FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2008

Local Home Care Company One of Five in Country Partnering with Prestigious Weill Cornell Institute in Breakthrough Geriatric Study

"Study Will Test Effectiveness of Nurses to Recognize and Act on Symptoms of Depression in Elderly Home Health Care Patients" ¹

Livonia based Triumph Home Health Care is taking the next step in improving depression treatment and outcomes among the home health care patients that they service; selected because of their excellence in care to collaborate with the New York based Weill Cornell Institute in a federally funded study on the effects of depression on elderly care and recovery.

Studies show that home care patients have double the likelihood to suffer from depression than primary care patients, and very often are undiagnosed ². These studies show that depression can lead to poor adherence to medication, diet, increased falls, and suicide. Although the elderly represent only 13% of the population, they account for 18% of all suicide deaths. ³

Triumph initially began their partnership with the Weill Cornell Institute in 2006, when Triumph clinicians were trained to screen patients effectively and efficiently for depression and suicide risk during a home visit. The Triumph clinicians were then taught how to intervene so that they could be certain their patients were receiving proper treatment.

Two years later, this new research initiative partners New York based Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychology with Triumph Home Health Care and four other agencies located in Oklahoma, Florida, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Approximately 20 nurses from each agency will be trained in "CAREPATH," Cornell's Depression Care for Patients in Home Care.

CAREPATH is an evidenced based care management tool designed in collaboration with and specifically for, home care nurses and their medical/surgical patients who suffer from co-occurring depression. Nurses will be trained to monitor the symptoms of depression over time, evaluate patient response to treatment, assess medication side effects and adherence, provide patient and family education about geriatric depression, and communicate with the patients' primary care physician about depression.

Over a five-year period the progress of 100 nurses working with 500 patients enrolled in the program will be studied and followed by Weill Cornell. A research assistant from each agency will be on hand to carry out home interviews. The CAREPATH trained nurses will be compared to a control group of nurses not trained in Weill Cornell's protocol for depression management.

Triumph Home Health Care has been a Livonia based home care company since 2002. For more information regarding this study, please contact Diane Zukowski at (248) 426-9714 or email her at .

¹ NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Divison. Public Affairs. "Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry Awarded $2.6 Million Grant from National Institute of Mental Health for Homecare Nursing Study." Press release. White Plains, New York. July 2008.
² Bruce, Martha L. "Major Depression in Elderly Homecare Patients." American Journal of Psychiatry 159 (2002): 1367-374.
³ NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Divison. Public Affairs. "Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry Awarded $2.6 Million Grant from National Institute of Mental Health for Homecare Nursing Study." Press release. White Plains, New York. July 2008.