FAQ
Q. What is Home Care?
A. Home care includes any professional support services that allow a person to live safely in their home. In-home care services can help someone who is aging and needs assistance to live independently; is managing chronic health issues; is recovering from a medical setback; or has special needs or a disability. Professional caregivers such as nurses, aides, and therapists provide short-term or long-term care in the home, depending on a person's needs.
Q. Why choose Home Care?
A. Home care can be the key to achieving the highest quality of life possible. It can enable safety, security, and increased independence; it can ease management of an ongoing medical condition; it can help avoid unnecessary hospitalization; it can aid with recovery after an illness, injury, or hospital stay—all through care given in the comfort and familiarity of home.
Q. What is the difference between Home Care and Home Healthcare?
A. Home care and home health are distinct types of care which are both provided in a home setting, but most people aren’t aware of the differences and use these terms interchangeably. The key difference is that “home care” is non-clinical care and “home health” is clinical care.
Q. What is Home Health Care?
A. Home health care is clinical medical care provided by an registered nurse, occupational therapist, physical therapist or other skilled medical professionals, and is often prescribed as part of a care plan following a hospitalization.
Q. When do you use Home Care?
A. You might consider hiring a home care aide for older adults who:
Need assistance with activities of daily living ranging from grooming to meal preparation
Do not drive and require transportation
Live alone, may be at risk for social isolation and need companionship
Q. What are the benefits of Home Care?
A. A huge advantage of home care is that your loved one is able to keep control over many aspects of their daily life. They get to continue living by their own schedule, choosing when they want to eat, sleep, and socialize. They get to keep their level of independence in the comfort of their home or place of residence.
Caregivers who used paid in-home non-medical care for their seniors reported having better overall health than did their counterparts who did not make use of such care. In fact, according to this research, 78 percent of those who used paid in-home non-medical care for their seniors rated the overall quality of their health as “good”, very good or better quality of Life
More help with seniors who make greater demands, particularly those with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia.
Help staying in the workforce.
Help reducing the financial sacrifices that caregiving often imposes.
Q. Who provides home care services?
A. Home care services are usually provided by home care organizations, but may also be obtained from independent providers. Home care organizations include home health agencies; hospices; homemaker and home health services agencies; staffing and private duty nursing agencies; and companies specializing in medical equipment and supplies, pharmaceuticals, and drug infusion therapy. Several types of home care organizations may merge to provide a wide variety of services through an integrated system.
Home Care Organizations and Agencies employ homemakers, home health aides and companions who support individuals through meal preparation, bathing, dressing, and housekeeping. Personnel are assigned according to the needs and wishes of each client. Some states require these agencies to be licensed and meet minimum standards established by the state. Most home care organization and agencies recruit, train, and supervise their personnel and thus are responsible for the care rendered.
Q. Who pays for Home Care Service?
A. Home care services can be paid for directly by the patient and his or her family members or through a variety of public and private sources.
Options Include:
Self-pay
Home care services that fail to meet the criteria of third-party payers must be paid for "out of pocket" by the patient or other party. The patient and home care provider negotiate the fees.
Private Third- Party Payer
- Long term insurance
- Commercial Health Insurance Companies
Public Third- Party Payer
- Medicare
- Medicaid
- Veterans Administration