At the June 6th, 2023 Todd County Board of Commissioners meeting it was decided to opt out of homecare license renewal, discontinuing home care services and transitioning existing home care clients to other home care providers.
A number of challenges were presented to the Commissioners. This resulted in the decision to discontinue home care.
The Todd County home care program was unable to obtain a contract for in-home physical and occupational therapy.
Additionally, the program struggled to hire and retain home health aides, homemakers, and nurses. Currently, the home care program serves 54 clients, which is an all-time low for the program. Also, increasing costs and administrative burden have made the small program difficult to operate. Over time, the county levy dollars needed to operate the program has increased substantially.
The Todd County Public Health department received certification from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide home care services beginning in 1970. At that time, homecare services were not available in Todd County by private agencies. Today, there are a number of homecare agencies that provide this service in Todd County.
“This has been a difficult discussion,” said Jackie Och, Todd County Health & Human Services Director. “We are proud of what our home care agency has accomplished for the residents of Todd County. Unfortunately, our home care program has struggled to maintain staff and services to best meet the needs of our clients. We will work closely with our existing home care clients to ensure they are transitioned to another agency and their needs are met.”
Todd County Health & Human Services staff are now working to assist home care clients during this transition. Many current home care clients already receive other county services and will continue to be served by Todd County nurses and social workers.
If you have any questions regarding the home care program, please contact Todd County Health & Human Services at 320-732-4500.
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