How to start a home care agency in Kansas (supportive care license, 2026)

The duty is in the statute: any agency, including Medicare and Medicaid providers, that provides home health services, supportive care services or attendant care services must be licensed (K.S.A. 65-5102). A home health agency is an organization that provides one or more of those services "for a fee" at the client’s home (K.S.A. 65-5101(c)(1)). The rules apply "regardless of source of payment for the service, patient’s condition or place of residence" (K.S.A. 65-5109(b)), so private pay agencies need the license too.

KDHE names this license level "Non-Medical Supportive Care Services. This can also be referred to as either chore, companion, or in-home services." (KDHE Letter of Introduction), and its page says the services "include chore and/or companionship services, as well as Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) with assistance" (KDHE, Non-Medical Supportive Care Services).

Homemaker and companion-only work: not settled

KDHE has said two things. Its 2024 letter says "currently the Secretary of KDHE requires all agencies to be licensed as a home health agency in the state of Kansas unless the individual or persons are part of a recognized church or religious denomination" providing care through prayer or spiritual healing (KDHE Letter of Introduction). But in April 2026, answering providers who asked for rules on housekeeping, laundry, errands and transportation, KDHE wrote: "These activities do not require hands-on care and many of these are available by businesses (cleaning agencies, grocery store delivery services, ride share companies, etc.) not required to be licensed as a home health agency." (KDHE answers to listening session feedback, p. 36).

Our reading: a business that offers only housekeeping, meals, shopping, laundry, errands, rides or companionship, with no hands-on help, probably needs no license, because the statute defines supportive care by activities of daily living. Any hands-on help with bathing, dressing, eating, transfers, walking or toileting needs the license, and so do medication reminders, which the statute names. Ask KDHE before you operate without a license. An old Attorney General opinion (2016-7) said an attendant-care-only business needed no license, but it predates the 2017 amendments to the Act (L. 2017, ch. 17), and the current K.S.A. 65-5102 names attendant care services in the license duty (K.S.A. 65-5101, annotations), so do not rely on it.

Before the license. "No person shall provide home health services, HCBS, or supportive care services before the person is issued a license." (K.A.R. 28-51-101(a)(2)). "Any person who violates any of the provisions of this act is guilty of a class B misdemeanor." (K.S.A. 65-5114). An agency found operating without a license is offered a 60-day temporary license while it applies, and a fine is assessed if it fails to obtain licensure within 30 calendar days (K.S.A. 65-5102). That is enforcement, not a way to start early.

KDHE issues one home health agency license at two levels. The level decides what you may do and who may pay you.

Attendant care is a Medicaid term. The statute also licenses agencies that provide HCBS attendant care services, and KDHE says KDADS "requires Skilled Services HHA licensure for all waiver programs", with CMS certification for some waivers (KDHE Letter of Introduction). A supportive-care-only agency cannot do waiver work.

Stay within what you applied for. "Each home health agency shall offer only the home health services, HCBS, or supportive care services specified on the home health agency’s initial application or renewal application." (K.A.R. 28-51-101(d)(2)). KDHE’s attestation adds that providing services outside the license level is grounds for losing the license (attestation form).

The rule is short: "A person that applies for a license to provide only supportive care services shall not provide nursing services." (K.A.R. 28-51-105(e)). KDHE’s attestation form, which every applicant signs, goes further: "Nursing services of any kind are prohibited with a Supportive Care Services license. This includes a nurse providing supervisory, assignment, delegation, oversight, medication administration/set-up, wound care", treatments, assessments or other nursing activities (attestation form, p. 2). So unlike Maryland or Virginia, where a registered nurse oversees personal care, a Kansas supportive care agency has no nurse supervising its caregivers.

