Tips to consider before choosing a home health care agency?

When it comes to receiving help for the elderly or a disabled family member, they prefer staying in their place of residence as they feel independent and comfortable. These days many families prefer in-home care services from home health agencies, so the seniors receive the best of care and independence.

Health and Care Professional Network provides tips and recommendations before picking an agency to receive help from.

Check the insurance policy of the agency

You might have difficulty paying the costs of in-home care services. So you would better check whether the agency accepts your insurance or what insurance they work with.

The person receiving help might require further services, so you should ask the insurance policy for other services as well.

The details and amendments can be confusing, so ask the insurance coverage in detail and know every aspect.

 

Check the recommendations and comments

When you want to purchase most of the things for your house or family, you consider comments and Amazon reviews. The same can be true with finding a home health agency.

You can ask your friends, colleagues or relatives to introduce an agency if they have had one before. The first-hand experience can be useful and more helpful than another form of researches.

If you did not find such experience with the circle of people you know, search the name of the agency and read comments by clients.

The home health agency might introduce you to one or two clients so you can receive advice and comments from them.

 

Evaluate your needs and then decide

Determining your needs and the type of service you require is an essential step. You would better define the type of service you require and then determine the agency provides it or not.

After making the necessary assessment about recommendations, you also need to assess the in-home healthcare needs. You have to know what you need from a home care agency and then check out what they offer.

The agency would better have enough staff to replace the caregiver if he/she gets sick or is unable to take care of the patient.

Also, you might require a skilled nurse rather than a caregiver, and pre-evaluation determines which one you need. All of the following people work in a home health agency. Which one does your relative or the senior need?

• Nurses
• Doctors
• Therapists
• Health assistants
• Companions
• Caregiver

 

The medical support or non-medical support must be determined such clear misunderstandings and facilitate the caring process.

 

Look at the offered services and pick wisely

There are various services with the home health agency. Each and every one of them has its own requirements, benefits and the people who need them are different. You would better read the details of each service and decide which one to pick.

The services often might hold ambiguity and confuse you. In this case, you can get help from the agency itself and ask them what is service your loved one needs.

 

Skilled nursing

• Wound care management
• Diabetes management
• Medication management program
• Pain management
• Pulmonary care
• Incontinence care

 

Physical therapy

• Manual therapy
• Balance training and rehab
• Therapeutic ultrasound
• Electrical stimulation
• Anodyne therapy

 

Speech therapy

• Rehabilitation of speech
• Langauge disorder treatment
• Dysphasia treatment
• Voice and articulation therapy

 

Mobile imaging services

• X-ray
• EKG
• Ultrasound
• Echocardiogram

 

Home assist services

• Assistance in daily activities
• Nutrition
• companion/socialization
• Min/Memory cognitive exercise

 

Other services

• Occupational therapy
• Light housekeeping services
• Medication reminding

 

Check qualifications of the staff

The agency needs to have the qualifications and certificates required for working as a skilled nurse or a caregiver.

The following are some of the certificates of a caregiver that you can check, but they are not complete and the agency might provide other ones:

• Caregiver Certification For Specific Needs And Conditions
• Caregiver Certification For Hospice, Palliative, And End-Of-Life Care.
• First Aid And Emergency Care.
• Home Health Aide (HHA) Training.
• Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Training
• Basic Caregiver Certification.

 

Are they available at your convenient time?

The time the agency is able to provide a caregiver is important. You would better check that whether they are able to provide a nurse or caregiver according to your timing.

Also, the timing can change by the patient’s condition. You might have to ask the caregiver to stay longer than the first agreed timing.

Aks in advance whether the caregivers are available 24/7 or what is the timing they provide.

 

Ask a few useful questions

There are a few questions that asking them from the home health agency or about them can provide useful information. They can help you make a better decision and pick the appropriate one for your needs.

• How long has the agency been working in the area?
• How do their experts evaluate the client’s health care needs?
• What is the recruit and training process of the staff?
• Is there a supervisor available to monitor the quality of the provided services and ensure the client is receiving the best of care?
• Are clients satisfied leaving the elderly or patients with the caregivers at home?
• Are they experienced in handling emergencies?
• Is there a plan for managing emergencies?

 

Check the quality Assurance are available

Before you deal with the final caring program, ensure the following:

• Is there a strict checking process to assess the quality of the provided service to the clients on a regular basis?
• Does the supervisor contact the client to do the necessary checking?
• Does the caregiver or nurse cooperate with the physician or other health care professionals?
• Is there a recording or tracking of the major changes, events, or occurrences and measuring the results for the client?
• Does the overall wellbeing of the patient gets checked on a regular basis?
• Are there any unscheduled and surprise inspections?
• How often are reviews and comments updated?

 

Let’s sum up…

The article provided a few tips you s\would better consider before choosing a home health care agency. You need to ensure the caring plan is working properly as the health and safety of your loved one are essential.

Now that you are looking for an in-home care service, Health and Care Professional Network are at your service. We have provided the best of in-home care services to Las Vegas residents for +15 years now.

You can ensure your loved ones are safe with our caregivers and nurses.

Give us a call at (702) 871-9917 to hire your in-home caregiver now. You can receive further information about our services as well.

Go through the menu of the website to find out more about our services and find the service your senior needs.