All About Home Care
What is Home Care?
"Home care" is a simple phrase that encompasses a wide range of health and social services. These services are delivered at home to recovering, disabled, chronically or terminally ill persons in need of medical, nursing, social, or therapeutic treatment and/or assistance with the essential activities of daily living.
Generally, home care is appropriate whenever a person prefers to stay at home but needs ongoing care that cannot easily or effectively be provided solely by family and friends. More and more older people, electing to live independent, non-institutionalized lives, are receiving home care services as their physical capabilities diminish. Younger adults who are disabled or recuperating from acute illness are choosing home care whenever possible. Chronically ill infants and children are receiving sophisticated medical treatment in their loving and secure home environments. Adults and children diagnosed with terminal illness also are being cared for at home, receiving compassionate care and maintaining dignity at the end of life. As hospital stays decrease, increasing numbers of patients need highly skilled services when they return home. Other patients are able to avoid institutionalization altogether, receiving safe and effective care in the comfort of their own homes.
When Might Someone Need Home Care?
Home care services might be needed by those living with chronic illness, disability, or who have experienced a recent fall, surgery or unexpected illness. It is not uncommon for patients to leave the hospital, doctor's office or other healthcare facility with a prescription for some form of home care, whether it be nursing, medical equipment, hospice, home rehab or homemaker services. Home care is also a good alternative for those patients whose condition does not require admission into a healthcare facility, but does require some sort of continuing care, treatment or instruction. Home care can also serve those that may have experienced some of the following symptoms: chronic conditions such as COPD, CHF, diabetes, multiple hospital admissions, re-admission to a hospital within 30 days of discharge, patient taking more than eight routine medications, wound care issues, safety concerns related to falls, FTT, frailty, memory loss, and patient changes such as poor judgment, personality changes, appetite, isolation, incontinence, poor hygiene and home maintenance, and difficulty walking or driving.
Who Provides Home Care?
Home care services are usually provided by home care organizations but may also be obtained from registries and independent providers. Home care organizations include home health agencies; hospices; homemaker and home care aide (HCA) agencies; staffing and private-duty agencies; and companies specializing in medical equipment and supplies, pharmaceuticals, and drug infusion therapy.
Iowa Health Home Care is the only home care agency in Iowa offering the full range of home care services for its patients: adult and pediatric nursing and therapy, infusion, home medical equipment, palliative care, Lifeline and in-home and Taylor House hospice services.
Home care services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Depending on the patient's needs, these services may be provided by an individual or a team of specialists on a part-time, intermittent, hourly or shift basis.
What is a Home Health Agency?
The term home health agency often indicates that a home care provider is Medicare certified. A Medicare-certified agency, like Iowa Health Home Care, has met federal minimum requirements for patient care and management and therefore can provide Medicare and Medicaid home health services. Individuals requiring skilled home care services usually receive their care from a Medicare-certified home health agency. Due to regulatory requirements, services provided by these agencies are highly supervised and controlled. View Iowa Health Home Care's state-wide comparison to other home care agencies.
What Types of Services Do Home Care Providers Deliver?
Home care providers deliver a wide variety of health care and supportive services, ranging from professional nursing to physical, occupational, respiratory, and speech therapies. They also may provide social work and nutritional care and laboratory, dental, optical, pharmacy, podiatry, x-ray, and medical equipment and supply services. Services for the treatment of medical conditions usually are prescribed by an individual's physician. Supportive services, however, do not require a physician's orders. An individual may receive a single type of care or a combination of services, depending on the complexity of his or her needs. Home care services can be provided by: physicians, registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs), physical therapists, social workers, therapists, including speech and occupational, HCAs/home health aides, homemaker and chore workers, companions and volunteers. Iowa Health Home Care is the only agency in the state to offer all of these services to our patients.
Who Pays for Home Care Services?
Home healthcare services and items may be paid for directly by the patient, through private insurance coverage, or through other public or private sources such as Medicare, Medicaid, and others. Please visit our financial information page for information regarding Medicare/Medicaid, private insurance and payment options. You may also wish to contact our office at (515) 557-3100. We have a financial counselor on staff to discuss payment options as well as a team of home care coordinators who will talk to your insurance company or Medicare/Medicaid for you.
What are Iowa Health Home Care's business hours?
Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. We have staff on call and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to meet your healthcare needs which may occur outside of regular hours.
If you need to speak to our staff between visits, please call our office at (515) 557-3100 or toll-free at (888) 584-6311.
How will my visits be scheduled?
Services are provided between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Evening, weekend and holiday services are provided when needed. Because each staff person sees several patients during the day and must drive from home to home, scheduled times are not exact. Traffic, weather or an emergency with another patient may cause us to be late. If your expected caregiver has not arrived and you have an urgent need, please contact our office at (515) 557-3100. The length and frequency of visits will be based on your needs and explained to you by your caregiver.
Will the same person always come to see me?
You will have a specialized team assigned to you depending on your needs. You will have a case manager directing the team. Every effort will be made for your caregivers to remain the same. Due to scheduling conflicts or emergencies at our office, there may be times when an alternate caregiver may need to provide your care.
When will my services end?
Your specialized team of caregivers will develop a discharge plan with you. Equipment and services may require an approval by a physician or an insurance company to continue.
What do I do with equipment when it is no longer needed?
Simply call Iowa Health Home Care at (515) 557-3100 to arrange the return of our equipment. You may decide to drop it off at our main office location at 11333 Aurora Avenue in Urbandale, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
What services does my insurance cover?
Please visit our payment information page. Or simply call our customer service representatives at (515) 557-3100 who will gladly assist you with questions regarding your insurance coverage. A financial counselor is also available by calling our office. The financial counselor will assist you with questions you have about obligations not covered by insurance or financial assistance.
What does the social worker do?
The social worker may help you get community resources such as Meal on Wheels, Medicaid programs, and/or financial assistance.
What should I do if I or anyone I know needs home care services in the future?
One call does it all. Simply call Iowa Health Home Care at (515) 557-3100 and we will do the rest.