For Immediate Release
What to Expect From Home Health Care Services
August 30, 2018
There are numerous benefits to home health care but none so advantageous as providing the necessary care and support to your loved one. There's nothing quite like receiving the treatment and care that they need while remaining in the comforts of their own home. Whether they're disabled, sick, injured, or elderly, home health aides can be wonderfully helpful in providing comfortable treatment.
If you're considering utilizing the services of home health aides but aren't sure what it entails, here is a brief overview of what to expect.
What is home health care?
Essentially, it is an assortment of health care services provided to the client in the comforts of their own home. Generally, these services are less expensive, significantly more convenient for the patient and family, and are as equally effective as the services one might expect in a hospital.
What should I expect?
Typically, the average visit lasts no more than an hour and your aide will perform activities such as:
- Checking your vitals such as heart rate and blood pressure.
- Explaining any new medication including side effects, doses, and frequency of doses.
- Helping you with important aspects such as caring for a wound.
- Creating an exercise regimen to help you regain strength and mobility.
- Giving you valuable knowledge about your ailment and how to mitigate any of its symptoms.
These are the activities usually performed during a routine visit and your first visit may be filled with different things, such as doctor notes and diagnosis, a plan for recovery, and more.
What skills might a home health aide possess?
It makes sense that you would want to know what type of skills your health aide might possess when caring for your loved one. Generally, you can expect your home health aide to be capable of:
- Wound care
- Caregiver/patient education
- Nutrition therapy
- Giving injections
- Monitoring an injury or illness
- Providing general medical treatment and both physical and emotional support
These services can make a world of difference to your loved one.
Moreover, home health care services can be combined with other services such as elderly care or personal care to ensure that your loved one is getting a full range of treatment and support. This might be especially important for elderly patients seeing as how an older adult is treated for a fall in an emergency room every 11 seconds.
If you or a loved one is suffering from an injury or illness and prefers to be treated at home, call your local caregiving organization.
