What is Homecare?

INSTRUCTIONS: Take notes with a pen and paper to help you retain information. There will be tests on important information. Feel free to pause throughout as needed, get a coffee, take a stroll. This module should take no more than 30 minutes. Please reach out to your supervisor for questions or concerns.

Home Healthcare encompasses a wide range of health care services that can be given in the home of a senior for a mental or physical limitation/disability. Home health care is usually less expensive, more convenient, and just as effective as care you get in a hospital or skilled nursing facility. Care in the home is one of many options for seniors who need that help. Most seniors prefer to get care in their own home instead of having to move into a care facility.

Home health aides can help the patient with their basic personal needs such as getting out of bed, walking, bathing, and dressing. Some aides have received specialized training to assist with more advanced care under the supervision of a nurse.

What is home care?

Home care, or home health care, is supportive care that is provided in the home. Home care allows a person to remain in the comfort of their home while they are receiving services to recover from illness, injury, or disability. Home health care is a wide range of unskilled health care support services that can be provided to a patient in their home. Home health care is usually less expensive, more convenient, and just as effective as the unskilled care a patient would get in a hospital or skilled nursing facility.

In general, the goal of home health care is to help an individual, usually seniors, rehabilitative patients, or  people with mental or physical disabilities, live a full life. We assist them through recovery and enable them to live a high-quality life in the comfort and security of their home. Home health care helps the patient heal, become as self-sufficient as possible, and maintain or improve their current condition or level of function through:

- Skilled Nursing Visits

- Home Health Aides

- Physical Therapy

- Occupational Therapy

- Speech Therapy

- Hospice Care

- Nutritional Counseling

- Hospital & Nursing Home Companions

- Senior Home Care

The majority of our clients only receive time with an unskilled Home Health Aide. The Aide typically helps them with: Meals, exercise, getting dressed, bathing, bathroom needs, hygiene, travel, and company.

People who receive home care have a variety of needs depending on their physical condition and specific disease or injury. Patients may need reminders or help to take their medications. Patients often need assistance with ambulation (walking) and transferring (moving) from a bed to a chair or wheelchair, or getting in and out of the shower.

Many patients have adaptive equipment such as walkers, wheelchairs, canes, and prosthetic devices that assist them in moving about their home. Often, patients require help with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as toileting, bathing, dressing, and eating. Some patients need help with managing their budget, and with purchasing and cooking food. Patients may need assistance with changing simple dressings on wounds, making and changing their bed linens, doing laundry, and maintaining a safe and clean home.

Differences Between Home Care and Home Health Care
Some of the key differences between home health vs. home care are:

Type of Care

Home health care provides “clinical” or “skilled” care by licensed nurses and therapists. Home care provides “non-clinical” or “non-skilled” care by professional caregivers.

Services

Home health care services are more medical in nature. The focus of care is skilled nursing and therapy.
Home care helps with everyday tasks like bathing, dressing, grooming, cooking, cleaning and transportation. It does not include medical care like nursing or therapy. Home health aides are available to help with things like bathing, grooming and dressing until you are safely able to do them again or have a caregiver who can safely assist you.

Eligibility

Home health care requires a doctor’s order. Patients have to meet certain eligibility criteria. For example, they must have limited ability to leave their home and require assistance to do so.
Home care can require a doctor's order as well. However, some types of home care do not have eligibility requirements.

Length of Care

Home health care continues as long as your doctor certifies, and you continue to meet eligibility requirements.
Home care continues as long as you want, based on your budget and needs.

Payment

Home health care is covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance plans for eligible patients.
Home care is typically paid directly by the patient or long-term care insurance. Medicaid may also cover home care.

 

Frequency

Home health care visits are typically a few hours per week, depending on the patient’s needs and doctor’s orders.
Home care can help patients 24/7, depending on the patient’s budget and needs.

Location

Patients can receive home health care in their place of residence, including assisted living facilities and group homes.
Home care is typically provided at home.

 

Honor Health Network primarily provides home care services.

 

When you’re comparing home health care vs. home care, you should know that you can receive both at the same time. Home health provides clinical care to help the patient recover, and home care helps with day-to-day caregiving and tasks. Some agencies provide both home health care and home care.

