All About Home Healthcare

Home healthcare has many different forms. It can mean custodial or live-in care; personal home care, or private home care; and senior home companion services, or senior home care. These various forms of home healthcare can be provided by the same individual or company, or it can be provided by an agency that caters to just one particular segment of the population. Private home care is generally provided by people who work for a company that provides personal care products and services for their employees, the elderly, and the disabled. Companion services are usually provided by people who are either retired, in recovery, or are caring for a loved one who is unable to care for himself/herself on their own.

Companion services can include, but are not limited to, medical care given to the client or senior resident of the home. Also, companion services can include, but are not limited to, wound care, housekeeping, transportation, emotional support, bathing or dressing, medical surveillance, and companionship or informal therapy or counseling. In some cases, a home healthcare agency may provide all these services or a portion of them.

There are many different types of home healthcare workers. These workers can be hired through an agency or they can be hired directly by the client or senior resident of the home. Direct hiring usually involves placing an advertisement in a newspaper, offering an interview, and then paying for the service. Many times, agencies will provide free or low cost services, which make hiring direct much easier.

There are many different types of agency employees that are involved with home health services. Employees can range from a nursing assistant, who provides personal care to the client; to a physical therapist, who provides physical therapy services and helps with exercise; to a life coach or speaker, who gives a person training in personal care as well as providing a listening ear. The agency may also hire a pharmacy technician or pharmacy specialist to assist with prescriptions, or may hire home health aides to provide these services on a per patient basis. There are many types of agency workers who are involved in this type of work.

Most agency workers are not medical professionals; however, there are some who are trained in various aspects of medical services. Some examples of this type of worker include speech language pathologists, psychotherapists, and nurse practitioners. Other types of services include social workers, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. There are some agencies that hire individuals solely as companion services to patients who need such assistance. Such services include companionship service to an elderly patient, a patient undergoing psychotherapy or psychoanalysis, a physically disabled patient, or a patient who is receiving intensive physical or rehabilitation services.

Home healthcare workers do not have to be licensed, but they should have completed a certified related program. The program should include coursework such as psychology and sociology; biology; and medical terminology and ethics. It will also require the completion of psychological and behavioral assessments, as well as a home care assessment.

The majority of people who use a home care agency are elderly; however, this does not mean that all agencies are only after the elderly. An agency can take in anyone who needs assistance, regardless of their age. Agencies do check up on potential residents to ensure that they are capable of living alone in their own house, and that they do not have any serious health problems that would prevent them from living in a home care setting. The majority of applicants to home healthcare provider agencies are usually not sure what type of help they want; therefore, they give specific examples, such as companionship or housekeeping services, to show what they can do for the family.

There are many jobs within this field that individuals can take on. Some agencies offer medical and dental services, home health aide services, emotional support, laundry services, transportation services and meals services. Most home healthcare agencies require their workers to be registered nurses, and most will require the individuals to have at least a diploma in high school. Nurses can help patients with physical therapy, speech language Pathology, nutrition, wound care and other medical issues.