Recognizing the Trajectory
Two recent developments are worth noting. The National Council on Aging’s 2025 Falls Prevention Report highlights the enormous human and financial cost of falls among older adults.
At the same time, CMS is proposing additional guidance clarifying that skilled palliative care can already be provided under the existing Medicare home health benefit for eligible patients with serious illness. Although these initiatives come from different parts of healthcare, they point to the same question.
Are we recognizing decline early enough?
Most older adults don’t suddenly lose function after a fall or hospitalization. Their functional reserve has often been changing quietly for months. The event simply makes the decline impossible to ignore.
The CMS proposal is particularly interesting because it isn’t creating an entirely new benefit. It is clarifying that the existing Medicare home health benefit can support eligible patients earlier in the course of serious illness and providing additional guidance to help clinicians better recognize those opportunities.
Taken together, these developments suggest that recognizing decline earlier is no longer simply a best practice. It is becoming an emerging priority across senior care. The next evolution in senior care isn’t simply recognizing patients after an event. It’s recognizing the trajectory before the event.
A fall didn’t create the decline.
A hospitalization didn’t create the decline.
They simply revealed it.
Check out our weekly podcast hosted by Brian Harmon, PT, MBA and Jo Alch, RN with Joy Care Management.
Nexus Home Healthcare developed a proactive clinical approach proven to:
Reduce hospitalizations
Improve senior health and quality of life
Reduce medical costs to families and insurance
Contact us to inquire about our results and/or how our approach helps meet the needs of your patients and families.
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