It’s confusing and sometimes difficult to know which care is needed, home care or home health care. Do you know the differences?
A good way to quickly assess which care will serve your relative, follow these simple suggestions.
The first thing to remember about receiving help, you don’t need to be frail, unable to care for oneself, nor does one require to have an illness. Even if a person can take care of self properly, have a quick mind, and agile body, there may come a time they choose a little help around the house. That’s when a person will select home care.
But if the individual develops an illness or a chronic condition and becomes frail and weak, they may need help managing medications, measuring vitals or receiving injections, that’s when home health care is called for assistance.
How to Find Care
If seeking home care, you have a couple of options: hire an agency or hire a private in-home caregiver.
Home Care
A good checklist to use when evaluating for home care, ask if the care recipient needs help with one or more of these activities.
- Needs help with eating and feeding, taking a bath, going to the bathroom, getting dressed, walking around, and transferring from chair to bed or elsewhere?
- Needs help with cleaning the house, washing clothes, going to the market, running errands, cooking meals and reminders for medication?
- Needs help with incontinent care?
- Needs help to maintain a social life and companionship for social outings?
- Needs help with transportation and making appointments?
- Does the family member need a break from giving care?
Home Health Care
- Needs help managing pain?
- Needs help learning medication adherence and management?
- Needs skilled assessments and training?
- Needs disease management and education?
- Needs help with injections and IV infusions?
- Needs catheter care and tracheotomy care?
- Needs help with a ventilator?
- Needs help with managing diabetes?
- Needs post-op rehab?
- Needs occupational and speech therapies?
- Needs help with discharge planning?
- Needs help with wound care?
- Needs assistance enabling durable medical equipment?
Home health is administered by a medically trained staff.
Paying for care includes:
- Out-of-pocket
- Long-term care insurance
- Medical health insurance
- Medicaid and Medicare
- Cash and Counseling Programs
- Veterans Administration
Carol Marak is a contributor for the senior living and health care market. Find her work at AssistedLivingFacilities.org. Contact Carol on LinkedIn and Carol@SeniorCareQuest.com.
