In-Home Healthcare

The goal of our programs is to provide injured or ill patients the same quality care, but from the comfort of their own homes.

What Is Home Healthcare?

Home healthcare is simply the provision of medical treatment while you are at home, instead of at the hospital. The purpose of home healthcare is to allow the patient to get out of the hospital and back to as close a normal life as possible. It allows the patient to maintain some level of independence despite ongoing treatment and offers the ability to help some patients slow the advance of some diseases and retain their self-sufficiency.

When Is Home Healthcare Used?

Home health services are usually used when there is not a life-threatening illness or one that requires immediate access to emergency medical facilities.

The types of treatments that home healthcare provide include:

• Alzheimer’s and dementia care
• Injections
• Health monitoring
• Post-surgical wound care
• Intravenous or nutrition therapy
• Pain management
• Skilled nursing
• Physical therapy
• Medical social work
• Medication management
• Heart disease management

Medical professionals provide all these treatments and more to in-home or home bound patients. This can be very effective care for some patients because it allows trained individuals to be regularly checking a patient’s vital signs or ensuring that they are keeping to their therapy or medication routine. It can also be effective at preventing serious complications of injury or illness because the home healthcare specialist would be proactively asking you question to rule out certain complications.

Home Healthcare and Alzheimer’s

Home healthcare has been used especially effectively in Alzheimer’s cases. Using in-home care allows these patients to retain some level of independence, even as the disease progresses. It also allows the patient some level of comfort as they will be in familiar surroundings, and it may slow the advance of the disease by allowing the patient to retain some independence and exercise their mental functions by triggering long-term memories.

What Is the Home Healthcare Process?

The home healthcare process usually starts by discussing this type of treatment with your physician. They will recommend you start home healthcare and then provide you with a referral. Our home healthcare specialists will then pay you a visit at home to get to know you and see what kind of care you need. We will then coordinate with your physician to ensure that the care you need is correct and that they receive regular updates as to your condition. Most in-home healthcare programs are covered by Medicaid or Medicare. However, talk to your doctor to ensure that your health insurance does indeed cover home healthcare.

If In-Home Healthcare is Right for You

If you or a loved one is recovering from an injury or illness, talk to your doctor about the benefits of in-home health care. Infirmary Health offers in-home healthcare services out of both Thomas Hospital and the Mobile Infirmary. Serving patients across Mobile and Baldwin Counties, our goal is to work with your physicians to give you the best possible care and support you need to heal. Contact your doctor today for a referral and to see if In-home healthcare is right for you.