You don’t have to make the terrible decision to send one of your loved ones to a hospital or nursing home – there is always the home health care option! Just think, you might even be able to save money by having a professional come to your home to take care of someone who has been hurt.

Home health care, in the most basic sense, is where a trained agent will come in and do all of the things that a patient would have needed at the hospital, but in the convenient setting of a home environment, where friends and family can be around as well to help things.

During a home heath care contract, personnel can do things like physical and occupational therapy, nutrition therapy, handle treatment that deals with medication or IV’s, deal with things like patient and caregiver knowledge, and monitor any possible serious condition that might pop up. All of the attention will definitely be on you, the patient, instead of many at a hospital.

There are all sorts of agencies that have home health care options. You’ll find companies ranging from tiny neighborhood ones to major corporate ones, and the options that you need will be clearly defined when you talk to any of them for the first time. Just don’t be scared to ask questions.

The home health care staff will take care of a patients eating and drinking, check on vitals like temperature, breathing, pain levels, amount of sleep they get, heart rate, and blood pressure. In addition, they can take care of things like basic cooking and cleaning, depending on the program you’ve set up for them.

Always make sure that they explain to you how the plan of car works as well. It’s basically just a list of all the services and equipment you need at your home, as well as schedules and time frames, and what type of results you should expect during what stage of the care the patient is in at any given time. Any adjustment in care should be indicated on this list.

The process should be under a state of constant improvement as well. Every day there will be challenges, and the challenges should be met with ideas about how to make the situation better for everyone involved. Staff should always be polite and respectful, and if they aren’t, it is time to choose a new company.

Now that you have a basic understanding of how home health care works, do a little homework to find if there are local places that fit you needs, and you know that you’ll be ready to make the right decision if you’re ever put in the position to make a call.