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Are Home Care Services Right For You?

As the world around us is changing on how we receive healthcare due to the pandemic, there are many questions as to how someone might receive necessary services without leaving their home.  The answer may be our Southern Illinois Home Care services.  Home care services allow you or your loved one to stay in the comfort of your own home while receiving medical attention and rehabilitative services.

Home care provides quality, compassionate care to more than 5 million Americans annually and is the preferred method of health care delivery among the disabled, elderly, chronically ill, and patients with acute illness needs.  Home care serves the needs of individuals with short term health care needs and provides education to prevent repeated hospital admissions, worsening of conditions, and returning patients to full functioning in a holistic manner.

Home care services can improve your health and help you adapt to a new normal. There are four things you may not know about home care so you can determine if it’s a good fit for you or a loved one.

1. Home Health Services Can Benefit Many People

There’s a misconception that home care services are only for people who are bed bound. But the reality is that home health is designed for a multitude of people in many different situations, such as those who are:

• Homebound, defined as:
• Unable to leave their home without the help of assistive devices such as crutches, a walker, or a wheelchair.
• Able to leave home for only a short period, but requires an enormous effort.
• Under physician’s advice to stay home because leaving home could cause their health to worsen.
• Experiencing difficulties in how they’re able to complete daily activities.
• Suffering from memory loss due to dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or age-related cognitive changes.
• Adjusting to a new diagnosis or a new medication.
• Post-surgical care recovery such as joint replacements.

The individuals described above often require specialized care, such as nursing, physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. Home care covers these services, as well as being able to evaluate the individual in the comfort of their own home.

2. Home Health Is Designed To Keep You In the Comfort Of Your Own Home.

Home care is not a lifelong service; the goal is to help you feel comfortable and confident in caring for yourself. Home health care professionals are able to customize a home health plan that is specific to you based upon your needs. You are educated on ways to improve your health and wellness from the comfort of your own home.

If you’re recovering from an illness, injury, or surgery, skilled nurses will work with you in the comfort of your own home to help you feel better and get back to your daily activities. You will receive all the care that is required, from wound care to orthopedic rehabilitation, without having to leave your home.

Once your physician determines that you no longer need home care services, social workers are still available to help. They assist you, and your loved ones, for the next step in your recovery program and will help you find ongoing community resources.

3. Home Health Provides Care for the Whole Person

Home health will help people, and their loved ones, adjust to new health needs in a holistic way. Also, home health professionals will help individuals manage their living environment and their chronic conditions.

Home health professionals are the direct line of care from physician to patient. They make sure a person’s living environment is safe and can recommend when someone would benefit from additional services, such as physical, speech, or occupational therapy.

The end goal of home care is to help individuals take care of themselves:

• Maintain your health and well-being: Learn how to recognize signs and symptoms so you can prevent a condition from getting worse and avoid unwanted trips to the hospital.
• Take medications appropriately: If your medications cause side effects, you’ll learn safe, practical ways to manage them. Home health care professionals also check that you’re not taking two medications that do the same thing. They work with your physician to make sure the medication schedule is correct.
• Approach health holistically: In addition to medical advice and clinical support, you may benefit from learning stress reduction strategies as well as from nutritional counseling, where you learn how to eat a nourishing diet.

4. You Can Ask Your Physician About Home Care Services

Many people struggle with changing health needs because they don’t know that they have additional options available to them. Talk to your physician about whether home care is right for you. If it is, your physician can order home health care services for you.

If you’ve discussed home health with your physician, and you’re still not sure whether you or your loved one is eligible for services, give Southern Illinois Home Care a call at 618-332-6120. A Registered Nurse is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer questions and accept referrals for Home Care services. 

If the patient qualifies, home care services are paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, commercial health insurance companies and managed care organizations.

Southern Illinois Home Care has proudly served the Metro East for more than 20 years with our qualified home care professionals. We are a full-service home care agency dedicated to serving Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair counties.  Learn more about home health services at Southern Illinois Home Care.