Lifestyle: Seniors who prefer to live
independently in their own homes, or
stay with a family member, and have
access to outside supportive care
and assistance when needed.
Services: Home Health and Home
Care agencies provide two main
types of services that are custodial or
supportive (unskilled) and skilled
care. Supportive services, provided by non-medical home care agencies, offer
assistance with personal care such as bathing, grooming, dressing, in addition to
help with meal preparation, housekeeping, and shopping. Assistance with
self-administered medications, ambulation and exercises, and transportation to
medical appointments is often requested. These custodial or supportive services
can be arranged for any needed amount and frequency of time including up to
twenty-four hours everyday or on a respite or temporary basis. Such services can
help an aging person cope with their declining abilities, maintain their
independence, and often avoid relocating.
Skilled services provided by medical home health agencies, offer nursing care,
physical, occupational, speech, and respiratory therapy as well as social services
and hospice care. Following a specific plan of care, and under the supervision of
a skilled discipline such as a nurse or therapist, a certified home health aide may
provide personal care for a limited time. These skilled services are provided on
an intermittent basis, with scheduled home visits to homebound clients only,
under a plan of treatment ordered by a physician. These skilled services can
avoid unnecessary hospitalizations, hasten hospital discharges, and enable an
elder to stay at home during acute illnesses or while convalescing.
An excellent source for checking backgrounds of
potential in-home employees.
Housing: Services are provided to seniors in their
homes or in the homes of family members where
they are living.
Common Names: Home Care Agencies, Home Health Agencies, In Home
Agencies, Personal Care Agencies, Homemaker and Chore Services,
Companion services
Payment Method: Supportive and custodial services (unskilled) are most often
contracted with a home care agency on a private-pay basis for the desired
amount of time and frequency of care. Medicaid has community-based programs
in some states, designed to provide the elderly with personal care assistance in
their homes as an alternative to institutional care. Some long-term care insurance
policies allow coverage for home health aides, but it is necessary to obtain these
home services through a licensed agency in order to qualify for reimbursement.
Another option is to hire your own caregiver privately which is usually less
expensive and can allow more input into the decision making process. This
choice can be optimal with some luck and persistence, however in the employer
role, managing care can be very time consuming, if not frustrating at times. On
the other hand, skilled care services that meet specific guidelines including a
plan of treatment ordered by a physician, and adherence to strict homebound requirements, are usually reimbursed by
Medicare, Medicaid, and most private health insurance policies.
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