Home Care
What is home care?
Is home care considered a type of long-term care?
Home care can certainly be considered a type of long-term care for those that have chronic illnesses or condition or frilling, because of age or have cognitive decline. Home care does become a long-term care proposition. The average person will actually have about three and a half years of long-term care.
Why would I choose home care over a nursing facility?
I think the number one and most important, that when questioned nationally, eight to nine out of ten people wanted to remain in the comfort of their own home. I think particularly what happens is, people move at times of crisis and when we have change, most people like to keep as much as possible as it is. Certainly placement can be an option, but generally people want to stay in the comfort of their home with what they're familiar with.
Who is a good candidate for home care?
A good candidate for home care is somebody who has long-term physical, cognitive, or emotional care needs, and does not require skilled care on an ongoing basis.
Who provides home care?
Home care can be provided either by family members, by independent contractors or by individuals that are working for an agency, or those who are trained and actually licensed to do home care work.
What is a home health agency?
A home health agency varies a great deal from state to state. In California and many other states they are non regulated. You can purchase a business license, put up a shingle and become a home care agency. In other states such as Texas, New York and Illinois they are licensed and they have to meet certain criteria in order to do that.
What are homemaker and home care aide HCA agencies?
Homemaker and home care aide agencies are regulated by what they can and cannot do. They can't do the personal care needs, associated again with certain states, that are regulated. They're much more specific in what they can do, and they can really do supervision and oversight, and some of the home care chores that are needed to be done in the home.
What kind of home care do independent providers offer?
Independent providers can offer a gamut of care, and it really varies greatly between their skill set, and their individual personalities, and their individual abilities. So they can do anything, from taking care of the personal care needs, to doing housekeeping. And for some, they are there as an option for states like California, where in-home workers are not allowed to give injections and do anything that touches the skin. So families, if they can't do it themselves, have no choice but to go to an independent contractor or pay prohibitive prices to get a skilled person to come in to do those tasks.
Are all home health care providers licensed and certified to practice?
When people provide care in the home, most of these health care providers are not licensed. It is not mandatory for them to be licensed, depending on the agency and how rigorous they are, and who they hire. Many will hire only licensed home health aids or certified nursing assistants, and others will hire anybody that walks through the door.
How can I find home care services?
What are the advantages of home care?
The most important advantage is probably that most people are more comfortable in their own home. It may or may not be cost effective depending on the individual situation. And you also get the one on one attention you may not get in a facility where the ratio for individuals to the care providers could be as much as 10 or 15 to one. FACT: Almost 87% of Americans 60+ have no desire to change housing.
What are the disadvantages of home care?
The disadvantages of home care, again, it's a largely unregulated industry, so vulnerable older adults that are living alone can be vulnerable to elder abuse, to physical abuse, to financial abuse, or more importantly, probably neglect.
Why is home care such an important issue in the media right now?
Home care is extremely important in the media now because we're realizing, first of all, that there are going to be so many older adults as the baby boomers are hitting sixty and starting to get the physical impairments associated with aging. We recognize the shear number of people that are going to need home care. On the other side, there is a great shortage of home care providers because of the low fees for people that are providing home care. They can get a job at McDonalds or a hotel and make just as much money and not have some of the stresses. It's extremely difficult to be a home care provider, because most older adults are not thrilled to have somebody taking care of them. They'd rather be independent. Most families resent having to pay for somebody, or couples resent the intrusion in their homes. They have to go in and not only do a very hard job, but are often resented for being there and not treated with the dignity and respect that they should be.
Why should I be concerned about home care?
You, as an individual, should be concerned about home care because inevitably it's not going to be 'if' I need it, but 'when' I need it. If you want to stay home, you have to make plans to get good home care when you're home. Good, reliable, consistent home care. It's not inexpensive, so it's a financial issue as well as a personal issue of giving up some of the independence that most older adults really value.
