Busted! Don’t Believe These Home Health Care Myths!
Taking care of an elderly parent or relative can put a real strain on families to ensure their loved ones receive adequate day-to-day assistance. Therefore, to ensure that your elders can grow old gracefully in comfort and peace, it’s worth your time and money to explore home health care.
Many misconceptions lead people to believe that home health care is not a good idea, which couldn’t be further from the truth. To help you steer clear of these misconceptions, Transitions Healthcare has debunked some of the most widely believed myths about home healthcare.
Myth 1: Home health care is low-quality compared to the care provided in hospitals or facilities.
Trusted organizations like the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have stated that home health care is “just as effective as care you get in a hospital or skilled nursing facility.” Home health companies employ licensed, skilled professionals. These individuals can provide similar types of care as a hospital but in a less rushed and more comfortable setting. Nurses, therapists, and CNAs who work in home health care are often more competent and confident when it comes to helping individuals with more complex medical needs.
In addition to having medical knowledge and experience, an advantage of home health care is that the team would come to your house. They can evaluate other needs you may have, such as an organized system to manage medications or ways to make you more comfortable and avoid further injury. Therapists can perform home safety evaluations to decrease your risk of falls and teach patients the safest and most efficient ways to move within their homes.
Myth 2: Home health therapy is not as effective or intensive as therapy in a clinic or facility.
Many people believe that you can’t get stronger or rehabilitated adequately after an injury or illness without much equipment. Home health PTs, OTs, and SLPs are experts at adapting their treatment plans to meet patients’ individual needs. Home health therapy is often geared towards improving function, which correlates directly with improved QOL and independence.
Therapists can prescribe exercises within the home to adequately challenge their patients using equipment that’s easily transported or that many people already have in their homes (e.g., therapy balls, yoga mats, therabands, foam rollers, and ankle weights). Home therapy can also promote independence and compliance with home exercise programs as patients have had the opportunity to practice the program in their home setting with feedback from a professional.
Suppose a patient is no longer homebound or reaches a point in their rehabilitation where a clinic setting would be more appropriate to continue the process. In that case, our therapists will discuss this with the patient and physician and facilitate a smooth transition to outpatient therapy.
Myth 3: Home health care is only for people who were recently discharged from the hospital or a rehab facility.
If you qualify for home health care (considered homebound by Medicare’s definition), you can be referred directly by your doctor without being in a hospital or rehab facility. It’s often the case for eligible individuals managing multiple chronic health conditions and those recently diagnosed with a severe illness or struggling to manage daily tasks. It’s also for individuals with mobility limitations, significant pain, or cognitive impairments who are unable to reasonably attend regularly scheduled therapy appointments at a facility or clinic.
If you’re looking to steer clear of more myths like these, reach out to Transitions Healthcare. As the best home healthcare company in Longmont, Colorado, we specialize in chronic care, in-home healthcare, outpatient therapy, and certified nursing care. We serve clients across Longmont, Niwot, Firestone, Frederick, Dacono, Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, Erie, Broomfield, Superior, Westminster, Thornton, Northglenn, Lyons, Loveland, and the surrounding areas.
For a complete list of our services, please click here. If you have any questions about home healthcare, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch with us here.