A Habit of Unity

Bryce Harlow, who was an adviser to three presidents and a lobbyist for many years in Washington, once said:

“If the business community would ever abandon its habit of dividing and conquering itself so as to save its adversaries the trouble — and replace it with the habit of unity — there would be no stopping us.”

This advice serves any community well, and the home care community is no exception: We are much stronger working together than working at odds with each other.

For instance, five years ago, the American Association for Homecare was four different associations with four different agendas and four different cultures, all working separately. Today, AAHomecare represents the most engaged and forward-thinking home care providers in America and internationally. An association is only as strong as its membership.

It's also important to remember that the home care community cannot work in a vacuum. In addition to our members, AAHomecare works with dozens of other national associations and coalitions as well as individuals whose agendas overlap with ours. A partial list of partners includes:

• Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed)

• American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)

• American Lung Association (ALA)

• American Medical Association (AMA)

• American Thoracic Society (ATS)

• CMS New Freedom Initiative

• Congressional COPD Caucus

• National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC)

• National Association for Medical Direction of Respiratory Care (NAMDRC)

• National Governors Association

• National Home Oxygen Patient's Association (NHOPA)

• Restore Access to Mobility Partnership (RAMP)

• Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA)

Washington is a close-knit community. Successful home care organizations work closely with other national associations, state government agencies, think tanks, policy makers and patient and caregiver advocates. Home care creates positive impacts in patients and in the community. We would be wise to remind policy makers about all of the benefits of home care for patients, families, local communities and taxpayers.