Magdeline Aagard

President, MCA-Inc : Medical Consulting Associates

Dr. Aagard is on the faculty of Minnesota State University, Mankato, teaching in the School of Nursing. In addition, she teaches for Capella University in the master’s and doctorate in public health programs. Previously Dr. Aagard was an Associate Professor of Nursing at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN, teaching in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Arts in Nursing and Doctorate of Nursing Practice programs. She is a visiting professor at the Universities of Amsterdam and The Hague, Netherlands.

Areas of research interest include the understanding and practice of nursing leadership in different cultures, having interviewed nurses in the Netherlands, Tanzania, India and Liberia. Dr. Aagard is the president of her own consultancy specializing in nursing leadership and nursing education and presents nationally and internationally on these topics. Prior to entering academia, Dr. Aagard worked as a Director of Nursing and interim Chief Nurse in several metropolitan hospitals and served as the Clinic Director of a community health clinic. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, the International Council of Nurses and the Transcultural Nursing Society. She serves as a reviewer for the International Nursing Review Journal and for Sigma Theta Tau International conference abstracts.

Dr. Aagard received her undergraduate degree in nursing from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD. Her MBA in Medical Group Management and Doctorate in Educational Leadership are from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, MN.



The Role of the Skilled RN and LVN Visit Nurse in Home Care

Home care is one of the largest growth industries in healthcare today. With changes in hospital reimbursement, home care provides services that are tailored to keep people in their home and community. Nurses are the key providers of home care services. RNs, LPNs and home health aides provide different levels of services, which are individualized to meet the patients' needs. Services are reimbursed in a variety of ways, depending on the patient's type of insurance, age and diagnoses. Home care agencies can be licensed and certified, or operate independently, but may not qualify for insurance reimbursement. The type of organization will dictate, in part, the staffing choices the organization makes.

Developing a Collaborative Care Transitions Program

Key to the development of care transitions programs is the understanding of the changes in reimbursement that led to their creation. We will briefly discuss this backdrop for the development of a care transitions program. A variety of care transitions models that have been piloted will be presented. The benefits that have been demonstrated through research will be reviewed. This leads us into an overview of the reasons for developing a collaborative care transitions program and a discussion of who should be involved in such an endeavor for it to be successful. Finally, a case study of a collaborative care transitions program will be used as an illustration.