As 2019 rolls through we all have changes on our minds. Sometimes it is something as simple as a New Years resolution (that, chances are, you have already broken), or occasionally, it is something much bigger – changing your job perhaps. For those of you of the later, I am here to tell you that taking a contract in Home Health might be one short term change that you stick with all year.
Why PT’s Should Consider Home Health Jobs in 2019
Time to Join the Party
With patients being discharged “sicker and quicker” from hospitals, and Skilled Nursing Facilities incentivized to do the same come October of this year (via the Patient-Driven Payment Model), a considerable up-tick in home health admissions is to be expected. ERAS or Early Release After Surgery total joint patients are popping up with ever increasing frequency on home health case loads. With clients foregoing the 2-5 days in a hospital bed they are able to get up and get moving much quicker under the care of a home health PT. This is a growing field by all accounts. The travel PT who has experience in this high demand field will find themselves a sought after therapist for jobs in places that previously they were unable to find work. Building a stronger resume in more settings will only serve to boost your chances of landing a job in that dream location or at your goal pay rate.
Mo’ Money
Speaking of pay rates, did I mention that home health is one of, if not the most high paying setting in physical therapy? It is not unheard of for travel home health PTs to be making over $2,200/week after taxes! Toss on top of that a 40 hour guaranteed contract and you have a sweet paying gig regardless of patient census. We were able to pay off a significant amount in combined student loan debt with the help of some amazing HH contracts! (Full story here).
Freedom
Despite all of the exciting, and challenging, and lucrative aspects of home health, it may be the freedom that is the most impactful for clinicians new to the setting. For most agencies a full day is 4-6 patients, and depending on visit type, sometimes only two patients are required. Making things even better, at nearly all companies you get to make your own schedule. Mani-pedi’s with the girls after a long lunch? No big deal! Have a mid morning trail run you want to squeeze in? Perfect! Just call your clients and move your day around accordingly. My wife and I have a 1.5 yr old with us on the road, and because we are both working home health jobs we can arrange it so that we only have a nanny at our home for around 5-6 hours a day. What other setting can you possibly do that in?
Now, I do not want to mislead your here. You will likely end up putting in your 40hrs for the week. The documentation and driving can eat into your working time more than you’d expect (but at least you are getting paid mileage too!). Still, with most systems you can document from anywhere you get internet service. Nestled deep into your couch, on top of a bluff overlooking the beach, or even from the patio of a beautiful vineyard. The choices are endless, and they are all available to you.
Years ago, back in PT school, it was made abundantly clear to us that home health is where therapists go to disappear and hide. Substandard care was not the exception, but the rule, and none of us students should stoop to the level occupied by the lowly home health PT. Well, Im here to tell you that this could not be further from the truth! Maybe things changed in the 3 years between PT school and taking my first home health job, but there are an abundance of superior clinicians making their way into the home health setting. OCS, GCS, and NCS clinicians, traditionally found in outpatient or acute/subacute care are migrating to home health with increasing frequency. Maybe it is the challenge, the excitement of a growing and expanding field, the killer pay or the freedom. Whatever it is, clinicians are making a change in their lives and giving home health a try more and more. Maybe this year is the right time for you to do the same.
This story originally appeared on Healthcare Traveler Today (HCTToday.com). HCT Today is a national news platform dedicated to covering the travel healthcare industry.
Written by: Stephen Stockhausen PT, DPT, OCS
