What is Home Care?
“Home Care” is a wide variety of health care services provided in a private residence. This includes care of adults or children who may be recovering from illness or surgery, disabled, chronically ill or terminally ill. The services include medical, nursing, social, pain management and therapies, as well as assistance with daily life, such as bathing, dressing, cooking and household chores.
Who Provides Home Care?
Our trained staff includes professionals and para-professionals. They are thoroughly screened and carefully selected for their traits of dedication, warmth and care.
Professionals who deliver health care at home include:
Registered nurses (RN) and licensed practical nurses (LPN) provide skilled services such as injections and intravenous therapy, wound care, medication set-up, education and assessments.
Physical therapists (PT) restore lower-limb mobility and strength. They teach walking and transfer techniques.
Occupational therapists (OT) employ specialized rehabilitation techniques and equipment to improve patient task function such as eating, bathing, dressing and basic household routines.
Speech therapists develop and restore speech for individuals with communication disorders. Speech pathologists also retrain patients in breathing, swallowing and muscle control.
Social workers evaluate social and emotional factors affecting patients and provide counseling. They identify available community resources, and they often serve as case managers.
Para-professionals who deliver health care at home provide:
Personal care – assistance with activities of daily living, such as getting in and out of bed, walking, bathing, toileting, eating and dressing.
Household chores – light household duties, such as laundry, meal preparation, general housekeeping and shopping.
Companion care – support for individuals who cannot be left alone or who need companionship for social and emotional reasons.
What Kind of Schedule is Available?
Home care is available for a single visit up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Depending on a patient’s needs, services may be provided by the visit, the hour or by shift.
Who Pays for Home Care
Payment can be made by Medicare, Medicaid, insurance or private pay, depending on eligibility. Cooperative Home Care works with all funding sources and can help you determine the best payer for your care. Funding is also available for veterans and their surviving spouses.
Public third-party payers – Medicare, Medicaid, the Older American’s Act, the Veteran’s Administration and Social Services block grant programs. Some community organizations, such as Jewish Family and Children’s Service and local chapters of the American Cancer Society, the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Easter Seal Society, help pay for home care services.
Private third-party insurance payers – commercial health insurance companies, long term care insurers, managed care organizations, worker’s compensation, insurance for military retirees and dependents known as Tricare.
Self-pay – patients can pay privately for home care services, if no other funding source can be identified.
How do I Select the Right Home Care Provider
Ask these questions:
- Does the provider have experience and a successful track record?
- Does the provider have the services we need?
- Does the provider have access to any funding source to reduce the burden on individuals to self-pay?
- How does the provider handle emergencies?
- Are caregivers available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?
- How does the provider select and supervise staff?
- Does the provider bill directly to third-party payers, making our lives easier?
- Are references available?
- If this is a Medicare provider, how does its quality compare to others on the Medicare Home Health Compare Web site? (link to Web site)
- Does it protect its employees with written personnel policies, benefits packages and malpractice insurance?
- Does the provider have a sense of service?
Where Can I Find More Information
Call Cooperative Home Care at 1-800-HOMECARE (in MO) or 1-866-572-8585 outside MO).