Although there are many differences between home care and home health care, both types of care can help older adults stay safe and independent in their homes. 

The Honor Health Network team is made up of a small handful of home care experts who assist each agency with overcoming their unique challenges. Examples can include providing assistance with recruiting, providing each agency with better technology, assistance with payroll, legal counsel, and compliance.

What does each department typically do?

Although each company is run in its own way, generally certain departments take care of similar tasks.

Human Resources - HR is responsible for ensuring that all caregivers remain compliant with all Department of Labor and Department of Health requirements. This includes I-9 compliance, medical compliance, and in-service compliance. HR also provides a range of services for all caregivers.

Recruiting - Responsible to find, recruit and onboard new Home Health Aides. Conduct training days and orientations. Perform front Desk Receptionist duties and all office management needs.  

Intake - Onboards all new patients. This involves, checking insurances, facilitating Medicaid, securing the correct documents needed for each type of insurance,  referring to an MLTC, hiring PA’s for CDPAS patients, and informing the coordination team that they have a new patient.

Accounting - This department records accounts payable and receivable, inventory, payroll, fixed assets and all other financial elements. The most common responsibilities of the accounting department are: billing, budgeting, financial statements, internal reporting, payables, payroll, and taxes.

Coordination / Staffing - This department work to match up the right caregiver/HHA to every patients specific needs. Coordinators ensure that there are backup HHA's and that each client has all their needs met and all their shifts filled with qualified HHA's.

Nursing / Field Services - This department onboards all new patients and conducts regular home visits to ensure the plan of care is up to date and that if all changes to the clients needs are clearly communicated to their assigned caregivers/HHAs. Nurses also conduct spot/surprise visits to patients homes to ensure the quality of the care.

Marketing - The marketing department is generally responsible for identifying, attracting and retaining customers. They manage internal, external and online marketing campaigns and efforts. From Social media posts to open house events and job fairs and visiting senior care facilities.

A home health aide may have a range of duties to be completed daily, while other tasks may only need to be performed occasionally. All of these tasks will be listed in the patient's Plan of Care.

Here are some examples of daily tasks a home health aide may provide for their patient:

• Ensure quality and safe home care services as per assignment.
• Bathing, dressing, grooming, oral hygiene (includes denture cleaning), shaving, foot care and skin care (tub, shower or sponge).
• Meal preparation: prepare meals as per diet order; assist with meals preparation; offer fluids juice and/or water; feed patient, if indicated.
• Positioning: for patients confined to bed, change position every 2 hours; monitor skin for signs of breakdown and report to nurse; report redness or blisters.
• Transfer/ambulation: assist patient with ambulation and/or transfer as per assignment.
• Provides neat and orderly environment to patient. Provides household activities as assigned

Prohibited Functions

A common misconception about home health aides is that they are able to perform the same tasks as a CNA or skilled nurse. While one of a home health aide's main roles is to watch over the health and safety of their clients, they are not a medical professional.

Here are a few examples of duties that an aide cannot perform:

• Sterile dressings
• Enemas
• Colostomy irrigation/Vaginal irrigation
• Injections
• Tube Feedings
• Judgments / advice re: medical / nursing problems
• Personal care not included by nurse in care plan
• Administration of medication to include eye drops and any creams with prescription on it.
  
  

Who receives home health services?

Home health services help people of all ages who are recovering from an illness, operation, or injury to remain in their home and avoid an unnecessary hospitalization or skilled nursing facility placement. Home health care provides support for people with physical or mental disabilities so that they may remain at home out of an institution or long-term care placement. Home health services are provided to people who are living with chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, HIV/AIDS, congestive heart failure, and asthma. Assisting patients who have chronic diseases to manage their conditions within the home allows them independence within the comfort of their own home.

An increasing number of people are receiving home care services. One of the reasons for this is that the cost of medical care in hospitals is rising, and patients are being discharged from hospitals sooner than they have had a chance to fully recover. These patients often have complex needs and require support as they recuperate. Medically-necessary skilled home care services are often covered in full or in part by reimbursement through private or government-sponsored programs like Medicaid and Medicare. Continuing to receive skilled medical support within the home is a less expensive alternative than care received within a hospital.