When a person is recovering from an injury, surgery, or illness or stroke, there is often a period when they are ready to leave the hospital, but not ready to leave medical care. This gap is filled with skilled nursing.
In many cases, skilled care can be provided in the person’s own home and can actually be a better option. Utilizing a home health care provider enables an older person coming out of the hospital to receive highly effective medical treatment while being as independent as possible in the comfort of their own home.
Skilled nursing is medical care provided by a Registered Nurse (RN) or a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). A person who has been hospitalized transitions to nursing care when they no longer need to see a doctor every day or use sophisticated medical equipment, but do need more specialized care than an aide can provide. An RN or LPN can respond to rapidly changing health conditions and can perform complex wound dressings, rehabilitation services, tube feedings, and other highly skilled procedures.
The CarePlus Home Health, Inc. skilled nursing team includes a Registered Nurse, a Licensed Practical Nurse, a Certified Nursing Assistant, and a Geriatric Nursing Assistant plus specialists in particular diseases: COPD, pneumonia, and other respiratory conditions, cardiac conditions, diabetes, Alzheimer’s Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson’s Disease.
In-home nursing can be especially good for an older person who has ongoing difficulties with memory or mobility or for someone who is already receiving Assisted Daily Living at home. It allows the nurse to coordinate more closely with the home care service provider, who is on the spot and not attending to a group of other patients. The nurse and the caregiver can update each other more efficiently on the person’s health status and keep instructions current for diet, medication, and exercise more easily. And in-home skilled care can provide the person with the sense of security that comes from familiar surroundings.
A wide range of services can be provided in the person’s home, including wound care, catheter care, ostomy care, ventilator care, injections, medication management, and tube feedings. Specialists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists can also visit the home.
When prescribed by a doctor, these services may be covered on a short-term basis by Medicare, some private health insurance policies, veterans’ benefits, and long-term care insurance policies, whether they are provided in a facility or at home.
Check with Medicare to find out about your loved one’s particular situation. In some cases, Medicare can cover physical or occupational therapy, speech-language pathology services, social services, medications, and medical equipment and supplies used. It may even cover ambulance transportation to a medical center that provides these services in the event they can’t be provided at home.
If your older loved one is facing a hospitalization, ask their doctor if skilled care at home will work for them. Use these criteria for in-home health care to choose a provider. And feel free to contact CarePlus, Inc. for more information by calling 301-740-8870 or by using our contact form.
