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Visiting Nurse Service NJ
26 January 2012
Home health care offers a variety of services provided for patients and families that allow loved ones to receive medical care at their residence. These wonderful services allow a patient to return home rather than be admitted into a nursing home or rehabilitation center for continued medical care and treatment. Trained medical professionals who undergo a screening process prior to employment, including a criminal background check and drug testing, perform home health care services. Home health care includes services provided by nurses, nursing assistants and therapists. Many insurance companies, including Medicare and Medicaid, will pay or help pay for home health care services.
Nursing Services
A home health nurse, also known as a visiting nurse, provides various nursing services to patients who live at home. Nurses assess and evaluate patients, perform treatments and assist with medications. Treatments refer to a variety of procedures and techniques used to treat conditions, illness or injuries. An example of a treatment includes wound care. Wound care involves cleaning, bandaging and monitoring wounds. A nurse will keep track of the patient’s condition, reporting changes or progress to the patient’s doctor. Home health nurses also educate the patient and family on the patient’s condition, treatments, prognosis as well as answering any questions they may present. A visiting nurse can administer medication to the patient using a variety of methods including intravenously (IV). Nurses care for patients who suffer from a wide variety of conditions and disabilities. Patients that require specialized treatment and care may benefit from the services provided by the home health nurse. Patients with feeding tubes, tracheostomy tubes and dialysis ports can all be cared for at home with the help of a visiting nurse.
Home Health Aides Services
Home health aides are nursing assistants who go into a patient’s home to provide care and help with activities of daily living (ADL). They provide direct patient care assisting with ADL which include hygiene, mobility, and bathroom assistance. Home health aides may also perform light housekeeping and cooking. Aides may work in the home on a regularly scheduled basis or around the clock depending on the patient’s needs. They are trained to use equipment such as a hoyer lift which is used for transferring and moving patient‘s who are unable to stand on their own.. Nursing assistants provide patients with care and company as well. Not all patients require physical care. Some patients, particularly those suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia, may need monitored to make sure they remain safe and do not wander when the family is away. A home health aide benefits this type of patient by remaining at the patient’s home and watches the patient keeping them safe and happy at home.
Home Therapy Services
Therapy services provided by home health care companies help patients in need of rehabilitation go home and continue their recommended treatment and exercises rather than being placed into a rehabilitation center or nursing home. Physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy are among those offered by home health care companies. Occupational therapy helps patients strengthen and maintain fine motor skills that are responsible for movements such as picking up a pencil, tying a shoe or buttoning a shirt. Physical therapy assists patients with gross motor skills like those required to stand and walk. Speech therapy is beneficial to patients who need help with speaking, swallowing and chewing. The home health care company provides the needed and recommended therapies by using trained and licensed therapists and therapy assistants.
Insurance
Many private and government health care plans offer home health care services as an option to their patients. Medicare and Medicaid are among those that offer some patients the choice between admittance into a health care facility like a nursing home following their discharge from a hospital or going home and receiving continued care and treatment using a home health care service company. Insurance companies may offer partial home health care coverage while others may offer complete coverage or some combination of both. Partial coverage can include part time help from home health care professionals while complete coverage may consist of around the clock care. Some insurance companies may require a co-pay while other may be all-inclusive. Contact the insurance company to determine the type and amount of home health care services coverage available on the patient’s plan to consider implementing home health care services for .patients who wishes to return home instead of being placed into a health care facility.
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