Frequently Asked Questions
What is Home Healthcare?
Home healthcare means exactly what it sounds like – care that is designed to help you recover or maintain mobility or maintain quality of life in the comfort of your own home. This is achieved through personal care assistance, rehabilitation and/or skilled medical services. Home healthcare can either be ordered by your physician, when they determine your condition requires you to remain in the home, or you can use private pay to order any of your home healthcare needs.
What is the difference between medical (skilled) and non-medical (unskilled) home healthcare?
Medical (skilled) services is healthcare by a certified/licensed professional. These services are typically ordered by a physician. However, this is not always the case. For example, an individual can hire a speech therapist directly without a physician’s order. Medical (skilled) services that we offer include: skilled nursing, physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, wound management; nutrition and dietary management.
Non-medical (unskilled) services is personal care and assistance provided by professional caregivers. These services may be needed or required due to age, disabilities, surgical recovery, auto injury, rehabilitation, etc. Depending on the situation, some insurances will pay for these services. Typically, these services are paid my Medicaid, Medicare, private/commercial insurances, auto insurance or private pay. Non-medical (skilled) services that we offer include: mobility assistance; medication reminders; transportation & errands; personal care; companionship & safety; light housekeeping & laundry; meal preparation; eating assistance; bathing assistance; Alzheimer’s and dementia care; respite care; new parent care; and pet and plant care
What insurances/payment methods do you accept?
From the Heart Home Health Care is a Medicaid Home Help Agency, therefore we accept Medicaid for all non-medical (unskilled) services. We also accept private pay, third party insurances, private insurances, auto insurances, and reverse mortgages. We hope to be able to accept Medicare, as well as other insurances, in the very near future.
What are some indications that someone needs help and may require personal home healthcare?
Most people are very independent as they age. But if you are concerned about an aging or disabled loved one, here are some things to look for:
- Is their house clean or tidy?
- Are they able to get to the grocery store often enough?
- Do that have fresh/nutritious food at home or are they starting to stock up on frozen food?
- Have you noticed any unwanted weight loss?
- Has personal hygiene declined?
- Does the person seem lonely or withdrawn?
- Are there any concerns with memory?
- Are they able to drive themselves to appointments and to the store?
- Are they having trouble with overall mobility or caring for themselves?
- Can they safely bathe themselves?
- Are they recovering from an illness or a surgery?
- Have they injured themselves at home and unable to care for themselves?
If the answer to any of these questions concern you, give us a call so that we can discuss your loved ones’ needs.
Can we arrange for occasional transportation to a doctors’ appointment?
Transportation, especially to medical appointments and procedures, is a popular homecare service. It can sometimes be arranged in a few hours, but it is not guaranteed. A 24-hour notice (or more) is always better and preferred. A regular planned schedule can be set up, or the caregiver can be used for this purpose on an "as needed" basis.
Can we arrange for an occasional or weekly bath visit?
Yes, a caregiver can be scheduled to come to your home for a bath visit. These visits have a maximum 2-hour time limit. During the bath visit, the caregiver can either bathe you or simply assist you as needed just before getting into the bath, during the bath, and cleaning up after the bath.
Do you provide caregivers and skilled services for individuals in their own home as well as at an assisted living facility?
We provide services in both homes and assisted living facilities. Regardless of your location, we first arrange a meeting with the patient (and the family if necessary) to conduct a thorough assessment and develop a plan of care as a team. This is not only to fully understand what personal care and healthcare services are needed, but also to get a sense of what kind of personality might best suit him or her. After this is completed, we will match the patent with a caregiver and/or a skilled professional. We also provide bilingual caregivers. Therefore, if you (or your loved one) prefer or require a caregiver that speaks another language, we will do our best to meet your needs.
How is caregiver scheduling and reliability managed?
Our agency uses a phone-in time card system that alerts management if someone does not check in at the appointed time. In the rare event that this occurs, we will immediately call you, so we can discuss your options. If you choose, someone from management can immediately come by to care of you until the caregiver arrives or a replacement can be arranged. Another option is to reschedule that days’ visit. This system not only guarantees that clients are accurately billed for the actual hours worked, but it guarantees that your needs are being met.
What type of quality assurance measures do you have in place?
We are committed to providing you with the utmost excellence in your home healthcare. We will accomplish this through respect, dedication, integrity, compassion, and honesty. We take great pride in the services we provide and the positive effect this has on our patients’ lives. However, we are here to provide you with the peace of mind you deserve as well. Here are some things you should know about our staff. Our staff members…
- go through a full criminal background check
- a reference check
- a drug test
- are finger printed
- are CPR certified
Although we encourage and welcome your calls when there is a concern, we conduct weekly quality assurance calls to our patients and provide with a survey that you can complete. This gives our clients another opportunity to voice their concerns and opinions. It is our goal to ensure that your needs are being met, and that your caregiver is maintaining professionalism and timeliness during your planned visits.
Lastly, our agency uses a phone-in time card system that alerts management if someone does not check in at the appointed time for any unforeseen reason. This will ensure that our patients are getting the care they are paying for. This also guarantees that clients are accurately billed for the actual hours worked.
Other questions?
If we did not answer your question, please feel free to call us at (586) 213- 0484 or email us at info@fromthehearthomehealth.com
