Interim Home Health relocates to Hutchinson’s Main Street

Feb. 05--A Wichita-based home health provider with a presence in Hutchinson for the past eight years has purchased a building on North Main Street as it continues expanding its regional services.

The Hutchinson branch office of Interim Health Care, which provides home health, hospice, hospital staffing and private-duty nursing services, moved into 525 N. Main St. a couple of months ago, said owner Jay Stehley.

Since the move, business has increased so much the office has doubled its nursing staff, said Branch Manager Stacey Frager.

"We really saw a very, very big increase in referrals once we moved here," Frager said. "I don't know if it's coincidence or the increased visibility of being on Main Street, but I'm guessing it's a factor."

The single-story, 2,700-square-foot brick-front building constructed in 1920 housed Sanborn Accounting for a number of years. Former owner L.L. Sanborn remodeled the space in 2008, according to Reno County property records.

"It was pretty much move-in ready," Frager said. "We have a few projects we'd like the eventually address, such as removal of some wallpaper. However, it is just a beautiful building with all the woodwork in here and an old tin ceiling in the entryway. It's got some really neat features."

His family started the family-owned franchise of a Sunrise, Florida, chain in Wichita in 1979, Stehley said. Initially, when starting a branch in Hutchinson, they leased space near the state fairgrounds, and then rented offices inside the Dental Center on 30th Avenue.

Their service area is within a 100-mile radius of their home office in Wichita, and last year provided about 60,000 home health visits within that service area.

"Hutchinson is about 50 miles from our Wichita home base, so we can go 50 miles outside of Hutchinson," Stehley explained. "We go as far west as Pratt and do all the surrounding area around Hutchinson. We do have quite a few clients in Sterling and Pretty Prairie and all the little towns around Hutchinson."

Besides Frager, the Hutchison site employs a full-time clinical coordinator and nurse, Kelly Goertzen, who manages the nursing staff, and a part-time office assistant, Macaria Clouse.

"We have two full-time RNs, a full-time physical therapist and occupational therapist that serve primarily the Hutchinson area," Stehley said.

The business offers four different service lines, Stehley said.

"We do hospice services, which is self-explanatory," he said. "We also do home health, which is funded by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance, and we have a private-duty division that provides personal care and support services."

Private-duty personnel might do cooking, cleaning and non-medical services up to skilled nursing and physical therapy, Stehley said, as well as provide companionship. Someone who does not meet the state definition of homebound, and thus does not qualify for in-home Medicare services, might seek private-duty services.

There is some crossover with the nursing staff, though some are more specialized, he said.

"Hospice nurses are trained to comfort and care for a dying patient, while home health is intended to get them back up and back into society," he said. "We can provide a continuum of care in the home. It all depends on the clients themselves and what their level of need is."

The business also has a hospital staffing division, he said.

"Again, that's somewhat self-explanatory," Stehley said. "If the hospital has a flu epidemic and the census is way up, they might call Interim Health Care to send in supplemental staffing, or if a bunch of nurses are out on vacation, we can fill in shifts during temporary periods."

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