Diamonds Home Health Care

Community-Centered Care

Photos by Bruce Silcox

Diamonds Home Health Care at 2740 Minnehaha Ave has been successfully providing Medicaid-certified home care services to the Lake Street community since 2005. This female owned agency has gone great lengths to provide the best service to their clients including protecting confidential patient files, while bullets pierced through the front of their office.

As an in-home community-based home health care provider, Covid-19 changed how they provide care to their patients dramatically. The Diamonds Home Health Team spent weeks researching the new virus and its impacts to their clients and staff. They had to develop a Covid-19 preparedness plan to ensure the safety of their patients and staff. Diamonds Home Health struggled to find resources to help with the challenges brought by Covid-19. They were responsible for securing PPE and facilitating regular Covid-19 tests for their staff and patients. All while dealing with the repercussions of reduced admission, increased patient discharge, and limited staff availability. Their revenue has been reduced by 30%. 

On the evening of May 26, 2020, the Diamonds Home Health team left the office at their typical closing time while a peaceful protest was underway at the intersection of E Lake St and Minnehaha. The next morning at 6:30 am, they arrived back at their business to see looting and destruction occurring at the surrounding businesses in Minnehaha Center. They decided they needed to evacuate with their confidential employee and patient files. While they gathered their files, the tenants above them kept watch to protect them. But as time went on, they could feel danger encroaching. Shots were fired and their office sustained two bullet holes through the windows. The Diamonds Home Health team was able to evacuate safely. The civil unrest created exterior damage to their building and destroyed their computer servers.

Following the civil unrest, the Diamonds Home Health Care team worked offsite for six weeks while repairs were made. With funding from Lake Street Council’s Healthy Lake Street grant, they were able to replace their server and create a website. They are also planning to install security systems and  electronic medical record software.

Diamonds Home Health Care sees a bright future for their business and the community.

They are prioritizing the needs of their community in their goals for the future. They’d like to expand services to serve more community members, provide more employment opportunities for the community, and create a health and wellness resource center for all.