Who does what instead

• The manager. An employee who supervises the caregivers, is available to them whenever services are provided, and has at least one year of experience providing home health, HCBS or supportive care services (K.A.R. 28-51-100(aa)). The manager is on call to help staff (K.A.R. 28-51-104(c)(3)(J)).
• Assessment and admission note. The manager assesses each client and uses it to write the plan of care (K.A.R. 28-51-104(c)(3)(C)). "For supportive care services, the admission note shall be completed by a manager." (K.A.R. 28-51-100(b))
• Plan of care. "For supportive care services, the plan of care shall be developed by a manager and shall be based on each client’s status and the assessment of the client’s immediate and long-range needs and resources." The manager reviews it at least every 60 days (K.A.R. 28-51-100(pp)(2), -104(c)(3)(F)). "A physician order is not required." (KDHE Letter of Introduction)
• Written assignments. The manager writes each caregiver’s assignments and instructions from the plan of care, including the procedures to use, when to report to the supervisor and documenting every visit, and reviews them every three months or sooner when the client’s needs change (K.A.R. 28-51-117(f)).
• Supervision. A manager available to caregivers for questions at all times, and on-site supervision of each caregiver at least every three months, including the client’s satisfaction and how well the caregiver follows the plan of care (K.A.R. 28-51-117(e)).

Where the line falls

Medication. "Supportive care workers and other employees of a home health agency providing supportive care services shall not participate in medication administration." (K.A.R. 28-51-117(g)(1)(B)) The rule also asks for "policies and procedures indicating that medications shall not be set up by supportive care workers" (K.A.R. 28-51-104(c)(3)(H)), so by our reading caregivers do not fill pill organizers: the client, a family member, a nurse or a pharmacist preselects medications into marked reminder containers (K.A.R. 28-51-117(g)(1)(A)). "No unlicensed person employed by a home health agency, in the course of employment with a home health agency, shall prefill insulin syringes for any patient served by the home health agency." Doing so is a class C misdemeanor (K.S.A. 65-5116).

Health checks for staff. Each employee needs a health assessment by a physician, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, physician assistant or registered nurse before working with clients (K.A.R. 28-51-103(d)(6)). By our reading, that is an outside provider examining your employee, not nursing by your agency; ask KDHE if you plan to use a nurse on your own staff for it.

Not settled. The ambulation rule needs "a qualified health professional" to find that the client is independent with an assistive device (K.A.R. 28-51-117(g)(3)). The rules define a qualified health professional as a physician, registered nurse, physical, occupational, respiratory or speech therapist, dietitian or social worker (K.A.R. 28-51-100(ss)), but they do not settle whose professional it should be for an agency that may not use nursing. By our reading, it is the client’s own provider, recorded in the client record. Ask KDHE.

"Each licensee shall include the following requirements in written policies and procedures for use by a supportive care worker", and the rule then sets out 16 task areas (K.A.R. 28-51-117(g)). KDHE asks for this as "A Policy for Assigned Duties" in the Provision of Services folder. The limits are the line between supportive care and skilled care, so they are worth reading in full.

Training and competency first. Two tasks need specific training and demonstrated competency: "any supportive care worker with training and demonstrated competency may assist a client in a transfer involving a lift device" (K.A.R. 28-51-117(g)(14)), and setting oxygen flow by written instructions when changing tanks (K.A.R. 28-51-117(g)(16)). Gait belts need proper training, and adaptive equipment needs the worker and client fully trained (K.A.R. 28-51-117(g)(14)).

When a client needs more. The rule sends some clients to an agency licensed for home health services: a client with wounds needing bandage changes around bathing, a client at high risk of choking or aspiration, and mouth care for a client who is unconscious, has difficulty swallowing or has had recent mouth surgery (K.A.R. 28-51-117(g)(4), (7), (9)). Your admission criteria policy should screen for these.

The draft rewrite would narrow this list, including removing lift transfers, nail care, ostomy bag changes and oxygen flow setting. It is not published or in force (Drafted rule rewrite).

The rule makes your policies part of the application: each initial application includes "a copy of the policies and procedures applicable to the home health agency as required by K.A.R." 28-51-103, -104, -117 and -118 (K.A.R. 28-51-101(a)(1)(C)). In practice you upload them after the fee: "Once your application and licensing fee are received, you will receive instructions on submitting your agency’s policies, templates, employee qualifications, and other requested documents" through KDHE’s online document transfer system (KDHE application).

