Clay County Health Department’s Tackitt Named Home Care Director of Year

Barb Tackitt, Home Care Director for the Clay County Health Department, has been selected as Home Care Across Illinois’ Home Care Director of the Year. Barb Tackitt has been with the Clay County Health Department since November 18, 1985. During that time, she has fulfilled several roles including Home Health Staff Nurse, Case Management Coordinator for Senior Services, Interim Administrator, Home Health Coordinator, and for the last several years Home Care Director where she has responsibility for our Home Health and Hospice programs.

Under her guidance, Clay County’s Hospice program is growing and our Home Health program has grown to become one of the largest health department based home health programs in the state. Our home health employs registered nurses, certified nurse’s aides, a physical therapist, a physical therapy assistant, and numerous part time professionals. The nurses are trained in PICC lines, home dialysis, and wound vac. The program also employs one of the state’s few certified Wound, Ostomy, & Continence Nurses and a certified diabetes educator.

Tackitt strives to ensure that the CCHD Home Health Department provides the best possible services. Earlier this year, the Department was identified as having outcomes among the top 10% of all home health agencies nationwide.

In an effort to ensure best practices on a wider scale, Tackitt chartered a regional group for home health supervisors. Since that time, health department based home health supervisors from Southern Illinois have been meeting quarterly to discuss their issues and sharing information, forms, and etc. She has been a resource for many other departments and has gained the respect of her peers, health department administrators, physicians, clients, family, and friends.

Tackitt has the results we all desire while keeping a positive attitude that makes her supervision easy and her staff dedicated. She is truly worthy of this recognition.

Home Care Across Illinois is a not-for-profit organization composed of Health Department based home health services throughout the state.