Looking for a
home health care agency in the greater Phoenix metro area?
Devoted Guardians has been committed to improving the lives of seniors and disabled individuals in Phoenix since 2007.
We are an in-home care provider, also now offering home health care services to help seniors and disabled individuals who need
at-home medical assistance in
Phoenix and the surrounding areas.
A large number of the elderly require some assistance in medical care or/and day-to-day activities. While aging in itself is not a reason for home health care, almost 50% of all people at the age of 85 or older have at least mild Alzheimer’s disease or some other type of dementia. These individuals need constant support with healthcare and meeting their basic needs.
What Is Home Health Care?
Home care and home health care (
see chart) are not the same things. Home Care Aides (non-medical care) provide custodial care, helping the person who receives care with their day-to-day activities. Home Health Aides provide medical care and assist with medications, braces, and other medical equipment and can provide a higher level of skilled nursing.
Home health care involves medical care that patients receive at their homes.
Home health care covers a variety of health care services that you can receive at your home for an illness or injury.
The main goal of home health care is to help you with an illness or injury. Nevertheless, home health care also aims to help the elderly live independently as long as possible.
Services Provided:
Nursing Services:
Rehabilitation Services:
What Does Home Health Care Provide?
Home health care commonly includes physical and occupational therapy, skilled nursing, and speech therapy that are provided by skilled medical professionals. For example, home health services may include monitoring serious illness, intravenous and nutrition therapy, wound care for surgical wounds or pressure sores, and injections.
However, the elderly care at home may also include skilled, non-medical care such as assistance with day-to-day activities such as eating, dressing, bathing, transportation, or grocery shopping.
In general, home health care should help you get better and/or maintain your current condition, slow down the decline of your health status, and regain independence.
Who Qualifies For Home Health Care? Do I Qualify?
To qualify for
home health care in Phoenix, AZ, you have to meet the following criteria:
- You need to be considered homebound and a doctor needs to certify that you are homebound. Based on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS), to be homebound means that you:
- Have trouble leaving your home without help because of illness or injury
- It is not recommended for you to leave home because of your condition
- You are under the care of the doctor who certifies that you need one or more of the following:
- Physical therapy
- Ongoing occupational therapy
- A Part-time or intermittent skilled nursing care
- Speech-language pathology services
- Receive home health care from a Medicare-approved home health agency
For instance, if you were recovering in the hospital after an injury and you were discharged, but not completely healed, the discharge papers form your doctor need to indicate that you’re homebound and in heed of short-term skilled nursing care or rehabilitative care. This care needs to provide health care agencies approved by Medicare.
The papers also need to include the plan of care that notifies Medicare and home care agencies of the services and equipment you’ll need.
4. A doctor needs to document that they’ve had a face-to-face contact with you related to the reason you need home health care and that this contact happened within required time frames.
