How Does Home Care Work? What Are Its Benefits And Challenges?

Posted by Vimal on August 21st, 2022

According to some studies, approximately 90% of adults over 65 prefer to age in place—to spend as much time as possible at home. However, more care is frequently required to make it happen, which is why some families turn to home health care services.

What you should know about the many services offered by in-home care in Columbia, what to anticipate while working with an agency, how much it costs, and how to choose the best agency for you are all covered here.

 What is Home Health Care?

According to Joe Pecora Jr., vice president of Home Healthcare Workers of America, a national organization that represents house healthcare workers, "it is a care for someone within their home" at its most basic level.

Different care is provided. Home health care can include both medical care, such as the treatment of wounds, and non-medical care, such as assistance with bathing or food preparation, depending on the patient's needs.

 Various Forms of Home Health Care

The two main categories of home health care are:

Medical Care

This kind of home health care, which is sometimes referred to as skilled care, is offered by a medical expert, such as a doctor, registered nurse, or physical therapist. According to Yount, the services they may offer include wound care and physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Injections, dietary treatment, and education for patients and caregivers are other possible services. A doctor must prescribe medical home care.

 Non-Medical Care

According to Yount, non-medical care includes "help with activities of daily living, so things like bathing, clothing, food preparation, transportation to and from doctor visits, running errands, shopping, and housekeeping." Home health or home care aides supply it.

 The advantages of home healthcare

Home health care has several advantages, according to experts. Most notably, it enables seniors to remain in their current homes rather than having to move into a facility.

According to Pecora, home health care also lessens seniors' feelings of loneliness, which can enhance both their mental and physical health. He observes that during the coronavirus outbreak, patients frequently saw only home health aides. They get close, according to Pecora.

Home health care can also reduce readmissions to the hospital. For instance, in one systematic analysis of heart failure patients, those who had nurse visits at home had lower rates of death and hospital readmissions for up to six months after being released from the hospital compared to those who did not get nurse visits.

 Home health care challenges

Finding the proper match is crucial since it might take some seniors some time to get used to having a stranger in their house, according to Yount. The first agency you try might not be the best one for you, as is the case with anything.

However, according to some experts, money is the major obstacle. The cost of In-home care services in Lexington SC can be high. Sun argues that families must make provisions now for any resources they may require in the future.