Home health care is a type of in-home care service that is medically oriented. Some of the services that are included under the umbrella of home health care are speech therapy, IV therapy, physical therapy, monitoring of blood pressure and blood glucose levels, dressing of wounds, maintaining medical equipment such as ventilators, and overseeing feeding tubes and oxygen tanks, and also monitoring the consumption of any medications that the client has been prescribed by their primary physicians. The idea behind home health care services is to help an elderly individual retain their independence and put off the need for long-term residential care, such as in a nursing home, for as long as possible. Members of a medical team make visits to the clients home to administer these and other medical services on a pre-determined schedule.
Home health care services may include other tasks that are related to the client’s well-being, personal safety, and day-to-day life. Some of these tasks could be:
- Personal care duties such as assisting the client with bathing, grooming, and toileting
- Necessary household duties and functions such as laundry, cleaning, and cooking
- Accompanying the client on errands or performing these errands in their stead
Home health care should not be confused with home care services. While they may seem to be the same type of program, the medical aspect is what sets them apart from each other. Home health care services are provided by licensed staff who have varying degrees of medical training that qualifies them to assist a client with aspects of their medical care. Home health care is only provided by nurses, therapists, and home health aides. Their services are generally contracted through entities such as home health care agencies, hospitals, clinics, or public health departments that are licensed by their respective states.
In contrast, home care services still include all of the aforementioned services such as assistance with bathing and grooming, meal preparation, and housekeeping. Caregivers and care providers working under the umbrella of home care services do not and cannot offer medical assistance to the client in any form because they are not licensed or train to do so. The reason that home health services and home care services work in tandem because clients often have a need for both kinds of services. Caregiver and care provider services may also be contracted through the aforementioned agencies, but there are many who contract their services on a freelance basis. Families should investigate any potential caregiver’s background thoroughly, especially if they are not bound as an employee to the ethics of any care giving agency.
Please contact us for more information on the home health care and home care services we provide in the Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice and Longboat Key areas.
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