Home Health Care Services For the Sandwich Generation

Millions of seniors and individuals with disabilities require Rent a Daughter services to live safely at home. They often find themselves living with family members who are unable to provide them with full-time care. This can create a burden on the “sandwich generation,” which can be stressful for all parties involved. The good news is, there is an alternative for those in need of specialized, coordinated, and interdisciplinary care: Angels on Call.

Home health care is medically necessary, skilled care that is provided in your home if you are recovering from an illness or injury and are unable to leave your home without assistance. Generally, Medicare covers home health care. In addition, some long-term care insurance policies will cover home health care if you meet specific criteria.

The goal of home health care is to help you recover from an illness or injury and resume your daily activities as soon as possible. It also includes education and prevention to avoid future health-related problems. Home health care can be provided by a nurse, physical or occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, physiotherapist, or medical social worker. Home health aides can assist you with your daily living needs such as bathing and grooming, dressing, eating, meal preparation, and housekeeping.

A recent descriptive study found that patients were more satisfied with home health care if nurses had good working relationships with supervisors, opportunities to share decision making, and formalized organizational and professional guidelines. However, more research is needed to determine effective interventions to improve or maintain patient outcomes in the home health care population.

Unplanned hospital admissions in home health care patients are an important clinical challenge. They may be caused by a wide range of issues, including falls, nonhealing wounds, and medication errors. Identifying these patients early and intervening effectively can result in reduced hospital admissions and improved outcomes.

It is essential for the home health care team to have access to data about patient outcomes in order to identify risk factors and target patient-specific interventions. Data available from the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) can be used to target high-risk patients and guide individualized care. Agencies can also monitor adherence to the plan of care by tracking progress towards goals and measuring performance against national standards.

If you or a loved one are thinking about receiving home health care, you can start by asking for recommendations from family and friends who have used home health services themselves. You can also ask your doctor or a geriatric care manager for referrals to reliable home health agencies in your area.

Once you have found a home health care agency that meets your needs, the next step is determining what days and hours will work best for a care provider to visit. The schedule varies, from once or twice a week to 24-hour care. A home health care nurse will develop a customized plan of care and communicate it with you and your physician.

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