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In-Home Services

 

A variety of different services are available to be brought into the home to make a person more independent and safe.  With the help of these services a person is able to stay in their home longer.  Services are available for private pay and if a person cannot afford the services there may be programs available to pay for them.  The Aging & Disability Resource Center would be able to come to your home and talk to you about what services could help your situation or meet your needs as well as any programs that could financially assist with the cost.  Below are some brief descriptions of some in-home services that could be of benefit.  Also available from the Resource Center is a ‘Service Guide’ that are free and offer information and contact numbers for agencies that provides these and many more services in Green County.  Call and we will mail them out to you!

Supportive Home Care
Supportive Home Care (SHC) encompasses a range of services that provide assistance for persons in order to meet their daily living needs.  This service does not provide skilled nursing services such as IV medication, wound care, or medication administration/set-up.

Services provided by a Supportive Home Care worker may include:

  • Assistance with activities of daily living like meal preparation, laundry errands, etc.
  • Respite care, companionship and supervision.
  • Assistance with medication reminders.
  • Assistance with ambulation and exercise.
  • Personal care activities like grooming, bathing, toileting and dressing.
  • Routine household keep-up, including general housekeeping chores, lawn mowing or snow removal.
  • Overnight, weekend and 24-hour care.
  • Transportation for appointments and errands, like grocery shopping.

All services can be scheduled by client preference.  For example, the client could choose house cleaning once a week or once a month, depending on client need.  The services are paid on an hourly basis, often with a minimum number of hours per visit.  Each support Home Care agency varies in policy in regards to worker training, certification, and fee for services.  Services are not covered by Medicare or Medical Assistance (Medicaid).  Services are paid by a person’s private funds or, in some cases, the person’s supplemental insurance.

 

Home Health Care
A Home Health Agency is an organization that provides part-time intermittent skilled nursing services and other therapeutic services to a person in their home or group home.  These services are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and other insurance plans.

Services may include:

  • Services must be ordered by your physician.
  • Home Health Care services are provided at a skilled level of care, that is care requiring a registered nurse or physical therapist.  It is not custodial such as housekeeping, cleaning or meal preparation.
  • When the skilled requirement is met, then additional services may be provided by social workers, occupational, and speech therapists and nurses aides.
  • Registered nurses manage complex care including IV therapy, wound care, diabetic care, etc.
  • Registered nurses provide education on how to care for yourself or provide education to a caregiver on how to meet your health care needs.
  • Home Health care services are usually short-term in nature, (1-2 months) and are based upon your individual plan of care.
  • Access to a nurse is available 24-hours a day.
  • Home Health aides assist with bathing and personal care.
  • A therapist can implement a home exercise program or continue with one that has already been established.
  • A medical social worker can assist with decisions regarding the needs for community resources.
Hospice
Hospice is an organization that provides for the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of a patient and their family when a diagnosis of a terminal disease with a limited life expectancy has been made.  Hospice care can be provided in the home, nursing center or assisted living facilities.  Hospice neither hastens nor postpones death, but celebrates life and regards death as a normal process.  Hospice is for all age groups, including children, adults and elderly during their final stages of life.  The goal of hospice is on comfort and symptom control, not curative treatment.  Services are provided by the Hospice Team, which includes your physician, nurses, home health aides, social worker, chaplain, and volunteers, and are covered by Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance plans.

Services include:

 

  • Medication and equipment related to the terminal illness.
  • Patient and family centered care.
  • Pain and symptom management.
  • Support of the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the patient and family.
  • Access to a nurse is available 24-hours a day.
  • Home health aides assist with bathing and personal care.
  • Dietary, physical, occupational and speech therapy.
  • Volunteers who have specialized training in hospice care.
  • A medical social worker to assist with emotional support, as well as provide information on community resources.
  • A chaplain is available to provide spiritual counseling as desired.
  • Grief follow-up for families.
There are also many other services that are available to people needing assistance while living in their own homes.  Some are covered on other service pages on this website, like Home Delivered Meals, Congregate Meal Sites, Transportation Services, and Adult Day Center.  Please check those individual pages if you would more detailed information on those services.  There are also other services that may fit a need not mentioned here.  If so please contact the Aging & Disability Resource Center to talk with one of the specialists about your situation and to get other options available to you or a loved one.