What is home health care?
Imagine being disabled, too ill to care for yourself or having a condition that requires regular medical attention. Most people assume that a hospital or nursing home is the only option for care. However, with assistance from a home health care agency, you can receive care in the comfort of home. Home health care is an excellent, cost-effective alternative to hospital or other institutional care. Service is based on the individual's need.   Home care aims to enable people to remain at home rather than use residential, long term, or institutional based nursing care.  Care workers visit patients in the person's own home to help with daily tasks such as getting up, going to bed, dressing, toileting, dressing, toileting, personal hygiene, supervision of medication, post operative care, wound care, and many high tech medical needs, home care is offering many sophisticated and complex services today.   

What are the advantages of home health care?
In many cases, home health care permits a person to be discharged earlier from a hospital, reduces hospital admissions, assists with a more rapid recovery and fosters patient/physician relationships. Most importantly, the patient is often happier at home and receives more care and attention from family, friends and home health care professionals.  It is cost effective, and the environment is familiar.

About how often do professionals change during a patient case?  Once a case manager is assigned to a case, they stay with the case, unless the patient requests a change.  99% of our staff live in an around Wimberley, most do not work for other agencies, this will vary with agency, you must ask to know about staffing.  It is important for quality consistent care that the same professional stay with your case.

Who can request home health care?
According to Federal law, home health care patients are free to choose which agency will provide their home care services.  Section 1802 of the Social Security act seeks to ensure that free choice is guaranteed to all Medicare Patients.  The law states:  "Any individual entitled to insurance benefits under this title (Medicare) may obtain health services from any agency or person qualified to participated under this title if such agency undertakes to provide him such services." 

Who uses home health care?
People of all ages use home health care services—from senior citizens to young children (our agency does not care for children). Some examples include: Those who have been discharged from the nursing home or the hospital but still need medical assistance and care, those who have short term health needs, those who need assistance due to age or disability to remain home.  People who need help with everyday living, help with ADL's need home health.  ADL refers to 6 activities; bathing, dressing, transferring, using the toilet, eating, and walking, helping with these important functions are everything to patients.  If you can't get a bath or cook you won't be very well off, right! 
Data collected from CDC states that approximately 1.3 million persons receiving home care in the USA, almost 30% were under 65 years of age, while the majority (70%) were over 65 years of age.  The 2005 statistics show those age 85 or older were 6 times more likely to need ADL assistance than those 65.  Between age 65-85 more women than men needed help. 

How long can one use home care?  The key to understanding is the word INTERMITTENT services (not full time, not an 8 hour shift of care).  Most often people are seen on a weekly,  or bi-weekly basis and for a month or so.  A patient with a PICC line may require 2-3 time a day IV administration, that is permissible, several times a day...ok! just not full time 8 hours a day..  Sometimes a person may have several chronic problems; diabetes, CHF, COPD making this patient a long term patient, one needing long term home care.  Approximately 10% of our patients are long term evaluation and management patients.  As long as there is a medical need requiring attention home health can continue.

Who pays for home care?
Medicare, Medicaid or other health insurances cover the cost of home health care services.   Our agency may have funding to help people who cannot afford the private pay option. Our home health care agency will be able to assist in determining if the services you need are covered or if you need to make other arrangements.

How are home care services initiated? 

A physician, hospitals, nursing homes, rehab centers, community service centers, and patient or family members can initiate service. Once the physician prescribes home health care,  a "plan of care," is drawn up and reviewed on a every 6 weeks basis.

What is home bound status?
Homebound status is required for us to provide care, and it is a little confusing to understand so I will give the following examples that may help you determine  homebound status.  Some examples are; difficulty leaving home, must have assistance with a supportive device (walker, cain, another person), depressed immune system, infectious risk, severe shortness of breath, Angina with movement, fluid or edema of the legs making walking difficult, weakness, falling history, unsafe mobility, need assistance to move, functional limitations (urinary and bowel incontinence), weakness due to chemotherapy, impaired mental status...but there are so many examples, it's best to give us a call and we can work thru the questions with you.

How do I make sure I receive care from Wimberley Home Health when I’m discharged from the Hospital?
Ask for us when talking with your doctor and the hospital discharge planner.   It is a law:  You decide!

What products might the home care professional bring with them?  Chances are she will bring ADL devices, incontinence supplies, diabetic meters and supplies, urological supplies, ostomy supplies, wound care supplies, equipment, gloves, IV supplies, mobility aids, orthopaedic products, venous supplies, skin care products and lotions. 

What ADL supplies might the home care professional bring with them?  Dressing aids, reachers, grabbers, knobs, medicine droppers, spoons, reading accessories, bathroom products; raised toilet seats, shower stools, hand-held showers, transfer benches, eating utensils, grab bars and safety rails, pill crushers and pill cutters, bedroom products; beds, overbed tables, pads, step stools.

If I receive home health care, how long may I receive it?
As long is there is an medical need and the physician orders it you may receive it.
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