Think about traveling for long periods of time. Don’t you miss your own bed? Familiar food? Your furry, four-legged friends?

Now think about being in the hospital. Besides worrying about recovery, wouldn’t you still miss those creature comforts of home? Adventist Health/Home Care Services does the best to combine both worlds. With a full range of services for those sick, disabled or recovering from illness, home care helps patients convalesce in comfort and still have the best care possible.

The first home care agencies opened their doors in the 1880s. Since then, the number of organizations in the United States has grown to more than 20,000. Currently, Adventist Health operates more than a dozen of those agencies along the West Coast, including one in Tillamook, Oregon.

“Adventist Health views home health services as an important part of patient treatment,” said Sherry Mendoza, Adventist Health director of Home Care. That importance translated into more than 215,000 visits in 2006.

Recently, the home health agency affiliated with Tillamook County General Hospital (TCGH) was named among the nation’s best home health agencies. It joins eight other Adventist Health Home Care agencies on the 2006 HomeCare Elite list compiled by Outcome Concept Systems, Inc. (OCS), a Seattle-based company providing data products and benchmark services for home health, hospice and private duty agencies.

“I am so proud of our home care team,” said Wendell Hesseltine, hospital CEO. “To see them honored for their hard work and dedication is a testament to our stellar individuals and leaders.”

The inaugural listing of the top tier U.S. home health care agencies honors those who rank in the top 25 percent in their region based upon quality of care, quality improvement and financial performance. The Adventist Health hospital-based agencies named to the list include Adventist Health/Home Care Services in:

• Bakersfield, California (San Joaquin Community Hospital)

• Bonita, California (Paradise Valley Hospital)

• Clearlake, California (Redbud Community Hospital)

• Glendale, California (Glendale Adventist Medical Center)

• St. Helena, California (St. Helena Hospital)

• Simi Valley, California (Simi Valley Hospital)

• Willits, California (Howard Memorial Hospital)

• Portland, Oregon (Adventist Medical Center)

• Tillamook, Oregon (Tillamook County General Hospital)

“We’re very proud of our nine agencies that made the HomeCare Elite list,” said Mendoza. “What’s more, having four agencies rank in the top 500 further validates our commitment to quality patient care and dedication to our distinctive mission.”

OCS determined the top home health agencies nation-wide through benchmarking based on quality measurement scores submitted to Home Health Compare and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Cost Reports for July 2005 through June 2006.

For more information about Adventist Health/Home Care Services, visit www.adventisthealth.org.