THE SERVICES

There are approximately 6,500 home health care agencies in the United States certified by Medicare and about 5,000 others that provide different forms of home care services. There are different types of services provided by a full service home health agency. These are:

Skilled Home Care Nurse
Provide needed nursing care at home with the full range that a hospital nursing care can provide including intravenous (IV) insertions. License Practical Nurse (LPN) can most times perform the function of a regular nurse with the exception of IV insertion, and those duties specifically assigned to a registered nurse.

Home Makers
These services are provided by aides, and infrequently by an LPN. Care provided includes bathing, dressing the patient unable to, preparing meals, and doing necessary house chores for the patient's comfort

Physical Therapy
For those patients with movement problems either secondary to surgery, stroke, or other medical conditions, accelerated and graduated home physical therapy may be needed for the complete recovery of the patient.

Dietician/Social Service/Counseling/Speech/Occupational Services
Some agencies may provide needed services not usually seen in the traditional home health care arena. In most other cases however, the hospitals provides adequate services.

Infusion Therapy
Most home health care services either themselves or through hired professionals provide home infusion therapy for the clients that needed intravenous medications at home.

PLACEMENT

The decision to place anyone under the auspices of a home health care agency has become relatively simple. There are two types of patients that can be placed with an agency:

Hospitalized Patients
When any patient is hospitalized, several questions should always be entertained by the family either at the time of admission, during hospital stay, but most critically at or close to discharge.

• Question #1
  Can I (or others in the house) adequately care for the discharged relative at home? By myself (or ourselves), given the complexities of the medical problems at hand?



• Question #2
  Does the medical condition/conditions presented supersede my/our general and medical know how?



• Question #3
  Is there a need for daily wound care or dressing changes?



• Question #4
  Is there a need for intravenous (IV) medication/medications?



• Question #5
  Is there a debilitating condition that requires frequent turning in bed and significant activities of Daily Living (ADL) that family members cannot handle themselves?



• Question #6
  Are the services of Physical Therapist and dietary monitoring needed at home?

If the answer to any of the above-mentioned questions is YES, contact the hospital's Social Service department for evaluation and to make proper arrangements for placement with a home health care agency.

Home Bound Patients
For the patient who is at home already but has significant medical condition/conditions that may require assistance with home care, you may want to take him/her to the family physician for consideration of home health agency placement. Conditions that may warrant placement includes:

• Wounds
  A new or an old poorly healing wound with persistent oozing can benefit from a professionally trained wound care nurse at home.



• Out of Control Blood Sugar
  An out of control blood sugar in a patient that does not want to, or need to be hospitalized can be cared for by a nurse at home.



• Walking Pneumonia
  This and the mild form of Pneumonia may be suitable for home intravenous (IV) antibiotics treatment.

Other conditions that may warrant a home health care nurse visit includes, out of control blood pressure, and loss of mobility needing assistance. Even when you are not sure always check with the family doctor for proper guidance.