Home Healthcare

​Home healthcare is medical care provided in a homebound patient's home. It can include broad care given by medical professionals, including skilled nursing care, physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. Home healthcare can also include skilled non-medical care, such as medical social services or assistance with bathing from qualified home health aides.

* Please note that Home Healthcare is not the same as Private Duty

As the Medicare program describes, home healthcare is unique as a care setting not only because the care is provided in the home, but the care itself is "usually less expensive, more convenient, and just as effective" as care given in a hospital or skilled nursing facility.

• Nursing care may include post-hospitalization care, wound care, wound VAC, Unna boot care, catheter and ostomy care, medication management and patient education.

• Physical, occupational, and/or speech therapy. Some patients may need help relearning how to perform daily duties or improve their speech after an illness or injury. A physical therapist can put together a plan of care to help a patient regain or strengthen use of muscles and joints. An occupational therapist can help a patient with physical, developmental, social, or emotional disabilities relearn how to perform such daily functions as eating, bathing, dressing, and more. A speech therapist can help a patient with impaired speech regain the ability to communicate clearly.

• Medical social services. Medical social workers provide various services to the patient, including counseling and locating community resources to help the patient in his or her recovery. Some social workers are also the patient's case manager--if the patient's medical condition is very complex and requires coordination of many services.
  

The Medicare home health benefit covers skilled nursing care and therapy services provided to patients in the home setting. The patient must be under the care of a physician, meet the definition of “homebound,” and be in need of skilled services on an intermittent basis. Patients receive home health care following an acute care hospital discharge or because they require certain rehabilitation services.

Our providers work hard to reduce avoidable hospital readmissions.  We are committed to promoting quality improvement in our patients' health, and actively partner with physicians and hospitals to achieve this goal.