The Worst Home Health Care Agencies in Spencer, Iowa

As the US population grows older, more of us are going to need some kind of help with our daily routines or to recover from specific afflictions. Much of that care will take place outside of a hospital or residential care setting. We believe that one of the best ways to live longer or to recover faster is through health care services that are delivered in your home.

There are many benefits to receiving health care at home. First, it is often more convenient for patients, since they don’t have to travel to a facility. Second, it can be less expensive than receiving care in a hospital or other setting. Third, patients may feel more comfortable and relaxed in their own homes. Home treatment has been shown to lead to faster recoveries and better overall outcomes than similar treatments administered in a hospital or group home setting.

Home Health Care Agencies in Spencer, Iowa

There are 19 home health care companies registered with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid that serve the Highland, Arkansas area. Because home health care agencies visit your home, you may be in an agency's service area even if they do not have an office in Highland.

The list below shows the worst home health care agencies in the market ranked by their overall 5-star quality of care rating. (Click here to see the best home health care agencies in Spencer, Iowa.)

Name	5-Star Quality of Care Rating
BUENA VISTA COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH AND HOME CARE 1709 EAST RICHLAND STREET STORM LAKE, IA 50588	2:
POCAHONTAS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH 21 3RD AVE NE POCAHONTAS, IA 50574	2:
COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES 1515 SOUTH PHILLIPS ALGONA, IA 50511	2:
CHEROKEE REGIONAL HOME HEALTH 212 E BOW DRIVE CHEROKEE, IA 51012	3:
PALO ALTO COMMUNITY HEALTH 3201 FIRST STREET EMMETSBURG, IA 50536	3:
LAKES REGIONAL HEALTHCARE HOME CARE 2301 HWY 71 SPIRIT LAKE, IA 51360	3:
UNITYPOINT AT HOME 112 WEST 5TH STREET STORM LAKE, IA 50588	3.5:
ORANGE CITY HOME HEALTH 400 CENTRAL AVENUE NW ORANGE CITY, IA 51041	3.5:
SANFORD HOME HEALTH AND HOSPICE SHELDON 118 NORTH SEVENTH AVENUE SHELDON, IA 51201	3.5:
AVERA @ HOME 826 NORTH EIGHTH STREET ESTHERVILLE, IA 51334	3.5:
GOOD SAM SOCIETY HOME CARE OF SW MN 866 FIRST AVENUE NORTH WINDOM, MN 56101	3.5:
UNITYPOINT AT HOME 214 S 25TH STREET FORT DODGE, IA 50501	4:
AVERA AT HOME OF SPENCER HOSPITAL 116 E 11TH STREET SPENCER, IA 51301	4:
GOOD SAMARITAN SOCIETY - HOME CARE 1710 LINCOLN AVENUE, SUITE A SPIRIT LAKE, IA 51360	4:
WEBSTER COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT 723 1ST AVENUE SOUTH, SUITE 220 FORT DODGE, IA 50501	-:
IOWA HOME CARE, L L C 644 1ST STREET SUITE A WEBSTER CITY, IA 50595	-:
LONG LIFE HOME HEALTH, LLC 319 N 11TH STREET, 1ST FLOOR, STUDIO A & B & C & S PHILADELPHIA, PA 19107	-:
GATEWAY HOME HEALTH 201 1ST STREET SW SUITE A CLARION, IA 50525	-:
UNIVERSAL PEDIATRICS 702 PARK STREET SHELDON, IA 51201	-:

How are Home Health Care Agencies Rated?

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ("CMS") generates two types of 5-star rating, the Quality of Patient Care Star Ratings and Patient Survey Star Ratings.

Quality of Patient Care Ratings are based on data compiled by CMS based on the percentage of patients whose conditions improve as a result of care provided by the agency. The general guidelines are that these measures should :

• Apply to a substantial proportion of home health patients and have sufficient data to report for a majority of home health agencies.
• Show a reasonable amount of variation among home health agencies and it should be possible for a home health agency to show improvement in performance.
• Have high face validity and clinical relevance.
• Be stable and not show substantial random variation over time.
• Have changed over time based on the results of ongoing monitoring analyses, technical expert panel input, and stakeholder feedback.

Patient improvement is measured in the following ways:

• Timely Initiation of Care
• Improvement in Ambulation
• Improvement in Bed Transferring
• Improvement in Bathing
• Improvement in Shortness of Breath
• Improvement in Management of Oral Medications
• Acute Care Hospitalization

CMS also regularly surveys home health care patients using The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) Home Health Care Survey ("HHCAHPS”). Patients are asked to rate the home health care agency according the following:

• Percent Of Patients Who Reported That Their Home Health Team Gave Care In A Professional Way
• Percent Of Patients Who Reported That Their Home Health Team Communicated Well With Them
• Percent Of Patients Who Reported That Their Home Health Team Discussed Medicines, Pain, And Home Safety With Them
• Percent Of Patients Who Gave Their Home Health Agency A Rating Of 9 Or 10 On A Scale From 0 (lowest) To 10 (highest)
• Percent Of Patients Who Reported YES, They Would Definitely Recommend The Home Health Agency To Friends And Family

Because CMS loves to generate 5-star ratings, there are also 5-star ratings related to each of these questions.

Other Lists of the Worst Home Health Care Agencies

The worst home health care agencies in Iowa

Major Cities in Iowa

Des Moines, IA (best, worst)	Davenport, IA (best, worst)
Cedar Rapids, IA (best, worst)	Iowa City, IA (best, worst)
Waterloo, IA (best, worst)	Sioux City, IA (best, worst)
Dubuque, IA (best, worst)	Ames, IA (best, worst)
West Des Moines, IA (best, worst)	Ankeny, IA (best, worst)
Council Bluffs, IA (best, worst)	Urbandale, IA (best, worst)
Cedar Falls, IA (best, worst)	Marion, IA (best, worst)
Bettendorf, IA (best, worst)	Clinton, IA (best, worst)
Burlington, IA (best, worst)	Mason City, IA (best, worst)
Marshalltown, IA (best, worst)	Muscatine, IA (best, worst)