When it comes time to make decisions about your loved one’s health and safety in the home, you will hear the terms “home health” and “home care” repeatedly. Some agencies interchangeably use the terms, which is incorrect. At Aurora at Home, we define and delineate the differences so you can make the wisest decision possible based on the individual’s needs.
Home Health Care
Home health care in Philadelphia, PA, focuses on people with chronic health problems or those recovering from surgery, injury, or illness. The defining issue here is having a medical practitioner diagnose the need for home health care.
Home Health Care Services
Potential services provided by Aurora’s Home Health Care include
- Assistance with daily tasks
- Nursing care
- Med counts
- Occupational therapy
- Physical or speech therapy
- Social work
- Wound care
Once a medical professional signs off on the appropriate paperwork, Medicare and Medicaid can come in and take over some, if not all, expenses.
With home health services, a person may have a team who coordinates care
Home Care
If you were to boil down home care to one word, it would be “safety.” Many things could potentially prove harmful in the home environment, even when someone has lived there for decades. Sometimes the terms “personal care” or “companion care” take the place of home care in discussions, but in this case, they are the same.
Home Care services
Potential services provided by home care include things like
- Bathing, dressing, and grooming, often due to arthritic conditions
- Companionship (important for mental well-being)
- Cooking
- Laundry
- Med minders
What are the similarities, and what is the Difference Between Home Care and Home Health Care, Philadelphia, PA?
When you line Home Care and Home Health Care side by side, it’s no wonder there’s confusion. They have a lot in common with each other. Care takes place in the individual’s home, where they feel more at ease. Both support a person’s independence where practicable. And both provide helping hands for daily tasks.
If you remember that home health care has a clinical element to it, often requiring licensed nurses and therapists. Home care is “non-clinical,” so the aides do not have to hold any specific credentials other than those required by the employer and Pennsylvania State authority.
What is the Frequency of Care and How Long Do Services Last?
Frequency depends on the level of need presented. Typically it consists of a few hours a week. However, 24/7 services are available when the situation warrants.
In-home care can continue as long as your physician recertifies your condition and you still meet eligibility requirements.
Aurora at Home
In the process of planning your home health care or home care, Aurora looks at all the specifics of a person’s needs. We communicate with the client and their families so that everyone knows what’s happening, and when. To aid in this process, we have team members who can speak twelve languages!
To learn more and get important answers to your questions, you can use our contact line. Or call any one of our three offices:
Feasterville, PA 215-354-4444
Wyomissing, PA 610-357-1800
Lancaster, PA 717-200-1414
