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Home Health Care Information
Home Health Care Information
Health Care Alternatives.
With U. S. life expectancies reaching 76.9 years, our population of elderly is growing. In previous times, the only choice for elderly and disabled care was a nursing home with full-care medical services. Today we have more alternatives:
- Family or informal caregivers — unpaid family members and friends who provide home health care to the elderly and disabled. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 allows up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a year to care for an older relative.
- Respite care — paid home health care that allows family caregivers a break from 24-hour care of a family member.
- Adult day care — paid or unpaid community programs that care for elderly and disabled individuals during the day, and provide a safe environment, plus planned activities for physical and mental stimulation so that family members can continue to work.
- Senior community centers — paid or unpaid community centers that provide assistance to active seniors who need minimal assistance.
- In-home health care — paid, trained home health care staff members provide care in the patient’s own home.
- Assisted-living centers that provide a range of services from help dressing and bathing to customized meals and restaurant-style community dining.
- Nursing homes — full-service, paid medical facilities that tailor health care services to the ability or disability of individual patients.
Benefits of Home Health Care.
Hospital costs for the same treatment for illness, injury and chronic conditions range from 200-7,000 percent more than for home health care. However, the shocking monetary statistics are only one reason to increase home health care. Technological medical advances allow more procedures to be accomplished in outpatient or home health care environments. Shorter required hospital stays means more recovery and rehabilitation occurs in homes.
Other benefits of home care include:
- Home health care products and equipment are readily available to assist home health care patients and caregivers.
- Patients using home health care products are more comfortable receiving treatment and recovering in a familiar, loving environment.
- Patients who are involved normal family activities using home health care products stay mobile and recover faster.
- Patients and families using home health care products can be more involved in decision-making when they are together daily.
- Families are not separated during hospital stays.
- Preventive home health care using home health care products avoids expensive hospitalizations.
The primary objective of a caregiver for an aging or disabled individual is to provide a safe environment combined with the highest level of achievable independence. Fortunately, the home health care industry and medical products manufacturers have produced innovative products and equipment designed to help patients maintain independence, dignity and safety. Medical Supplies & Equipment is a reliable, established home health care supplier offering a wide range of physician-prescribed home health care.
How to Choose a Supplier of Home Health Care Products and Equipment?
- The Home Health Care supplier should discuss your medical needs with your doctor or other home health care team members.
- The Home Health Care supplier should be reputable and reliable.
- The Home Health Care supplier should communicate in words and actions a genuine interest in supplying quality home health care medical products and equipment that best meets your medical needs.
- The Home Health Care supplier should be an established business in the community.
- The Home Health Care supplier should not have numerous complaints with the Better Business Bureau or state consumer protection agencies.
- The Home Health Care supplier should deliver your equipment, set it up and explain how equipment operates.
- The Home Health Care supplier should explain any hazards of potentially hazardous equipment to you and anyone who may come in contact with the equipment.
- The Home Health Care supplier should respond quickly to any questions or complaints you may have about equipment or its use.
- The Home Health Care supplier should make certain all equipment is performing up to requirements.
- The Home Health Care supplier should contact you periodically to see that you are not having problems with equipment.
- The Home Health Care supplier should honor all equipment warranties expressed or implied under state law.
- The Home Health Care supplier should provide or arrange for equipment service and maintenance.
- The Home Health Care supplier should provide you with a 24-hour emergency number in case of equipment failure.
- The Home Health Care supplier should provide equipment that is clean and in good working order when delivered.
- The Home Health Care supplier should make sure new equipment is new and does not show any wear or evidence of prior use.
- The Home Health Care supplier should immediately accept return of equipment that is substandard quality or unsuitable for your use.
- The Home Health Care supplier should explain any supplier standards to which it must conform.
- The Home Health Care supplier should be a member of local or national trade associations or organizations.
