Home Health

Home Health Care Overview

What is home health care?

With a continuing reduction in hospital stays for most conditions, home health care is becoming more and more common. Recuperating in the home can give a sense of security and comfort that no hospital can duplicate. With advances in medicine, home health care can be safe and effective.

Why home health care?

Patients receive home health care for many reasons, including:

person is recovering from an illness or injury
person is chronically ill
elderly person wants to live an independent life, even though his/her physical capabilities are declining
infant or child is chronically or terminally ill
person requires rehabilitative care

Types of home health care services:

Many types of medical and social home health care services are available and may include:

physician care
nursing care
physical, occupational, and/or speech therapy
medical social services
care from home health aides
homemaker or attendant care
companionship
volunteer care
nutritional support
medical equipment and supplies
laboratory and x-ray imaging
pharmaceutical services
transportation
home-delivered meals

A patient may receive one of these services or a combination of several services.

Who provides home health care services?

Various agencies and other companies provide home health care, including:

home health agencies
homemaker and home care aide agencies
pharmaceutical and infusion therapy companies
durable medical equipment and supply dealers
staffing registries and private duty agencies
independent providers

This page was last updated on: February 15, 2008.

For patient inquiries, call 1-800-492-5538 or click here to make an appointment.

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