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Selecting The Right Home Health Agency |
By:
Craig Mecham |
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Are you part of the "sandwich generation"? You are if you are responsible not only for caring for your own young children, but also caring for your parents. As the population of our nation ages, many people are finding themselves in exactly this predicament. They are quite literally "sandwiched" between generations with responsibilities on both sides. Those are in this "sandwich" will very likely be making some major health care choices for their parents more quickly than they may have anticipated.
If you're in this potentially tense and uncomfortable spot, first, you'll want to be certain to consider a qualified home health agency for your loved one rather than a nursing home or care center. It's well known that, with regular professional care, patients will typically do better in their own homes whenever it's possible to treat them in that environment.
Many home health agencies offer a wide spectrum of care from assistance with tasks of daily living such as bathing, meal preparation and light cleaning, to 24-hour nursing and hospice services. But, by contrast some are very narrow in their scope of care. You'll want to be certain that the home health agency you select has the capability to perform additional services, as they are needed.
As your parent or loved one ages, it may become more difficult for them to perform their daily routine. If you have chosen well, you'll be comforted knowing that your home health provider can continue to provide care. You will spare your family member the stress of moving to a care facility or getting used to new care providers.
Family Home Care & Hospice (FHC) headquartered in Spokane, WA is an excellent example of the type of home health agency that can provide the breadth of services needed to accommodate the patient's increasing needs.
"We have specifically planned our service offerings so that we can continue to serve patients in their homes for as long as medically practical," explained Michael Nowling, President of FHC. "All our experience points to better outcomes for both the patient and the family if they can be effectively cared for within their own homes."
Indeed, FHC has been recognized by Medicare as among the top 1 percent of home health agencies in Washington State and among the top 3 percent of home health agencies in the nation. This recognition is based on extensive monitoring of patient outcomes and lends credibility to their stated goal of keeping patients in their own homes as long as possible. Medicare maintains a database of information about home health agencies and their patient outcomes. It's a good idea to visit their website and look at the data when considering a home health agency. You can log on at http://www.medicare.gov/HHCompare/home.asp.
Most patients will do very nicely utilizing the standard list of services offered by a qualified home health agency, but sometimes specialized services may be required. It is a good idea when evaluating your home health agency selection, to ask what specialized services are available. The chances of your loved one needing these services may be small, but if such a need ever arises you'll find comfort in knowing that your chosen agency can deliver those services. Specialized treatments or services may include primary care medical services, enteral therapy or wound care specialists.
A constant battle in any home health agency is recruiting and maintaining qualified personnel. It is critical for you to explore the home health agency's policies for background checks and on-going employee education and training.
"We often remark that it's really hard to get a job here," noted Nowling, "but we think that's the way it should be. FHC is a wonderful organization particularly because of how selective we are in the people we hire. Our hiring practices result in a staff of people who are committed to excellence and high standards of professional conduct. They work hard for our patients and they tend to stay with us for a long time. This is great news for our patients and their families because this results in consistently better outcomes. It's one of the reasons we are rated so highly by Medicare."
With regard to the skill levels and training of home health staff, it is a good idea to find a home health agency that places an emphasis on keeping their people trained in the latest therapies and techniques.
"Advances in technology have brought highly specialized medical equipment into the home," Nowling continued. "It is the responsibility of a good home health agency to see that employees are continually kept abreast of the latest developments in care."
No home health decision process would be complete without considering insurance coverage. Medicaid and Medicare are accepted by most home health agencies as is private insurance including long term care. This is a high priority question and should be addressed early on in your search. Insurance coverages will vary not only with home health agencies but with insurance companies. Trying to interpret the legal documents associated with your policy may not be as fruitful for you as a simple call to a customer service representative at your insurance company.
Just in case you haven't been making notes, here's a checklist:
Find a qualified home health agency or two for your list
Make sure you understand their list of typical services
Ask what specialized services are available
Evaluate your selections by visiting: http://www.medicare.gov/HHCompare/home.asp
Find out the details of their employee screening and hiring practices
Ask what kind of staff training and education programs they have
Find out if insurance will cover home health, and if your agency will accept your insurance
If you're one of the "sandwich" generation, then you owe it to your parents or loved ones to thoroughly investigate all your health care options. Make sure that home health agencies are on your list. Chances are your parent or loved one will be grateful you did.
Serving the Inland Northwest for more than 40 years, Family Home Care & Hospice is synonymous with Spokane home care. FHC's history of positive outcomes gained recognition by Medicare as being among the top one percent of agencies in Washington. Click here to get your own unique version of this article.
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Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article55915.html |
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