For Healthcare Professionals
Home Health Care
Home health care is defined as rendering predominantly medically-related services to patients in a home setting (home bound) rather than in a medical facility. The definition of homebound is that the patient is not able to leave the home unassisted or requires a taxing and considerable effort with assistance of others and /or supported devices to do so. Basically, the home care practitioner will help patients increase their ability to tend to their everyday needs at home. Home health care may include skilled nursing in addition to speech, occupational and physical therapy. It does not include assistance with cooking and other household chores.
Admission indicators for home health care are the following:
Wound Care
- Teach patient/PCG on wound care dressing
- Monitor wound progress
- Negative pressure treatment
- IV antibiotics for wound infection
- Ask for our wound care certified specialty team
Infusion Therapy
- Antibiotics
- TPN
- Hydration
- Pain management
- Specialty drugs
- Clinical trials
Enteral Therapy
- Instruction in bolus feedings
- Instruction continuous feedings
- Nutritional assessment
CVA Stroke
- Post stroke dementia
- Anti-coagulant therapy
- Gait disturbance
- Dysphasia or aphasia
- Medication management
- Enteral therapy
- Decreased nutritional status
Debility Unspecified
- Exacerbation of multiple co-morbidities
- Decreasing nutritional status
- Multiple weaknesses, unsteady gait
- Multiple ER visits/hospitalizations
Renal Disease
- Signs of uremia (confusion, nausea pruritus, restlessness)
- Intractable fluid overload
- Decreased urine output
- Diet instruction
- Disease Instruction
Pulmonary Disease-COPD
- Recurrent pulmonary infections
- Increased ER visits/hospitalization
- Requires disease instruction
- IV antibiotics for pneumonia & bronchitis
Heart Disease-CHF
- Requires medication management
- With diuretics and/or vasodilators
- Arrhythmias
- History of cardiac arrest
- Decreased ejection fraction
- Cardiogenic brain embolism
- Unexplained syncope
- Anticoagulant therapy
Orthopedic
- Fractures
- Joint replacements
- Gait disturbance
- Abnormal gait
- ADL/IADL improvement
- Instruction for safe ambulation/transfers
Diabetes
- Diet/medication instruction
- Requires disease instruction
- Skin care
- Teaching use of glucometer
- Wound care/amputation
Fall Prevention
- Home safety evaluation
- Therapy assessment
Urinary Disease
- Foley catheter or Super pubic
- Bowel/bladder training
- Recurring UTI’s
- Neurogenic bladder