Sigma Health Care has created a new service to provide even more efficient and comfortable care for clients. This new and unique service is based on HomeCare Interactive software system, initially developed in 2003. The system is called HomeCare interactive telephony™.
In addition to the in-home visits to patients by Nurses and Therapists, the new Home Care Interactive telephony™ provides two major functions: a thorough daily health assessment specific to the patient's illness and daily reminders about a patient's activities to manage their health status such as: medication reminder or refills, testing of blood sugar for a diabetic patients or taking and reporting blood pressure for a heart failure patients. The success with this new system is due to its straight-forward process and the patient's high level of comfort with an electronic device that they already know how to operate: the home telephone. Patients normally do not need training to access this new system.

It has always been the philosophy of Amer Taha, the founder of Sigma Health Care to provide a better care by utilizing innovative technology that is more familiar to patients at a lesser cost. This always been with a main purpose of increasing the quality of care for chronically ill patients in the convenience of their homes. his philosophy and mission allowed the company to be a pioneer in bother high tech home health care and disease management and the technology behind them.

Complete Clinical Assessment

A patient can participate daily in a complete clinical assessment scheduled to be received over the phone. These assessments follow a specific and in-depth questionnaire that asks questions designed for a patient's particular problem similar to those questions asked by a doctor or a nurse.

For example, if a person is diabetic, some of the questions could include,

The assessment also allows a patient to record a voice message about a specific problem they are having. The recorded message is automatically attached in a file that is transferred and alerted to a clinician at the agency.

Medication reminders

Homecare Interactive telephony™ provides automated reminder calls that are specifically geared to each patient's medication schedule. A call is made to the patient at each scheduled medication intake time, whether it is four times a day or just once a day. If a patient is not answering, the call can be repeated at different times or can be forwarded to other caregivers including remote family members and the nurse on call to alert them. This is a great tool for patients who are forgetful or those have several times of medication intakes.

The medication reminder also ensures that the patient has enough medication for the next five days. It will connect patients directly within the same call to their prospective pharmacies for refill of their medications. Patients don't even have to know their pharmacy number or even name as it is directly connected from their electronic medical record.

Other aspects

A Sigma Health Care professional can leave a blood pressure device, a Wight scale or a Glucometer at a patient's house for their personal use. These devices are connected wirelessly to patients electronic medical record at the agency to receive readings each time that the patient takes their blood pressure from home. Alertes to clinicians 24 hours a day 7 days a week are initiated when out-of-range readings are received. This process allows real time patient Information for faster intervention and most likely prevention of an adverse event that requires hospitalization or ER visit.

System Set-up

There is no special set up of hardware or software needed at the patient home. All patient information is directly driven from the electronic medical record of the patient. A history of all activities is available to the agency staff, physicians and patients on-demand secured and esy.

Teaching

HomeCare Interactive Telephony™ also provides instructions about Diet, exercises, and medication intake and can positively affect your patients health.

HomeCare Interactive Telephony™ only been up for a month, but Sigma has already seen a noticeable reduction in hospitalizations and ER visits with their patients. Sigma patients are enjoying an easier, less costly and therefore less stressful lifestyle. Sigma is looking forward to a national and perhaps worldwide spread of this unique system.

This system is now available for both Medicare and private pay patients. The cost for private pay is very small compare to what is available out their today. However there is no extra cost if the patient is a home health patient at Sigma. Call Sigma at 800-246-6614 to learn more about this system and how it can be in help to you or your loved ones.

February 17, 2007, Sigma Health Care is excited to announce the implementation of its new web based patient portal that gives patients a choice to use their own home computer to be able to enter and retrieve some of their own health information. Among several unique features, patients will be able to look up a history of their vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse, temperature, oxygen level, weight, as well as blood sugar readings and other lab testing. They will also be able to see their own medication list and their own visit schedule assigned to Sigma home health staff.

In between scheduled home visits, the system will provide an interactive tool to patients and their caregivers to allow daily assessment of patient condition. Information is provided as answers to questions similar to those asked by the clinicians when visiting the home. On the other hand, patient can receive directions on what to do next according to the reported condition. Information that represents a decline in patient health is immediately send a Sigma Health Care clinician for analysis and possible intervention or communication with the patients physician to stop any adverse event that may occur.

We have found that this feature have added more quality to patients care and well being, kept them and us informed and captured many problems before they became a reason for hospitalization. This service is provided at no extra charge to any patient receives home health services from sigma health care

To inquire about this new feature or any other new service or just needing traditional home health visits, please call us at 409-763-6800 or 713-947-2273 and one of our staff members will be happy to assist you.

December 17, 2005
Ms. Czervenny was nominated by a high number of office and field staff of the organization. Amer Taha, the Executive Director of Sigma Health Care mentioned in his speech the reasons he believed Ms. Czervenny was the best candidate to receive the award. "Her unparalleled dedication to her job, the patients and the organization had made Ms. Czervenny the employee of choice for this first best practice award. It is an honor to have Carla Czervenny as part of Sigma. I will always look forward to see others following her foot steps in this triumph. I have passed or entered Carla's office several times after 5:00 pm to find her full with energy and enthusiasm, as she was when I saw her in the morning. Many times I have received her emails written after 11:00 pm concerned about a patient or a project she committed herself to.

