Ratzing Becomes OASIS Specialist

WALLINGFORD — Newtown resident Elaine Ratzing, a registered nurse who is quality management coordinator for the Connecticut Visiting Nurse Association (VNA), has successfully completed a rigorous exam to receive a Certificate for OASIS Specialist-Clinical, and will now be designated a COS-C.

The announcement was made by Donna Boehm, Connecticut VNA’s vice president of quality management and staff development. The Connecticut VNA is the state’s largest home health care and hospice agency and is an affiliate of Wallingford-based Masonicare.

OASIS (the Outcome Assessment Information Set) is a quality measure used in home health agencies across the country to enhance care for patients in the home. The OASIS Certificate and Competency Board (OCCB), which sponsors the examination, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting greater reliability in OASIS data through consistent application of guidelines provided by the centers for Medicare and Medicaid. The OASIS is a key component of Medicare’s partnership with the home care industry to foster and monitor improved home health care outcomes.

To receive the COS-C designation, an individual must successfully complete a 100-item, 2½ hour examination. Since the exam was initiated in 2004, more than 700 home care clinicians throughout the country have achieved this status.

Ms Ratzing, her husband, Tony, and their two daughters live in Newtown.