Become a Client

Referrals for home care come to us from case managers/service coordinators, physicians, hospital discharge planners, and school districts. Once a referral is made parents, guardians and/or clients are encouraged to contact our Operations Coordinator (503-968-2401) to learn more about your (their) options for home nursing care.

Most of the time services are covered by State Medicaid but some insurance companies offer in home nursing benefits for certain diseases and conditions. With your approval we can discuss specific nursing needs and coverage with your insurance provider or case worker.

We’ll discuss your specific needs and then choose nurses to come to your home for a “meet and greet.” Your team will be chosen from those you feel are the best fit and they’ll work with you on a regular schedule as much as possible.

Our staff arrives at your home within 5 minutes of the start of their shift unless traffic or something unexpected slows them. Occasionally a nurse will be ill or have a personal situation that keeps them from fulfilling their shift. To keep this to a minimum we encourage clients to have 2 to 3 nurses trained and skilled in providing care in your home. This way you will most likely have a backup nurse available in the event of an unplanned absence.

We require that clients submit their request for nursing coverage to our Staffing Coordinator on the 1st of each month for the following month. Your requests are then matched with the availability to work that your nurses also submit. We aim to fill 94% of client’s requests for nursing staff each month. Changes often need to be made as “life happens” and every effort is made to accommodate requests for changes based on your staff’s availability.

Clients and staff must have respect and a personal connection for home care to be successful. Clients with valid reasons for being uncomfortable with a particular nurse are encouraged to talk with their Clinical Nursing Supervisor to find a nurse whose skills, communication style and personality fit well with the family. Similarly our nursing staff may feel uncomfortable in a particular home environment and they too may ask for a new home assignment.

Our nursing staff participates in skills training upon hire as well as once a year in our Skills Lab. Emergency respiratory distress classes and ventilator classes are held under the direction of a skilled Respiratory Therapist from Randall Children’s Hospital.

Nursingale employs both Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN’s) and Registered Nurses (RN’s) to provide client care. We do not hire home care or nursing aides because the acuity of our clients often requires a higher level of nursing skills, problem solving abilities and training.

We encourage potential clients in need of home nursing services to speak with families currently receiving nursing care from Nursingale. Our client information is confidential so we would share your contact information with a family on service whose loved one has a similar diagnosis, is close in age or lives in your community.

We have a summer celebration where the families of clients, staff and board members gather to enjoy the rides, good food and each other’s company. We also have a holiday party and may have other fundraising events scattered throughout the year.

We maintain a fine balance between the number of clients on service with Medicaid and private insurance to ensure our longterm stability. Being a non-profit allows us to sustain operations and special projects with grants from Foundations and donations from service clubs, corporations, many loyal donors, and fundraisers like our Together for Good.