What
is Home Care? Who pays for it?
In-home care is supportive and/or medical care
provided to an individual in their place of residence,
as an alternative to moving to a long term care
facility to receive care.
There
are
different types of in-home care.
In
order to determine the appropriate agency to contact,
one should have a clear idea as to the short and long
term goals for the person needing the assistance .
Medicare-certified home health agencies
can
provide physician ordered short visits for a specific
service such as a bath aide, skilled nursing, or
rehabilitation. This is usually for a specified
period of time, and requires the patient to be
homebound.
Private-duty in-home care agencies
will
provide staffing instead of visits. Staffing is
usually for a number of hours, typically anywhere
from two to twenty-four hours a day. Private duty
agencies usually accept long term care insurance or
services are paid privately. Medicare does not pay for
staffing.
All
in-home care agencies must be
licensed by the State of Washington,
and
are surveyed annually. An agency may hold a home care
license, a home health license, or both.
A
home care license
allows an agency to provide
non-medical hands on assistance with activities of
daily living.
This means that any medical conditions cannot be a
part of agency care. Caregivers should have
experience, but need not be certified or registered.
They may provide transportation, housekeeping, meal
preparation, as well as assistance with personal care.
When
an agency has a
home health license,
the care will be more
medically focused, supervised by a Registered Nurse,
and
the
home health aides have higher skills and training.
Your physician will be involved by approving a plan of
treatment. With home health, a person may remain at
home with a serious illness, and until end of life.
For continuity of care, choose an agency with both
home care & home health licenses!
Northwest
Healthcare, Inc.
16821 SE
McGillivray Blvd., Suite 200
Vancouver,
WA 98683
360-574-5293
