The Home Care Solution: Who to Call for Home Health Care
When hiring home health care, seek out a licensed medical caregivers designated as ‘home health agency,’ advises James Summerfelt, chief executive officer of the Visiting Nurse Association. “The term often indicates the provider is Medicare-certified and has met minimum federal requirements for patient care and management.”
Eligibility for Home Health Care Under Medicare is Determined By the Following:
- You must require intermittent skilled nursing care, physical therapy or speech therapy.
- You must be homebound.
- You must currently be under a physician’s care. All home health services must be ordered by your physician.
Services are delivered at home to recovering, disabled, chronically or terminally ill persons in need of medical, nursing, social or therapeutic treatment and/or assistance with the essential activities of daily living.
When interviewing an agency make sure you understand exactly what services it will provide and those it will not provided, including those it is forbidden to provide by state law. Families are allowed to proved any care for a family member, but professionals have to abide by state law. For instance, in many states, invasive procedures such as injections and maintenance of feeding tubes may not be administered by non-skilled professionals. You may need a doctor or a nurse to perform these procedures.*