreement on PGs to fruition: Carmen Romano, PT; Suzy Chen, ST; Melanie di Carlo, PT; Tracy Telder, OT; and KD Doerr, PT; and Nancy Ostrowski, Senior Union Representative.