Wilson Health Home Care Celebrates 40 Years

Wilson Health Home Care has cause for celebration and giving thanks this November. For the last 40 years Wilson Health has been delivering compassionate quality care in the home meeting the needs in our communities in Shelby and surrounding counties. Over those 40 years many home health agencies locally and nationwide, both for profit and not for profit, have come and gone.

What makes Wilson Health different? From the start it was founded out of a desire to better meet the needs in the community. Tom Boecker, at that time was the Assistant Executive Director of Wilson Memorial Hospital, became aware that patients in the home were only able to get care Monday through Friday.

At that time, nursing visits in the home were provided by community health nurses from the health department. Patients sometimes needed daily visits or weekend visits for IV’s and other skilled care. Tom started searching for a way to meet the needs of these patients all seven days of the week. In 1984, he recruited Martha Ernst, RN to coordinate the new home health program. Dr. Stephen Blatchly was appointed the Medical Director. They established an agency that would meet the nursing, physical therapy and speech needs in the home.

This was in the early days of home health as we know it today. Policies and procedures has to be established to meet health and safety needs in the home. Staff had to be hired and processes established for running a new business and billing insurance.

Medicare was established in 1965 and in the 1980’s it was covering home health services. Wilson Heath Home Care became Medicare certified in 1985. This brought on growth in the number of patients and expanded services to include aides to provide personal care, occupational therapy and social work.

Dr. Stephen Blatchly, in addition to his family practice, has held the position of Wilson Health Home Care’s Medical Director for the entire 40 years. Joann Scott, the home care director for the last 20 years, said “Dr. Blatchly’s 40 years of service and dedication is rare, something to be celebrated and for which to be thankful.”

Martha Ernst and her team grew the home care into a large agency and led it through many changes. The Balanced Budget of 1997 made major cut in Medicare spending. Home Health care spending was cut by more than half. Across the nation over 3,000 home health agencies had to close their doors. In 1999 Martha helped transition home care from paper to electronic records from the point of care in the patient’s homes. Many of the staff members Martha hired are still working at Wilson Health Home Care & Hospice today.

Martha Ernst and Tom Boecker, both now retired, were invited back to join Dr. Blatchly, Melissa Armstrong and Joann Scott to share photos and some of their memories.

Dr. Blatchly said, “In the early days Martha and I were busy writing policies and procedure and getting ready to care for patients in their homes. Getting to do all that and being a part of Wilson Health Home Care over the last 40 years has been a privilege.”

Melissa asked, “Mr. Boecker, what had made it a good time to start a home health agency?”Tom said, “There were many change with insurance, limiting how long a patient could stay in a hospital. Medicare was looking for ways to save money. Home health care’s time had come.”

In looking through the photos Martha said, “That is Norma Toller and Pat Billing, the first two nurses I hire for home care.” Martha brought stability by hiring a strong staff of nurses, therapists and caregivers. She led the team for 20 years until her retirement and had initiated the starting of hospice in 1987. Polly Baltes, RN served as Director for a short period before Joann Scott, the current director, took over at the end of 2004. Tom Boecker, President and CEO of Wilson, retired in 2014 after 40 years of service.

Stability and dedication to our communities and those served makes a difference. Joann Scott said, “It has been an honor to help provide quality compassionate care to the residence of Shelby, Miami, Champaign, Logan, Auglaize and Darke Counties for all these years.”