Benefits of Home Health Care

Benefits of Home Health Care

Abstract

The following will focus on the benefits of home health care and specifically the case study involving Joan and Jerry from the text. It will also discuss if Joan and Jerry should have applied for home health care sooner and if so, who should have made them aware of the benefits of home health care. It will also discuss whether home health care services are readily available to other consumer as they were Joan and Jerry; as well as what advice might be offered to Joan and Jerry today regarding home health services.

The philosophy of home health care is simple: to take health services to the consumer rather than requiring the consumer to go to where the services are delivered (Pratt, 2010). Home health care must be ordered by a physician, intermittent care, and the consumer must be homebound. Home health care is care that is delivered to the consumer's home or other community setting. Home health care specifically refers to skilled nursing and other healthcare services; it encompasses a wide-range of health and social services (Pratt, 2010). Home health care services are delivered at home to recovering, disabled, or chronically or terminally ill persons in need of medical, nursing, social, or therapeutic treatment and/or assistance with the essential activities of daily living (ADLs) (Pratt, 2010).

In order to qualify for home health care the patient must be considered homebound. Being homebound means the patient is unable to leave home without it involving major effort for the patient. The patient is able to go to medical appointments, hair appointments, and church without it affecting their homebound status. Home health care can be long term or short term, depending on the needs of the patient and their health condition. Service home health provides includes skilled nursing, supportive services, assistance with personal care, ADLs, housekeeping, making meals, and transportation.

Should Joan and Jerry have applied for home health care sooner, and, if so, who should have made them aware of the benefits of home health care? Yes, they should have applied for home health care sooner than