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What To Expect From Home Health Care

Many times Patients are released from the hospital with doctor’s orders for Home Health Care services during recuperation. In each case, the discharge planner at the hospital should provide patients with a general overview of what services their physician is ordering as well as a list of providers in the area. It is important to recognize that many hospitals are owned by large corporations who also own Home Health and Home Care agencies. Although accepting their recommendation for a particular agency may be a good choice, Patients have the right to be made aware of others in the area, and choose their own. The discharge personnel at the hospital should be able to provide a list of those local agencies that accept the Patient’s type of insurance coverage or whether the services will be private pay.  If the Patient is on Medicare, doctor prescribed Home Health is covered.
Once a particular agency has been selected, the Patient’s private physician or the hospital should provide the agency with a copy of the hospital discharge papers and any additional information they deem necessary for treatment and follow up. The Patient should also be given contact information at the agency in the event they need to be updated before a first appointment is scheduled.
It is a wise idea to plan to have a family member or other friend acting as a Caregiver or liaison present at the first Home Health meeting. They can assist with providing insurance information, filling out paperwork and can help provide any crucial health history information. It is also very important to have a list of medications and dosages available for the Home Health agency, which will be recorded in their treatment records. If a list of medications is not available, the nurse or agent will ask to see the actual bottles of medications that the Patient takes on a regular basis in addition to any prescribed during the recent hospitalization. 
Before the first home visit, it is a good idea to jot down a list of questions or concerns either the patient or their family members might have. Keep in mind that the nurse from the Home Health Agency is visiting your home on your doctor’s orders and is there to assist, educate and provide care for your recovery. They can become an easily accessible source of information to answer any questions patients may have during the course of recovery and an excellent resource for emotional support and encouragement.
At the initial home visit, Patients should make a point of knowing exactly what the services will include such as Physical Therapy, who will be providing them, on what days, and at what times.

Other services that may be provided during Health Care appointments include Occupational, Speech or Respiratory Therapy, Wound Care, monitoring of vital signs, or meeting with a social worker who can assess any needs or concerns the patient may have. It is extremely important to keep all of the appointments that the Home Health agency sets as well as going to all follow up doctor appointments. Your doctor will review the notes supplied by the agency to determine your progress, which will dictate future treatment plans if needed.

November 17th 2011
Author: Gloria Ha’o Schneider

Dirty Jobs With A Positive Twist

Discovery’s reality TV show host Mike Rowe travels around the U.S. delving into the dirtiest and most disgusting occupations around. Since 2004, the popular show sends Rowe and the crew traveling to places around the country where people are doing some of the nation’s messiest jobs. Rowe meets the staff, dons the necessary outfits and equipment, and gets involved in every step of the process, performing as much of the job as possible himself. Some of the not-so glamorous assignments include cleaning sewer systems, making flowerpots out of cow manure and artificially inseminated turkeys and farming maggots.
Aside from the obscurity of the subject matter, the show’s success is in part because of Rowe’s amusing self-deprecating sense of humor and more largely, Rowe’s obvious respect for the men and woman who actually perform the nasty duties every day as their real life occupation. Aside from bringing home a paycheck, these everyday Americans probably don’t have many self-gratification stories to talk about when their long shifts come to a day’s end.
Not the case for Home Health Aides. Despite some of the challenges, the duties of a Home Health Aide can be quite rewarding, since it requires a commitment to helping people. Effective aides are responsible, cheerful, caring, emotionally strong, patient and not afraid of demanding work. Approximately 1.8 million Home Health Aides in the United States are performing the essential job of caring for the disabled, chronically ill, cognitively impaired and the elderly. They are the eyes, ears and hands of the medical profession because they spend specialized one-on-one time with Patients on a daily basis.  Home Health aides are in high demand and by 2018; an extra 800,000 are expected to be hired to help care for the nation’s growing elderly population.
Their job description is to provide Patients with supportive health care at home which will increase their independence and improve their overall well being. Home Health Aides provide a range of basic medical services, such as checking patients' pulse rate, temperature and respiration rate. They also assist with simple prescribed exercises and medication regimens. They specialize in dressing changes, wound care, skin care and can assist with braces and artificial limbs. Specialized Home Health Aides can also help patients with ventilators and other types of medical equipment.
The job can be physically demanding. Skilled Nurses are susceptible to back injury because of the need to help move Patients in and out of bed or assisting them with standing or walking. Mechanical lifting systems found in hospitals or Skilled Nursing Facilities may not be available in Patients’ homes, increasing the need for physical assistance. Aides also risk direct exposure to bacterial infections and communicable diseases such as Hepatitis.
Just like Mike Rowe’s Dirty Jobs Television show and his crew, Home Health aides also carry out assignments that many would consider unpleasant, such as Incontinence Care, Wound Care and more. The patient might be in pain, confused, irritable, and even uncooperative, making the job mentally challenging as well. Skilled Nurses work through agencies that assign them with a number of different patients throughout the course of a day. No matter what the mental or physical condition of the patient, Home Health Aides always show up at the door with a positive attitude ready to make their Patient as comfortable as possible. Despite the challenges, the positive twist to being a Home Health Aide is no doubt the one of finding happiness and personal gratification by helping others in need.

October 10th 2011
Author: Gloria Ha’o Schneider