Homecare 101

As we age, physical tasks become harder and our senses begin to fail. Activities such as cooking, cleaning, and personal care become daunting tasks that seem insurmountable and the possibility of having to leave home for a facility becomes a reality. Never forget that you have a choice! There are services available to help keep you or your loved ones at home as long as safely possible. Our caregivers and nurses are able to assist with a variety of household and personal care tasks from the most basic household duties to providing skilled wound care and medication management.

Preventing Re-hospitalization

Home Health has always focused on Coordination of Care or communication between disciplines, therapy, aide and nursing to provide the best possible care. In fact it is mandated by the State and we are actually surveyed by Public Health to ensure we are doing this.

Now, Medicare has gotten on board. They are actually penalizing hospitals financially if a patient has a “rehospitalization” for the same diagnosis within a certain time period. Some time this is not preventable, but many times it is, especially by an order for Home Health to follow a patient home when being discharged from a Nursing Home or Hospital.

That is why building strong relationships with great communication has always been a number one priority for Spoon River Home Health. The transition from facility to home is started by either an actual visit that we do to the facility (you two know about this!) or detailed phone
communications.

Why should home health be ordered to reduce rehospitalization?

1. Medication Reconciliation

Most re-hospitalization re occur with in 72 hours of discharge. One of the main reason is because medications are not taken correctly, new medications are not filled, previous medications are not stopped correctly, duplicate medication therapy (a patient may get a new prescription for Coumadin, he was already on Warfarin he takes both, this is a very dangerous blood thinner, he is now taking both). A Home Health referral means a Registered Nurse will review these meds with the patient and the family, ensuring the correct meds are taken and in the home. Often, going to get meds if necessary. SRHHS also supplies a large organized pill box to ensure the medications are set up correctly, then does follow up visit to teach or ensure the patient/family is capable of setting the box up correctly. If not, Spoon River Home Health will find a pharmacy or offers private pay services to set medications up weekly.

2. Therapy

After a client has been in the hospital, even if just for a few days, the client often finds him self in a weakened or deconditioned state. With a home health therapy evaluation, the therapist not only observes the home to ensure it is safe, they actually have the client perform their routine activities of daily living. If the person is safe, no further visits are needed. Often, therapy finds that someone many need some adaptive equipment that can make his life easier and safer such as a toilet riser, grab bars, etc. The therapist will also recommend special walkers or canes, and then work with the client to gain strength. A weak client coming home alone, into a house that is not specially adapted can lead to a fall which can send a patient immediately back to the hospital.

3. Nursing

After a bout with a sudden illness, pneumonia, Congestive Heart Failure, having a nurse come to the home and assess vital signs can quickly detect a problem that can be reported to the physician, perhaps a medication increase or decrease, that can prevent the exacerbation of illness, which if not caught quickly can send a patient back to the hospital.

Medical Treatment

Sometimes medical conditions require more help than loved ones know how to provide and you may think that hospital or nursing home care is the only option. It’s important for you to know it’s not the only option! Many services that are provided in a facility can be provided in the comfort of your own home by a nurse or therapist that consults with your physician.

Nursing Services

Wound Care
Medication Management
Education
Skilled Nursing Assessments
IV Therapy

Therapy Services

Physical Therapy
Occupational Therapy
Speech Therapy

Daily Activities

You may hear the term daily activities, ADL’s or Activities of Daily living, but what does that entail? It is a very broad category that includes household and personal care tasks that are done on a regular basis. It could include things like cooking, cleaning, bathing, dressing, or grooming.

Do you or your loved one need help completing daily activities? There is not one simple answer to that question. Through either the normal aging process or being weak from a sudden illness, we sometimes lose our abilities to perform these daily tasks. Sometimes it may be slowly over time, other times it can be a sudden change that makes it impossible to do these activities. Spoon River Home Health can set up an in home assessment to help you determine what needs you or a loved one may have. We also can make recommendations for special equipment that can assist you with these activities. Sometimes you need more assistance and a call to your doctor can result in a visit from a specially trained Physical and or Occupational Therapist to assist even more in these areas.

When you visit your loved one be observant and look for the following:

Do they have trouble bending, rising from a sitting position, or frequent falls?
- Look for bumps, bruises or skin tears.
- Watch them while they do activities to see if they have trouble.
Is there an odor in the home that is new or unusual?
Are there buttons missing, rips or holes on clothes?
Is your loved one wearing the same clothes?
Are things they were meticulous about before not being done?
- Bed unmade
- Dishes not done
- Laundry piled up
Piles of mail left unopened
- Are bills being paid?
Open the Refrigerator
- Is there adequate amounts of food in the refrigerator?
- Is the food fresh?
- Check the expiration dates, are items expired?
Medications
- Check the prescription dates on the bottle, make sure the dates are current, especially if a pill is prescribed for daily, then the date should be within the month, not several months old. This is a sign medications are not being taken correctly.

Emergency Response Systems

Are you worried that your loved one may fall overnight or while you are gone? We offer a variety of emergency response products.

Not sure what you need? Click here to choose your best option!

Curious about the cost of reassurance? Click here to find out what it costs!

There is a very minimal wait period since our nurses and home service workers do the set up!
Call Jessica today to arrange your installation: (309) 245-0723

Companionship 24/7

Many times the focus of care for elderly is on physical needs because that is the most obvious. You can see when a person cannot walk or needs help with personal care. What is often disregarded is the emotional and social support. Losing your independence is a very traumatic experience and can have a profound effect on the quality of life a person leads. It could be something as simple as doing a crossword puzzle, playing checkers, or having a conversation about current events. The type of activity does not matter as long as it engages the mind. The best way to provide the emotional and social support is to have a companion. This could be a friend, family member or caregiver that can go and spend time with the person. If you need help finding the right caregiver contact our Client Services Department. They can help you find the right person and determine what type of help you may need or qualify for.

What Our Patients Say

The staff of Spoon River Home Health always goes above and beyond during each of their visits in my home. They have quickly become not only caregivers, but a part of our family.

J. Smith August 3, 2015

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