KDHE’s Application Submission Requirements and Instruction Guide is the checklist. "Each Section below corresponds to a folder location on the file transfer system." Each main folder has numbered folders that match the numbers in the guide, and "Each folder must include at least one document." (Instruction Guide, Important) If one document covers several sections, it must be uploaded in each section, because each section is reviewed separately. (Instruction Guide, Instructions 3)

What KDHE checks in every document

• Kansas-specific. "All policies and references must be specifically for Kansas and under the named Home Health Agency listed on the application", even if other states are under the same umbrella (Instruction Guide).
• Your letterhead and your licensed name, not a parent company or other trading name (Instruction Guide, Additional Help).
• Board approval. "It must be clear that submitted policies have been approved by the governing board and are enacted." (Instruction Guide, Additional Help) The guide does not say what evidence KDHE accepts. By our reading, a signed governing body resolution listing the policies and the adoption date, or an approval line on each policy, would show it; ask KDHE to confirm.
• Nothing blank. "Make sure that there are no areas that are left blank or indicate “See Attached” or “Not Applicable.”" (Instruction Guide, Additional Help) So the nursing services and insulin policies in the Non-Skilled folder are written policies saying what you do not do and what staff do instead.
• Ten personnel files. Applicants upload 10 employees’ personnel records, including the administrator, alternate administrator and supervisors, with a staff roster cross-walked to the folders; fewer if the agency has fewer staff (note it on the roster). No I-9s, W-4s or Social Security cards. (Instruction Guide, Personnel Records) By our reading, a new agency that has hired only its administrator, alternate and manager uploads those files and notes the rest on the roster; ask KDHE if you are unsure.

The "Begin Review Process" letter

When everything is uploaded, copy KDHE’s statement into a document titled "Begin Review Process" on your letterhead, sign and date it, and file it in Misc folder 3. "The review process will not start until this document has been received." (Instruction Guide, Miscellaneous (3)) KDHE recommends gathering all documents before you start uploading, and says you will not be able to access a file once you upload it (Instruction Guide).

Templates are allowed. "Many policy templates or ideas about content may be found on the internet but it is up to the individual applicant to determine which templates to use that best meet your need." (KDHE application) KDHE says: "We are available to answer questions about the licensing process but do not provide individual consultation or business advice to applicants." (KDHE Letter of Introduction).

Two layers ask for policies. The rule text names these written duties:

KDHE’s checklist adds the rest. The Instruction Guide asks for policies the rules do not name, such as hiring, interviewing, credential checks, provisional employment, on-call, the plan of care, written assignments, a supervision policy, ten separate client records policies, prefilling insulin and nursing services. These are KDHE’s checklist, not rule text, but KDHE reviews against them before it licenses you, so treat them as required (Instruction Guide).

Forms and templates KDHE asks to see: a reference check template, a TB testing template, a competency checklist, a client assessment template, training documents for managers and caregivers, a client rights form with a signed acknowledgment, job descriptions for every role, an organizational chart and a staff roster.

Where the sources are silent

• Investigations. No current rule tells a supportive care agency how to investigate an incident. KDHE’s HHA Reporting Form asks for one within 5 working days (below), and the drafted rewrite would add investigation policies.
• Insurance and bonds. We found no liability insurance, surety bond or workers’ compensation requirement in K.A.R. 28-51 or the Home Health Agency Act.
• Emergency and infection control plans. The rules set no separate plan, but caregivers are checked on "recognizing emergencies and knowledge of the home health agency’s emergency procedures" and on basic infection control (K.A.R. 28-51-117(c)), so you need written procedures to train them on.

1. The application email

"Please email this application and supporting documents to kdhe.bfla@ks.gov." (KDHE application) With it go the Non-Medical Supportive Care Services Attestation form, the agency and personal release of information forms, and attachments on ownership (application instructions). The administrator (and, by our reading, the alternate) signs the personal release so KDHE can check with current and former employers (release forms).

