The Medical Team Inc. among nation’s ‘Elite’ health care providers

The Medical Team Inc., a Houma home health care provider, was recently ranked among the nation’s top 25 percent of home health care providers.

The 2006 HomeCare Elite, to which The Medical Team has been named, is a compilation, determined by OCS Inc., that recognizes the country’s top Medicare certified home health agencies.

Tonya Nevin, the executive publisher of DecisionHealth, said, “As performance improvement, both clinical and financial, continues to bee a critical metric for home care agencies, its wonderful that we now have an award that recognizes our industries highest achievers. We congratulate The Medical Team on being one of the top 25 percent best performing home care agencies in the country.”

The Medical Team opened its doors in Houma in 1982.

The company is the only home health business in Houma that offers an outpatient diabetes center, according to Medical Team staff. The outpatient diabetes center has an ADA certified diabetes educator as well as a dietician, says the Medical Team’s Amy Champagne RN, BSN.

According to Champagne, “We have Alzheimer’s, Cardiac, and Pulmonary Rehabilitation programs. We have the only outpatient diabetes center in Houma. What sets The Medical Team apart is our experience. We have over 100 years of combined administrative nursing experience at The Medical Team.”

The company facilitates patient wellbeing by working with a number of different organizations.

“We identify patients who are terminal, who may need Hospice,” said Debbie Picou, RN. “We work with medical equipment manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, even The Council on Aging. We also work with the Senior Networking Organization (SNOW) to stay abreast of healthcare trends in the community that may affect our patients. We even train family members to help with our patients.”

The Medical Team offers services that fall within the scope of licensed nursing, and are able to administer most drugs within the home. There are some drugs and procedures that must be performed in a hospital, and when that is the case The Medical Team will work with any doctor licensed in the state of Louisiana.

The team is availed 24-hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays to handle requests for service, cancellations, or to answer questions.

According to Champagne “recent health care trends reveal that often it is healthier and more cost effective for a patient to be treated at home as opposed to the hospital. This lets us be more patient-oriented as opposed to more clinical. We work within the patients framework of needs-not forcing them to work within ours.”

Picou believes that The Medical Team, which is the oldest home health business in Houma, is best positioned to care for those deemed treatable within the home. “Our longitivity enables to know where to find the resources a patient may need.”

The Medical Team accepts most medical insurance, Medicare and Medicaid. A physician must be involved in the decision to treat a patient at home. There are federal and state laws that both The Medical Team and the patient’s physician must follow.

The Medical Team was named one of the nation’s top 25 female owned businesses, and because of recent trends in health care coverage, has doubled in size in the last four years. Now The Medical Team has over 50 staff members in Houma.

The Medical Team has 10 locations in Michigan, Louisiana, and Texas, and grossed over $20 million last year. All of this rapid growth and professional accolades don’t faze Champagne. “All of these awards are nice, but what we do is gratifying unto itself. We take care of people. That’s a good feeling.”

THE MEDICAL TEAM

4722 Hwy. 311

Houma

(985) 872-6666

1-800-794-4350

The Medical Team is a Medicare-certified home health agency offering a full range of skilled and support services 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.

Staff Photo by RAY SNIDER • Tri-Parish Times * Members of The Medical Team Inc., a Houma health care provider, recently celebrated the agency’s listing among the United States’ top 25 percent of home health care providers. The company officers a full range of skilled and support medical services.