Home Health Care

Home Health Care provides a broad range of nursing and rehabilitative services that can be administered in the patient's home. These services are usually less expensive, more convenient, and just as effective as the care provided in a hospital or skilled nursing facility.

Home health care can be provided by a variety of agencies. It is important that they be licensed and meet all Medicare requirements.

Skilled Care

Home health care includes medical and nursing services, such as wound care and physical, occupational and speech therapy. It also includes education, medication management and monitoring of vital signs and symptoms, like blood pressure and temperature.

Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance may cover this type of home health care. To qualify, your doctor must sign a home health certification stating that you need intermittent skilled nursing care and that you are homebound.

Custodial care, which involves non-skilled personal assistance, does not qualify as home health care. It is often provided by friends or family and may include help with bathing, dressing and transportation to and from doctor visits. Home health care can also reduce avoidable hospital readmissions. Asking for recommendations from friends and neighbors is a good way to find a home health care agency.

Personal Care

Northeast Ohio Home Health Care provide a range of personal care services, including bathing, grooming and toileting. They also deliver a consistent, nutritious diet. They monitor your heart rate, blood pressure and temperature and make sure you take your medications as directed by your doctor or allowed practitioner.

They can provide you with instructions on how to perform a tub or shower bath and transfer in and out of a bathtub. They also give you instruction on how to wash your hands correctly and help you assemble the equipment needed for bathing. They may also teach you how to change a non-sterile or clean dressing.

You can find a senior home health care aide who meets your needs by using a registry platform or asking friends and family for recommendations. Choosing the right caregiver for your loved one is an important and emotional decision, but with diligent research and guidance from professionals, you can find a solution that feels just right.

Dietary Assistance

Patients often require reminders to take their medications and assistance moving around the home or transferring from a bed to a chair. Many also require wound care, dietary help, and medication management.

Home health care is usually less expensive, more convenient, and just as effective as hospitalization and nursing home care. It’s covered by Medicare and some private insurance plans.

The HHA/PCA’s supervisor and the agency for which they work rely on them to report honestly how well they perform their duties and to follow a care plan that is written by the healthcare team. Aides are usually required to wear scrubs when they handle food and follow sanitary guidelines for handling and eating food. Some aides work in individual homes for a set time, while others do rounds and visit several patients during the course of a day or week.

Laboratory Testing

Home health care includes medical services like wound care and dietary assistance, but it can also include non-medical personal care like help bathing or cooking. It is administered by trained home healthcare workers, such as nurse assistants and aides.

They check your health status, such as blood pressure, temperature and heart rate, and teach you how to manage your condition at home. They also keep regular contact with your doctor and let your family members know about any changes in your condition.

Most home health services are covered by Medicare, Medicaid and long-term care insurance. To qualify, you need a doctor’s order and meet certain Medicare requirements. Most Medicare-approved agencies are accredited to ensure quality. Ask friends and family for recommendations to find a trustworthy agency.

Transportation

Home health care services are not free, but Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans Administration and private insurance often pay for some or all of the cost. To be eligible for home health, you must meet the doctor’s definition of “homebound.” This doesn’t necessarily mean you cannot leave your house – it means leaving takes an extensive effort and requires assistance from others or assistive devices such as a cane or walker. Home health services may also allow brief, non-medical absences from your home such as for church, beauty shops or family events.

Senior home health edler care is an important way to reduce avoidable hospital readmissions and keep seniors healthy at home. However, the jobs of home healthcare workers come with their own unique safety and health hazards such as bloodborne pathogens, ergonomic risks from patient lifting, exposure to hazardous chemicals and hostile work environments.