In the attestation you confirm, among other things, that a corporation or LLC is registered with the Kansas Secretary of State, that you will serve no clients and open no branches beyond 200 miles of the parent office, that the license is "extremely limited in scope and practice", that KDHE may survey at any time during normal business hours, and that you will tell KDHE in writing within five days of changes in name, address, administrator, ownership, area served or closure (attestation form).

2. The fee

Pick the fee for your expected unique client count. A new agency estimates how many separate clients it will serve in the year after it applies, and a client served on several occasions counts once (K.A.R. 28-51-100(eee)). "Beginning July 1, 2025, all fees collected for Home Health Agencies and Birth Centers will be paid online through the online payment system, PayIt" (KDHE)

3. Upload and review

KDHE emails the login for its document transfer system. You upload by folder (above) and file the "Begin Review Process" letter. "When all required documents have been reviewed and meet the requirements, KDHE will issue a license and notify you of your license approval." (KDHE application)

4. A survey before the license? Unclear

The statute says the secretary "shall issue a license to applicants who have complied with the requirements of this act and have received approval of the secretary after a survey inspection" (K.S.A. 65-5104(a)). KDHE’s application describes only the document review. We could not confirm whether KDHE visits a new supportive care agency before the first license. Keep your forms and files survey-ready either way.

5. After licensing

• Post the license "in a conspicuous place in the main offices" (K.S.A. 65-5104(d)).
• Surveys. A license stays in effect only with an on-site survey at least once every 36 months (K.S.A. 65-5104(b)(2)), and KDHE may make other surveys during normal business hours; refusing entry is grounds for denial, suspension or revocation (K.S.A. 65-5105). The administrator or alternate gives the surveyor client records and administrative records, including complaints, meeting minutes, quality assurance and annual program review documents, within 30 minutes of a request (K.A.R. 28-51-101(i)).
• Findings. At an exit interview the agency and the inspector jointly sign a preliminary report, which is the final record of deficiencies from that survey (K.S.A. 65-5106). "The applicant shall submit an acceptable plan of correction for any deficiencies cited during an inspection." (K.A.R. 28-51-101(c)) Anyone may ask for a copy of your latest survey report, for a reasonable copying charge (K.S.A. 65-5106).
• Changes. Tell KDHE in writing within five days of a change of administrator or alternate, with the new person’s name, address and qualifications (K.A.R. 28-51-101(e)). Tell KDHE before moving the parent office or changing the phone number, and within five days of a change of name or address (K.A.R. 28-51-101(f)-(g)).
• Selling or closing. A license is not transferable. On a sale, transfer or substantial change in corporate status the license is voided; the new owner applies before the effective date and may get a temporary operating permit of up to 90 days. (K.S.A. 65-5104(e); K.A.R. 28-51-101(h)) Give KDHE written notice at least 30 days before closing (reason, date, where records are, custodian); notify clients and arrange discharge or transfer; mail the license back on the last day of service. (K.A.R. 28-51-101(k))

The office and service area

"Each parent office shall have a local street address with a local telephone number and shall be continuously staffed during posted and advertised office hours." Office hours are posted for public view, and no PO box may be the parent office (K.A.R. 28-51-100(hh)). You serve clients only in your service area, "a geographic region within a 200-mile radius of a home health agency’s parent office" (K.A.R. 28-51-100(vv)). The rules do not say whether the office may be in your home and set no minimum office hours; KDHE says staffing the office in posted hours "ensures that clients and patients have an avenue to address their needs" (KDHE answers, April 2026). Ask KDHE and check local zoning before using a home address.

