What is home care?

Home care refers to care provided to people, mostly seniors, in their own home, allowing them to remain at home rather than move to residential, long-term, and institutional facilities. These agencies provide a variety of companionship, personal care, and supervision services in the comfort and convenience of a person’s home. Most people prefer home care to institutional care, if they have a choice.

Home care from a professional agency is appropriate when a person prefers to stay at home but needs ongoing care that cannot be easily or effectively provided by family and friends alone. More and more older people, who choose to live independent, non-institutionalized lives, are receiving these types of services as their physical abilities decline, through an agency.

Home care may include some combination of skilled health care services and non-medical or assisted living services. In the past, the phrases In Home Care, Home Care, and Home Health Care have been used interchangeably, regardless of whether or not the person requires skilled nursing care. However, it is now increasingly understood that “home health care” means skilled nursing care and that “home care” means non-medical care, personal care, custodial care, or home care. These differences are important because they help determine the appropriate level of care provided, which in turn will determine the actual cost of care as well as the funding sources available to pay for care.

Non-medical care services include personal care, companionship, and supervision, as well as help in the home with tasks of daily living, such as meal preparation, medication reminders, laundry, light housekeeping, errands, shopping, transportation, and company. Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) refer to six specific activities (bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting, eating, and walking) that reflect an individual’s ability to care for themselves. The number and severity of a person’s ADL support needs are often used to determine eligibility for long-term care insurance benefits or may be used as part of an assessment tool by a health care agency. home care to determine agency charges for home care services and also for appropriate staffing assignments with qualified caregivers.

Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) refer to six daily tasks (light housework, preparing meals, taking medication, shopping for food or clothing, using the telephone, and managing money) that enable a person to live independently in your home. While there are differences in the terms that describe aspects of home care or home health care, in reality, most older people who need one type of care will eventually need both at some point.

If you’re considering hiring an agency to help a parent or other loved one stay at home, there are things to think about and questions to ask to get the best quality available. You want to select a qualified home care agency that will provide you with the services you need at a cost you can afford. These agencies can ease the burden of caring for your loved one and provide peace of mind for your family.