Distinguished Care Options Establishes Care Transitions Program

NATICK, Mass. - Dec. 17, 2014 - PRLog -- Distinguished Care Options, the private duty entity of Century Health Systems that provides personal support, direct care and assistance with all aspects of daily living at home, and its affiliate, Natick Visiting Nurse Association (Natick VNA), today announced that a new program has been established to help clients and patients manage their care and ease their transition from facility to home.

The program, Return to Home, will be spearheaded by the agencies’ Care Transitions Coordinators, Debra Hershon and Trish St. Martin, both of whom are Registered Nurses with nearly 60 years of experience between them.

In the ever-changing healthcare field, physicians are seeking new and innovative ways to keep their patients out of the hospital. Hershon and St. Martin will serve as liaisons between physicians and patients to ensure better patient outcomes and limit the number of patients being readmitted to hospitals.

Return to Home will make the transition of care from a facility to a patient’s home more manageable. It will also encourage patients to become active participants in their own care by educating themselves about their condition and communicating regularly with their care transitions team.

“Today’s healthcare landscape can be confusing for people, especially when they are preparing for surgery or are facing management of a chronic disease,” said Judith Boyko, MBA, MS, RN, CEO of Century Health Systems, Distinguished Care Options and Natick Visiting Nurse Association.

“Return to Home will fill a need for patients who need personal healthcare guides as well as providing some support for their families. Our Care Transitions Coordinators know the options available to people transitioning from hospital or rehab facility to home and will advise based on individual and clinical needs as well as a patient’s financial and insurance coverage circumstances,” she added.

The Care Transitions Coordinators’ services include ongoing communications with a patient’s family, care team and physicians; patient meetings to determine clinical needs; recommending post-acute care; and serving as active participants in the patient’s course of care.

Additional services may include home safety evaluations; adaptive equipment recommendations; discharge meeting participation; and visits on the date of discharge.

For a complete list of available Return to Home services, visit www.dco-ma.com and click on the “Services” tab.

Distinguished Care Options provides services in the following communities: Ashland, Auburndale, Bellingham, Dover, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Marlborough, Medfield, Medway, Millis, Natick, Needham, Newton, Northborough, Sherborn, Southborough, Sudbury, Walpole, Wayland, Wellesley and Weston.

Distinguished Care Options is located at 209 West Central Street, Suite 315, Natick, Mass., 01760. For additional information, call 508-653-8512 or visit www.dco-ma.com.

About Distinguished Care Options: Distinguished Care Options, an affiliate of the Natick Visiting Nurse Association, is the private duty entity of Century Health Systems. It is committed to excellence and is dedicated to providing personal support, direct care and assistance with all aspects of daily living at home, to individuals and families, alone or in collaboration with other community providers.