Renewal. One year, unless suspended or revoked. (K.A.R. 28-51-101(d)(1)) File the renewal at least 30 days before the license expires (K.A.R. 28-51-101(b)): the application marked "Annual Renewal", the signed attestation form, a Certificate of Good Standing if you are registered with the Secretary of State, and the fee through PayIt (KDHE, License Renewal). "If the annual report is not filed and the annual fee is not paid within 30 calendar days of the renewal expiration date, such license is automatically canceled." (K.S.A. 65-5104(c))

Stay "in-operation". To be eligible to renew, an agency must have served at least five clients in the past 12 months and at least one in the latest three months (K.A.R. 28-51-100(u), -101(l)).

Other costs. KDADS criminal record checks: KDADS’s March 2020 guide showed $19 per check plus a 48-cent processing fee for card or eCheck payment, and we could not confirm the current amount (KDADS KanCheck guide, 2020, archived). An administrator course if your administrator has no degree (KDHE links a KDHE-approved course from Relias Academy; we did not save its price) (KDHE). Health assessments and TB tests for every employee. The rules set no insurance minimum.

Timeline. KDHE publishes no processing time. Review starts when KDHE receives your "Begin Review Process" letter. KDHE placed non-medical applications on hold in 2017; "Beginning March 1, 2024, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) will restart the processing of applications." (KDHE update letter, March 11, 2024). We cannot give you a date.

The KDADS check

Before hiring, "the operator of a home health agency shall request from the Kansas department for aging and disability services an eligibility determination regarding adult and juvenile convictions and adjudications" (K.S.A. 65-5117(e)). KDHE’s guide explains why the KBI’s public online search is not enough: "These laws allow KDADS access to juvenile records." (Instruction Guide, Background Checks FAQ). KDADS gives a written pass or fail determination within three working days of receiving the criminal history information (K.S.A. 65-5117(f)).

• The current system. "The new Criminal Record Check (CRC) system went live on Wednesday, November 19, 2025", and "CRCs will continue to be processed as name-based checks" (KDADS, Criminal Record Check Program, archived Aug 2026). KDADS says that when an agency uses the system’s “Request Existing Individual” option, it automatically checks the Kansas Nurse Aide Registry for prohibitions, including abuse, neglect or exploitation findings and criminal convictions, and, if a prohibition exists, shows a message that a check cannot be completed. (KDADS)
• Provisional hire. A worker may start "on a one-time basis of 60 calendar days pending the results", supervised by an employee who has completed all required training (K.S.A. 65-5117(e); K.A.R. 28-51-103(e)).
• Who cannot work for you. Anyone with adverse findings on a state or national registry, or with a conviction or juvenile adjudication for listed crimes such as murder, manslaughter, mistreatment of a dependent adult or elder, human trafficking and sexual offenses (K.S.A. 65-5117(b)(1)). Some other offenses, most of them felonies, bar work until six years after the sentence ends, unless KDADS grants a waiver; for the felonies in (b)(2), a waiver may be requested five years after the sentence (K.S.A. 65-5117(b)(2)-(3)). KDHE wants KDADS’s prohibited offenses list in your background check policy (Instruction Guide, Background Checks).
• Records. Each personnel file holds a copy of the KDADS request and the results, with any registry findings (K.A.R. 28-51-103(d)(8)-(9)).
• Exceptions and others. No new check is needed if the person was checked under the Act within the past year (K.S.A. 65-5117(i)). Volunteers need one only if they do the work of direct access employees (K.S.A. 65-5117(g)). "Staffing agencies who supply employees to work in an adult care home or home health agency must also submit criminal record checks." (Instruction Guide)
• Fingerprints. If KDADS requires a fingerprint check, the applicant has 20 calendar days after authorization to be fingerprinted (K.S.A. 65-5117(d)). KDHE’s page says national fingerprint checks will be implemented in phases (KDHE); we found none in use for home health agencies yet.

Health screening

Each personnel file holds a self-reported health history, a health assessment by a physician, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, physician assistant or registered nurse certifying the employee can do the job before working with clients (K.A.R. 28-51-103(d)(6)(A)-(B)), and "a current two-step tuberculosis skin test following the U.S. centers for disease control and prevention testing guidelines for healthcare workers taken before working with clients or patients" (K.A.R. 28-51-103(d)(6)(C)). Later assessments follow your own policy, with "a subsequent health assessment at least every two years or following a significant health event" (K.A.R. 28-51-103(d)(7)).

