When you hear the phrase “home health care”, what do you think of? A live-in nurse? An assistant to run errands? The truth is, the best agencies offer a whole host of services to look after your loved ones. By better understanding what exactly is involved in home health care services, you can decide if it’s right for your parents or loved ones, ensuring they’re afforded compassion and dignity throughout this important next chapter of their lives.
What Is Typically Included in Home Health Care Services?
In-Home Health Aides Who Can Offer Personalized Assistance
If you have a parent or loved one who requires care on any level, home health care services can provide you with a carer, nurse, or aide to serve those needs. No matter what level of care and attention is required, the best agencies are filled with staff who are always affectionate, focused, and respectful.
And they’re ready to assist in with all the duties your parents might need help with. From day-to-day tasks like folding laundry, grocery shopping, and grooming and bathing, to more hands-on work like emotional support or nursing services, good home health care agencies are ready to help your loved ones.
Importantly, the best agencies are staffed with carers prepared to adapt if you need it. Can’t drop over dinner tonight? Will a parent need to get to a sudden appointment tomorrow? Good home health care service means flexible, thoughtful service.
A Customized Health Care Plan to Suit Your Family
Different people require different kinds of looking after, and the best home health care agencies know that. Some patients require overnight care, while others might need help with daily errand-running. Maybe you have a parent who doesn’t speak English or a loved one who’s recovering from an injury. Whatever the situation, the best agencies are flexible in what services they can offer you.
Your personalized care plan will be developed both by talking to you and with a consultation. A trusted staff member will come to your house and observe your loved ones’ circumstances and lifestyle first hand. Equipped with an understanding of the specific situation your loved one is experiencing and the care they’ll require, they’ll walk you through all the options at your disposal. In the end, you’ve got a health care plan tailored perfectly to your loved ones’ needs.
Financial Guidance and Assistance
The best home health care agencies understand that looking for care for your loved ones can be tricky enough without having to worry about your budget. That’s why they’ll go above and beyond to ease the burden and protect family assets, teaming you with consultants who can advise and educate you throughout the process.
From supplemental insurance advice to help with Medicaid to even helping you develop a long-term financial strategy, don’t underestimate what a truly considerate agency is willing to help you with. You can bet that the thoughtfulness they show to your wallet matches the thoughtfulness of the care they give your loved ones.
Long-Term and Short-Term Care
As your parents age, you might seek out an ongoing arrangement to guarantee they are comfortable and well looked after for their golden years. But great agencies are also there for the short-term, too, such as those who are recovering from temporary disabilities or physical injuries. Trained aides can come to your doorstep and assist with transferring, walking, turning, positioning, and working on range of motion. They’ll also be able to help out with activities of daily living until your loved one has recovered.
Pediatric Support
Home health care isn’t just for the elderly. What about the newest members of the family? The best agencies can provide top-notch care for newborn babies by way of specially trained caregivers. They’ll assist with maternity services, family respite, transitional support, and feeding and bathing.
The Ability to Choose Your Carer
Impressively, there are now home health care agencies that enable you to select, hire, and dismiss your carer. That means you get a voice in who will be looking after your loved ones and don’t ever have to feel like you’re leaving them with a stranger.
The best agencies even offer to train someone you already know and trust. So, if you have someone you’d specifically like to care for your parents – maybe even a family member – they can train up and get paid for the love and care they already provide.
A Helping Hand on the Other End of the Phone
It doesn’t matter if there’s an emergency or you just need to double-check an appointment time: the best agencies will always answer when you call. That means if you ever need to change your care plan or explore other options for your loved one, you’ll be able to do so right away. And even if you’re still considering home health care as an option and want to know more, they’ll happy to talk and answer any questions you might have.
Training and Constant Education for Their Staff
Look for home health care agencies that offer their employees Continued Education, seminars, and other development programs. Even outside of registered nurses and certified health aides, care at every level should require training. A pool of staff who are constantly learning and improving is exactly where you should be looking for something to help your parents.
The Best Home Health Care Service Means Your Carer Becomes Part of the Family…
The person who steps into your home to look after and bond with your parents and loved ones is, for all intents and purposes, the newest member of your family. The best carers can slot right in by being affectionate, communicative, sensitive, and present. They bond with and respect your parents with a reverence usually reserved for family.
This is a service that only the best home health care agencies can provide because they have to understand the value of putting family first. In doing so, the care they offer means your parents’ time will be filled with joy and love.
… and Knows That Their Job Is a Privilege
Getting to know your parents – being let into their home, spending time with them, and getting to know them is an honor. The best home health care agencies are staffed with carers and aides who truly believe that, and they aren’t doing this work only for the paycheck. They’re doing it because it’s their life’s purpose, and your loved ones deserve nothing less.
Family Values Extend to the Business
The best health care agencies operate just like their carers: working as a family. They have a hands-on approach from the top down, and nurses and aides are constantly checking in with one another and even referring back to the CEO. In this way, accessibility and communication are constantly prioritized throughout the company.
By understanding what the best home health care services can offer – which is so much more than just the occasional visit or medical checkup – you can make an informed decision as to whether this care is the right step for your parents or loved ones. If so, look for an agency that offers an affectionate, respectful touch and is always willing to go the extra mile. If you’re ready to learn more, call Parent Care Home Care today.
