What You Should Know About Home Health Care Aides

Home Health Care is healthcare provided within an individual’s home. It usually requires a doctor’s order and can range from a few hours a week to around-the-clock live-in care.

Ensure that your caregiver agency performs thorough background checks on all of their employees. Also, ask about employee orientation and ongoing education to keep caregivers’ skills sharp.

Home health aides

Home health aides can help seniors stay at home, regaining independence by performing everyday tasks, such as bathing and dressing, meal preparation and grocery shopping. They often work under the supervision of a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse.

Aides can also monitor a client’s medical condition, check vital signs and accompany clients to doctor’s appointments. They also provide emotional support by listening to a client’s stories, sharing a joke or just sitting quietly together.

Home health aides are typically employed by an agency that handles payroll, taxes and insurance. They must be flexible, as their schedule is determined by a client’s needs. Some aides serve round-the-clock, visiting clients up to six times a day. Others go back and forth to a client’s house a few times a week.

Physical therapists

Northeast Ohio Home Health Care physical therapy is an important part of your recovery after surgery, injury or illness. It can help you move more easily, improve your range of motion and reduce pain and discomfort. Home health physical therapists are movement experts who optimize quality of life by prescribing exercise, hands-on care and patient education.

Medicare covers home health physical therapy as long as the patient meets certain qualifications. These include being homebound and needing assistance with mobility or use of assistive devices like walkers or wheelchairs.

Home health physical therapists visit patients at their homes, which can be private residences, adult foster homes, assisted living or residential care facilities, memory care facilities, or long-term nursing homes. They can also teach at-home exercises that patients can do between visits to speed their progress.

Dietitians

Dietitians are qualified and regulated health professionals who assess, diagnose and treat dietary and nutritional problems. They translate the latest scientific research on food and health into practical guidance to help people make healthy choices about diet and nutrition. They can work in cafeterias, hospitals, schools and catering services, as well as running their own private clinics.

Home health agencies may send a dietitian to your home to evaluate your nutrition needs and help you with meal planning. The dietitian will discuss your current diet and ask detailed questions about your general health and medical history. They will also recommend any changes to your diet that might be necessary.

In addition to providing nutritional counseling, dietitians can also provide food therapy. This involves preparing foods with modified textures that are easier to chew and swallow for patients who have difficulty with these activities.

Medical equipment

Home health services are typically covered by Medicare. However, you may be responsible for paying 20% of the Medicare-approved cost for durable medical equipment.

To qualify for home health care, you must be considered “homebound.” This means that leaving your home requires considerable effort and is only done for necessary appointments, religious services, or other family events. Other eligibility requirements include having a valid doctor’s order and needing skilled nursing and therapy.

If you’re searching for durable medical equipment for yourself or a loved one, it can be difficult to find quality items at affordable prices. Check local drugstore chains, retail stores like Walmart, and charity resale shops. You can also shop online and find companies that offer overnight shipments of home healthcare equipment.

Transportation

Many seniors lose their ability to drive as they age. A strong transportation service line can help them keep their appointments, which is a huge benefit for home health agencies.

The services are largely medical in nature and typically covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance plans. They are usually short term arrangements, and the patient must meet strict criteria in order to receive them.

Many home care companies have begun launching their own transportation services, including partnering with ride-hailing apps like Lyft and Uber to complement their own fleets of caregiver and agency vehicles. This supplementary service can boost revenue and also reduce the number of missed appointments, as evidenced by a recent study conducted by the Philadelphia-based home health agency 24Hr HomeCare.