The rest of the personnel file

Position title, a signed and dated job description with the qualifications, evidence of any required license or certification (official transcripts for degrees), performance evaluations within six months and every year, and reference checks before employment (K.A.R. 28-51-103(d)). KDHE also looks for the application, resume, interview record, orientation, competency, supervisory visit and abuse training records (Instruction Guide, Personnel Records).

Supportive care workers need no certification, and the rules set no minimum hours. Instead, "each licensee shall ensure that each supportive care worker demonstrates competency before providing supportive care services to a client without the manager being present", and must re-evaluate each worker every year in 10 areas (K.A.R. 28-51-117(c)):

1. Communication, especially with clients who have a hearing deficit, dementia or other special needs.
2. Observing, reporting and documenting the client’s status and the service provided.
3. Basic infection control procedures.
4. Basic body functions, and changes to report to the supervisor.
5. Keeping a clean, safe and healthy environment.
6. Recognizing emergencies and knowing the agency’s emergency procedures.
7. Respecting the client and the client’s privacy and property.
8. The clients’ bill of rights.
9. Safe techniques in personal hygiene and grooming.
10. Using any equipment needed for the services.

• Training to the plan of care covers much the same ground and adds recognizing clients’ physical, emotional and developmental needs (K.A.R. 28-51-104(c)(3)(D)).
• Ongoing training at least once a year for managers and caregivers, on the services and equipment you use. "The subject matter and date of the ongoing training provided shall be documented in each manager’s and supportive care worker’s file." (K.A.R. 28-51-117(d))
• Orientation and in-service education. The administrator provides orientation for new staff, regular in-service programs and opportunities for continuing education (K.A.R. 28-51-103(b)(1)(F)).
• Abuse, neglect and exploitation training at hire or contract and every year after, documented in each personnel file (K.A.R. 28-51-103(g)(1)).
• Task training before lift transfers, oxygen tank changes, gait belts or adaptive equipment (the 16 assigned duties).

Certified aides. KDADS certifies nurse aides and home health aides and keeps the Kansas Nurse Aide Registry (KDADS, Health Occupations Credentialing). A CNA can work for you as a supportive care worker but may not provide the skilled services their certification allows (attestation form).

The rule requires abuse training at hire and every year, a written reporting process, and that the agency "immediately report if there is reasonable cause to believe that a patient or client is being or has been abused, neglected, or exploited or is in need of protective services" under its policies and K.S.A. 39-1431 (K.A.R. 28-51-103(g)). In practice that means two routes.

Route 1: the mandated report to DCF (statute)

• Who. The mandated reporters listed in K.S.A. 39-1431 include "the chief administrative officer of a licensed home health agency" (K.S.A. 39-1431(a)(1)(Q)). They must report promptly when they have reasonable cause to suspect or believe that an adult needs protective services or is being harmed by abuse, neglect or financial exploitation.
• Where. To the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF), whose number for reporting child or adult abuse or neglect is 1-800-922-5330 (DCF, archived Apr 2026). "Reports shall be made to law enforcement agencies during the time the Kansas department for children and families is not in operation." (K.S.A. 39-1431(d))
• What it holds. The reporter’s name and address, the caretaker’s and the adult’s names and addresses, the nature and extent of the harm, next of kin if known, and anything else helpful (K.S.A. 39-1431(c)).
• If it is not made. A mandated reporter who knowingly fails to report commits a class B misdemeanor (K.S.A. 39-1431(f)). An employer may not fire or sanction an employee for reporting (K.S.A. 39-1432).

