In early spring of 1966, Lois Reed, R.N., in conjunction with the New Hampshire Division of Public Health, presented a new idea for Grafton County in the form of home nursing care. She enlisted the aid of the medical profession and the community, and in May of 1966 the Plymouth Council of United Church Women agreed to sponsor what would become the Pemi-Baker Home Health Agency. A board of directors was formed and Mrs. Madeline VanHagen was named chairman. The agency officially opened for business on July 17, 1967. The original staff consisted of one nurse, Dorothy Westberg, one part-time Physical Therapist, Mrs. Henrietta White, and one Secretary, IdaMae Hibbard.

Today the agency staff consists of 30+ employees, which include RN’s, LPN’s, LNA’s therapists and Homemakers. The internal staff includes a receptionist medical records clerk for home care and two receptionist/schedulers for outpatient, Human Resource/Administrative Manager, Nurse Manager, Finance Manager, Finance Assistant, Rehabilitation Manager, Associate Executive Director and Executive Director. Contracted staff consists of Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Medical Social Work.

The agency serves the towns of Ashland, Campton, Ellsworth, Groton, Hebron, Holderness, Plymouth, Rumney, Thornton, and Waterville Valley. We also serve Wentworth and Warren by arrangement. Each town has a representative and an alternate representative on the board of directors. Participating towns pay an annual appropriation based on a per-capita rate established by the board of directors. Census figures are taken from the most recent figures available from the Office of Comprehensive Planning in Concord.

In October of each year, the Selectmen of each town receive a report from this agency indicating programs available, the number and types of visits made to their town, the per-capita amount and the appropriation request for the next year. The town representative also receives a report indicating the same information and a narrative entitled “Agency in Review”. The town representative uses this information to submit a report to their town for the annual town report. It is the responsibility of the town representative to attend the town meeting and support this agency and the appropriation request if the need arises. If the town representative is unable to attend the town meeting, it is the representative’s responsibility to get pertinent information to the alternate so they can attend the meeting and support the agency.

In 1981 the Pemi-Baker Home Health and Hospice moved from two rooms at 47 Main Street in Plymouth to 94 Highland Street and in April 1993 we moved across the street to Plymouth Professional Place. We still own our land and building at 94 Highland. In December of 2007 we moved to 101 Boulder Point Drive where we opened an aquatic and wellness center for outpatient therapy.
The services this agency offers are skilled nursing, home health aide services, physical therapy, aquatic therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, homemaking and social work. These core services can be found in our agency brochure.

In order for us to provide skilled services, a physician must give us an order to do so. We bill Medicare, Medicaid, private and third party insurances. We are a N.H. Licensed facility and must meet licensure requirements annually. In addition we are surveyed by Medicare, Medicaid Grafton County, and the State of N.H. Adult & Elderly Services. The annual Medicare cost report, agency audit, quarterly cost reports, Federal Form 990, State Form NHCT-2 and Form MS-2G.E are compiled by Brad Borbidge, CPA of Concord.

In order for Physical Therapy to provide services, a physician must give us an order to do so. For the membership, no order is needed only a Physical Therapy evaluation.

As we look into the future of Home Care, we see that it is the place to be because it is where people want to be taken care of – in their own homes. Even so, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to meet the needs of patients and the community in light of rising health care costs and the reductions in funding for much needed programs. We continue to stress the importance of marketing and fundraising to increase our visibility as a home care agency in this community and enable this agency to maintain present programs and promote future programs as needed.

As we look into the future of outpatient physical therapy, we see ourselves continuing to offer Physical Therapy treatment that is supported by the most recent research available. For our members, we will offer a wide range of classes to encourage health and wellness in our community.

As Home Care faces the challenge of the future, it does so at a time of significant new service demands, an uncertain financial and regulatory climate, and competition for a limited pool of qualified caregivers. Despite these constraints, Home Care has an exciting future. COLLECTIVE VISION and CREATIVITY can make our vision a reality.