Unfortunately, there comes a point in most senior’s lives where they cannot manage all their basic needs alone. It varies for everyone depending on their state of health, both mentally and physically.

Seniors May

1. Have compromised mobility which may make them unable to shop for and prepare meals for themselves.
2. Need help with basic grooming, dressing, and toileting.
3. Have become forgetful to the degree that relatives are afraid to leave them on their own lest they forget something such as a pot cooking on the stove.
4. Become disoriented and wander

Whatever the case may be, outside care might become necessary.

Here is an easy-to-understand summary in-home healthcare roles that will help you determine your needs.

1. A Personal Care Aide (PCA) provides general support but does not address any medical needs. They often assist with daily chores, bathing, preparing meals, cleaning, or just being a companion to someone who needs a friendly face to come visit on a regular basis.
2. A Home Health Aide (HHA) is the next level up, and can do all of the above, and more. They take care of extra tasks like checking vital signs, or changing medical dressings. Home Health Aides have training and certification.
3. A Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) has a higher level of education and provides basic medical and nursing care. They check blood pressure as well as insert catheters. An LPN also ensures the comfort of patients by assisting them to bathe or dress. They discuss health care issues, and report the status of patients to registered nurses and doctors.
4. A Registered Nurse (RN) is the highest level of medical professionals typically available for home care.  They usually oversee the treatment plan and administration of medication. An RN can keep an eye on medical test results and handle most of the higher-level medical needs of a patient.

Making the right decision about in home care for a senior loved one is never easy, but finding the right answers can help you feel more comfortable with the options available and confident in your final decision. That’s why David York Home Healthcare provides clients, and their families, with a complimentary home care needs assessment for clients by a registered nurse.

In our meeting, we will thoroughly discuss your care needs and work with you or your loved one to determine how best to meet your requirements. We also contact your physician and any other concerned healthcare professional regarding your specific needs.

After evaluating your home care goals and assimilating all this information, we will have a better understanding of your loved ones physical, emotional and cognitive needs and will work with you to create a personalized plan of care. We then implement the optimal treatment plan
which fulfills both the physical and emotional care requirements of the patient.

At David York Home Healthcare, extraordinary service is what sets us apart from other companies who provide in home care services. Whatever your care needs, we there for you, always striving to exceed your expectations.

When you are ready, establishing a relationship with a home healthcare agency opens up vistas to a host of services tailored to the elderly. You have access to a large pool of available aides when you need them. All the logistics are arranged for by someone else. Agencies such as ours also have access to a network of professionals such as social workers, eldercare attorneys.

1. At no charge, a nursing supervisor will meet with the patient and any relative to conduct an initial home visit to further assess your home healthcare needs and refine a comprehensive care plan for your home health aide and caregiver to follow.
2. DYA personally contacts your physician and any other concerned healthcare professional in order to implement the optimal treatment plan which fulfills both the physical and emotional care requirements of the patient.
3. We select capable home health aides as caregivers that precisely match the home health requirements for your specific individual situation.

All our Home Health Aides & Personal Care Aides are Certified & Specially Trained

In addition to all that, David York Home Healthcare Agency Provides

• Frequent In-house In-service Education
• An Agency that is Insured
• Home Health Aides that are Bonded

Our Home Health Aides are of the Highest Caliber & Integrity

• Checked for Current Credentials & Valid References
• Thoroughly Screened
• Interviewed by astute Personnel Specialists
• Fingerprinted and checked for a criminal background

There are many ways to cover the cost of home healthcare, but talking to a professional can help you decide what may work for you is the best way ensure you get covered for home healthcare. Under many of these options, for care in New York State, you must choose a home healthcare agency  that is licensed by the New York State Department of Health.

Medicare

For seniors, Medicare will typically cover the cost of some healthcare services. There are, however, conditions. Individuals must be homebound, which means they are either unable to leave home or leaving home requires the help of another individual. The person must also require skilled services. Medicare will look at the orders of a physician, the complexity of the service required, and the patient’s condition to decide if this is a necessity. The final qualification for Medicare to pay is that the care has to be intermittent in the patient’s home. It cannot be required all of the time or for an extended period.

Private Medical Insurance

Private insurance may also pick up the cost of home healthcare, but there’s usually a co-pay involved in this service. As with Medicare, there are typically a number of other requirements including the need for medically necessary, skilled care. It also typically has to be short term in nature. The key is to talk with your insurance company to learn more about the available benefits when it comes to home healthcare services, what’s allowed and what may not be covered, and how to make sure you’ve properly applied for those benefits.

Long Term Care Insurance

These policies are designed to cover care that is not covered by the above options. They will only cover services provided by a licensed agency. As long as the patient is not able to perform two activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing or eating, you should be able to utilize a long term care insurance plan. There are many plans available with various levels of coverage depending upon what you sign up for. It is best to commit to this in your 40’s and 50’s while you are still healthy as the insurance company prices out these products to customers based upon their medical risk profile.

Public Benefit Programs

Other public benefit programs outside of Medicare may also be able to help with the cost of home healthcare. Medicaid and VA benefits may be used to cover doctor-prescribed care. Individual states also sometimes have programs to help offset some of the associated costs. Most of these, like Medicare and private insurance, have some rules that must be followed before home healthcare becomes a covered option.

HSAs

Home health care can typically be deducted from a Health Savings Account (HSA). If you or a loved one has a qualified insurance plan that has an HSA attached to it, talk to your tax advisor to learn more about whether the money in that HSA can be used to cover medical expenses associated with home healthcare.