Northfield Hospital + Clinics to discontinue home care services

After careful consideration by its administration and board, Northfield Hospital + Clinics will exit Home Care services, effective Sept. 9.

NH+C is working with River Valley Home Care in Farmington to offer an alternative of comparable care, with transition for current NH+C Home Care patients.

This does not impact other operations of Northfield Hospital and NH+C’s medical services. It does not impact Meals on Wheels service in Northfield.

Patients are being notified directly. Fewer than 100 patients are affected, according to NH+C leadership.

Patients may choose any home care agency to transfer their care. NH+C leaders say they intend to make that transition as seamless as possible for patients.

River Valley Home Care is expanding into the Northfield area from its Farmington base. River Valley serves south metro communities with skilled nursing care, home health aides, and PT/OT therapy services. River Valley can be reached at 651-460-4201 and rivervalleyhomecare.com .

NH+C has been providing Home Care in a 25-mile radius since 1983, in five counties (Dakota, Goodhue, Le Sueur, Rice, Scott). Home Care service has become financially unsustainable for NH+C to continue.

The decision by NH+C’s administration and board comes as NH+C, like many hospitals across the state, continues to grapple with significant challenges. For smaller-scale home care services, it’s difficult to balance expenses, especially staffing and transportation, with revenue.

This decision follows an overall review of services at NH+C to ensure the organization can serve the community for generations to come. NH+C’s Administration and Board consider several criteria as they analyze service lines: finances, mission, and commitment to serving local communities. They also consider whether a service is available from other providers in the region.

NH+C is city-owned, but it is not city-funded. All NH+C funds come from the services NH+C provides, and investments (less than 1% of total revenue). No city funds have ever been used to run Home Care or other NH+C services.