Provide Home Health Care

| Wednesday, December 28, 2011
By Jessica Pontel


When you have a relative that can no longer provide care for themselves, you may want to consider looking into home health care. In home health care, a provider comes to your family member's home and helps them with basic daily care activities and in some cases, with ongoing medical care.

Home health care can be as simple as someone coming once a week to clean the house and shop for groceries, or it can be as complex as daily visits from a nurse. The needs of the patient determine the duties of the care provider.

The best thing to do is to evaluate the current and likely future needs of your loved one before you contact a home health care provide to discuss your options. The care level available is a wide range of services, from occasional visits to live-in companionship. You can discuss your needs and options with a home health care agency.

Medicare provides coverage for some home health care, depending on the specific needs of the senior involved. Any care you want beyond the coverage offered by Medicare or your own insurance company would have to be paid out of pocket. This can make it difficult to provide the level of care you sometimes want, but most home health care companies are aware of this issue and can help you find a financing plan that works.

As the needs of the patient change, so does the home health care provider arrangement. Be prepared for your home health care needs to increase, and be aware of the point where you will be interested in ending home health in favor of looking into a nursing home of some sort. Of course, most seniors prefer to stay in their own home as long as possible.

Similarly, although they may be able to keep home health care, they may need to move to more qualified providers. Some patients start needing minimal medical assistance but later require ongoing medical support and need to hire a nurse to provide that support.

Home health care is a good option for seniors who have minor difficulties performing the basic activities of daily living, like bathing and dressing themselves, but otherwise are healthy. For seniors that live far away from their family, home health care can help provide social interaction and interest to the lives of the senior.

Home health care is the best choice for most seniors needing help with day to day activities. Contact your local home health care agency for more information, and to discuss the options that are available to you.




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