What are the basics of home care?

There are several different options for helping to care for your loved one. There is home care. This is typically divided into medical versus non-medical. 

You also have senior living facilities and nursing homes. 

Senior living facilities and assisted living facilities provide a lower level of care than nursing homes but typically, a family member will not need full medical nursing capabilities unless they have somewhat intense medical needs. 

In the long run you are making the decision between keeping your family member at home versus putting them in a assisted living facility or nursing home. 

Nonmedical homecare is assistance with day-to-day activities like bathing, meal prep, medication reminders, transferring etc. This can go on for a longer period of time as people tend to need nonmedical homecare for the rest of their lives. 

Medical home care, on the other hand, is typically given for a shorter amount of time. Medical home care includes Physical therapy, nursing, occupational therapy. 

It is more common to use medical home care after a hospitalization. 

Sometimes, patients require a physical therapist visit to help get their strength back. Other times a nurse will visit to give medications or check on catheters/wound/bandages etc. However, the goal of medical home care is to “graduate”. Meaning, your family member gets better and hopefully doesn’t need physical therapy or nursing at home. 

These are the basics, for more see the article: “What is Medical Home Care? and What is Non-Medical Home Care?“.