Mr. Taha added, "Many people say that employees are the assets of an organization but I always say that only good employees are the assets of the organization…. In order to take care of patients or to perform any job for that matter you must have the right attitude, the attitude of giving, believe in yourself, be honest and build trust with others and this is what Carla Czervenny practiced at Sigma day in and day out…."
Mr. Taha has also praised the whole therapy team of the organization on their professionalism and compliance with the mission and philosophy of Sigma, which resulted in unmatched patient outcomes for the year 2005 and put the organization in the top one percent of home health agencies in the nation.

In response to receiving her award, Ms. Czervenny has listed the reasons she was able to do what she did in the last year. "When I came to Sigma I had mixed feelings; I appreciated the opportunity but realized the size of the responsibility I have undertaken. I understood that in order for me to succeed, I have to learn the best practices set forth by the leadership of organization…." "I would not have been able to learn, and then do the job without the day-to-day support I receive from Mr. Taha who has made developing Sigma's employees a top priority besides patient care," she added.

It is consequential to mention that this is the first year "The Best practice award" is given. Mr. Taha has indicated in his speech that there is a notion that 2006 will have three best practice awards (for nursing, therapy and administrative staff of the organization).

The governing board of Sigma Health Care has decided this year to introduce a new tradition by awarding a (2005 Sigma's Best Practice Award) to an employee of the organization. The award will take place during our annual Christmas party.

To all employees, patients and community partners:

We would like you to take part and nominate one sigma employee to be the recipient of this award.

Rules of the "2005 BEST PRACTICE AWARD"

This award is given to a person that is

1. A Sigma Health Care employee for at least 6 months
2. Who has never been known to have received any disciplinary action by a professional organization
3. Who has never been known to have been charged of unethical practices or misconduct by any authorized entity including but not limited to: local, state, federal agency or an employer.

What counts?

1. Demonstrating your description with examples of real life about the nominee will increase the chances of winning the award.
2. What are the examples that count:
   • Preventing an immanent danger or a problem to a patient, to another employee or to the organization
   • Going the extra step to find a solution
   • Taking the extra time to finish a project
   • Helping others when it was unexpected
   • Taking responsibility for what went wrong and resolve the problem
   • Reduced patient hospitalization or ER visit by taking the proper action
   • Promoted positive environment at a stressful time
   • Work as a team player
   • Recognized the need of the community
   • Were very innovative to provide a unique solution
   • Advanced self in recognized fashion to better practice patient care

In the after math of hurricane Rita....

Monday, Sep 26, 2005 1:00 pm Now all Servers are up and running. You can connect to Sigma-HomeCare Interactive secured EMR application by clicking her or by entering the employee lounge on top of this screen. Field staff with laptop can now synchronize remotely from and into the server. there are few scheduling and communications regarding some patients.

Sigma secured e mail server is also back. Please check your e mail frequently for the latest specific informations related to you or the patients you provide care for.

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Sunday, Sep. 25, 2005 10:00 pm: Several staff members have been calling and/or e mailing locating themselves. everyone is safe and ready to go back to work. a limited number of patients have been calling to notify us of their return. We are arranging for visits on Monday afternoon for cases such as, BID IV, insulin or wound care. We expect that Tuseday be a normal home visits day for those patients who have come back.

Emergency status has been lifted. All employees are expected to report to work no later than Tuseday Sep 27, 2005 at 8:30 am. Those who can report on Monday, please do so As soon as possible. The Agency is offically opened on Monday Sep 27 and will resume normal operational activities. The office will be opened at 9:30 am

All medical record entry should be done on laptops -off line- until further notice. Synchronyzation is now available in the agency's offices. It is expected to be available from a remote location no later than 12:00 pm on Monday.

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Saturday Sep. 24, 2005 8:30 pm: As many of you were aware, due to hurricane Rita we have taken several safety measures including:

-Securing the evacuation path of 97% of our patients

-Emergency shutdown of Sigma Medical Record servers

-Evacuating employees at 2 pm on Wednesday

-Agency's offices closure at 3 pm on Wednesday

-processing payroll by 12:pm on Wednesday

-Securing paper records from possible flood

-Activating emergency procedure and on-call staff backup as follows:

Olive Thomas, Nurse on call if not found

Amer Taha, Administrator on call and backup to Olive , if not found

Carla Cvenney, If not found

Cynthia Bailey. they are all to be called by the answering service thrugh 409-763-6800 0r 713-947-2273.

It is our plan to establish business as usual as soon as possible so we can prepare for the comeback of our patients specially those needing critical care such as wound care and those on IV, Oxygen and tube feeding.

To our staff members

We would like you to report to Sigma Health Care as soon as possible.

You can call me at 409-692-7099 or 409-939-7989 our or Sigma Emergency employee hot-line at 409-515-9425, If you do not get a live answer please leave a message with your name, your location, the time you can be available and whether you need any help

To our patients:

Please inform us of your return by calling 800-246-6614

We hope to hear from you ASAP. Please let us know if you need help to get you back. There will be a schedule for patients starting Monday depending on need. God Bless everyone of you.

Amer Taha Executive Director Sigma Health Care. amer@sigmahomehealth.com