Many patients who return home from the hospital following a fall or surgery, such as hip replacement, see home health care as an attractive option that enables them to recover within their own surroundings. With visits from their home health care Nurse, therapist, and aide, proper recovery routines can be maintained. Patients with long term and chronic conditions can benefit from home health care as well.
In 2010, News Medical reported on a study that found health care professionals agreed that expanding home-based health care could empower patients to self-manage their conditions as they work with their health care team. Medical professionals agreed this would “help improve their health and overall well-being.”
What sets home health care apart from other choices is combining the comfort of home and benefits of maintaining a sense of independence with managed health care. A significant majority of seniors, for example, report that they would prefer to remain in their homes as they age.
Home health care patients can manage care while at the same time enjoy living with their families, maintaining connections to their community and the comfort of home. Another benefit, as the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) wrote, is that the home health care patient often has the opportunity to play a greater role in determining their own health care plan.
Not only can playing a significant role in one’s own health care plan be empowering and positive for patients, but the inclusion of a health care aide in the home can help prevent or manage problems that may arise. Observing the home environment, a home health care aide can help address safety issues. These may range from obstacles to safe walker use in the home (including uneven floor boards or cords on the floor). Home health care aides can also detect if there are significant changes in the patient’s environment, such as checking to see if the refrigerator is no longer stocked.
Regular monitoring of a patient’s overall condition can help identify medical issues as well. For example, if a patient’s blood pressure changes, the home health care aide will be able to detect this and notify the patient’s health care team.
A home health care aide can also improve emotional well-being, as some patients may spend much of their time at home alone during the day while their families work and attend school. For patients who live alone, home health care can provide an important social connection as well as an outlet to social activities – with transport to adult dare care or simply having company and professional assistance for a walk in the neighborhood.
Could home health care be the right choice for you or a family member? Click here to take our quick assessment and find out! To speak to us now about the Premier Home Health Care difference, please call 1-866-648-5119.