Route 2: what KDHE expects (its checklist and form)

• Every employee reports. "The policy must require that each employee is responsible for reporting suspected abuse, neglect, and exploitation and the policy should outline how they make the report." The policy includes the K.S.A. 39-1430 definitions of abuse, neglect and financial exploitation and names the "KDHE Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Complaint Hotline: 1-800-842-0078" (Instruction Guide, ANE (1)).
• Investigation. KDHE’s home health pages link a "Report Abuse & Neglect" form, the HHA Reporting Form, which says: "Please send the completed investigation and attachments by certified mail or FAX within 5 working days". It asks for the incident, witnesses, corrective actions, quality assurance monitoring and any law enforcement report (HHA Reporting Form, rev. 4/2018). This is KDHE’s form, not rule text; the drafted rewrite would make investigation policies a rule.

Which number goes where. K.A.R. 28-51-111(a)(14) requires KDHE’s toll-free complaint number on the rights notice (K.A.R. 28-51-111(a)(14)); K.S.A. 65-5107 refers to "the complaint hotline maintained by the Kansas department for aging and disability services" (K.S.A. 65-5107). Ask KDHE whether you should list both. By our reading, the abuse policy names the DCF and KDHE numbers, and law enforcement in an emergency.

Clients in assisted living and children

• Adult care home residents. For a client who lives in an adult care home, such as assisted living, K.S.A. 39-1401 and 39-1402 apply instead, with reports to KDADS. The home health agency head is not on that statute’s mandated list, but anyone may report (K.S.A. 39-1402(c); 39-1430(b)(2)).
• Children. Licensed nurses and listed professionals must report suspected child abuse or neglect to DCF; "any person who has reason to suspect that a child may be a child in need of care may report the matter" (K.S.A. 38-2223). Supportive care staff are not on the mandatory list; by our reading, a policy that every staff member reports is the safe course.

The client record

• Contents. The plan of care; the name of the client’s physician, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist or physician assistant; physician orders for drugs, diet, treatment and activity; signed and dated admission notes; services provided with check-in and check-out times and a confirmation; progress notes; the date of each supervision visit; and the discharge summary (K.A.R. 28-51-110(c)). KDHE says no physician order is needed for supportive care, so by our reading you record any orders the client already has; ask KDHE how it reads this list.
• Progress notes. Each visit’s note names the worker, the date and time, the service, the client’s response and the next visit. "The client or patient shall sign the progress note to confirm receipt of the treatment." (K.A.R. 28-51-100(rr))
• Discharge summary. Concise, signed by the manager, with the client’s response to the plan of care and the final disposition (K.A.R. 28-51-100(q)(2)).
• Release. "The patient’s, client’s, or guardian’s written consent shall be required for release of information not required by law." KDHE wants that sentence in your records policy (K.A.R. 28-51-110(e); Instruction Guide).
• Retention. "Each clinical record and each client record shall be retained in a retrievable form for at least five years after the date of the last discharge of the patient or client." (K.A.R. 28-51-110(d)) If you close, you arrange for the records to be kept.

The bill of rights

The governing body sets a bill of rights with 15 listed rights, and the administrator makes sure every client receives it in writing (K.A.R. 28-51-111(a); -103(b)(1)(H)). They include choosing and communicating with health care professionals, taking part in planning care, services without discrimination, care only if the agency can give it safely at the intensity needed, reasonable continuity of care, notice before any change in the plan of care, confidentiality, reviewing their records, referral to another agency if services are denied, voicing grievances without reprisal, knowing policies and charges before care, freedom from abuse, respect for property, "the right to be advised in writing of the availability of the department’s toll-free complaint telephone number", and "the right to be free from the use of restraints in the home setting" (K.A.R. 28-51-111(a)). KDHE asks for a sample client rights form signed and dated to show receipt (Instruction Guide, Client Rights (2)).

KDHE’s directory export of October 2, 2026 has 346 home health agency rows: 254 "Home Health Agency STATE ONLY", 68 Medicare, 19 accredited, 4 Medicaid only and 1 Medicare and accredited. The directory does not separate supportive-care-only licenses from skilled ones, so 254 is the most there could be, not a count of supportive care agencies. Johnson County has 84 of the state-only rows and Sedgwick County 47 (KDHE directory, our count).