Caring For Aging Parents With Compassion

Here are answers to your questions about home health care:

What is home health care?

These services offer a wide range of elder care solutions, from helping Mom change her post-surgery dressing to cooking a light lunch for Grandpa. Sometimes called custodial care, this option is ideal for seniors who require occasional help. Home health caregivers will ensure your loved one maintains as much independence as possible.

In addition to help with day-to-day tasks, some health care companies offer skilled nursing services. These medical professionals, often registered nurses, will, among other things, change surgical dressings, administer IVs, insert and replace catheters, and administer prescription drugs. These programs also may also offer physical therapists to do at-home rehabilitation.

If Mom or Dad is nearing the end of life, consider hiring a company that is experienced in caring for aging parents who need hospice services.

Is home health care expensive?

For custodial care services needed for caring for aging parents, the cost can be quite reasonable-especially if your loved one only needs help occasionally. However, the services can be costlier for those who need more skilled care.

While the cost of health care will play an important role in your elder care solution decision, remember that nursing homes cost about $70,000 a year and assisted living facilities cost about $36,000 yearly. That makes home health care a smart investment for many families caring for aging parents.

Be sure to find out if the company you're using for your elder care solution offers prepackaged services for one price or if the rates are charged hourly or per day. Always understand the terms before you or your loved one sign any contract, and make sure you understand how you'll be billed.

If you're caring for aging parents, it's always a smart idea to check with their health care provider to find out if home care services are covered.



Are they safe?

When interviewing a company who may help you in caring for aging parents, make sure they perform employee background checks. Also, look for a company with a low employee turnover rate, which suggests happier employees.

I'm worried about a stranger caring for mom....

Health care companies often assign the same caregiver to provide services for a client. When one or two professionals are regularly caring for aging parents, they can build a trusting relationship with your loved one-and that translates into better care. However, if your parent's regular caregiver is ill or on vacation, a home health care service will be able to offer a qualified substitute.

There's no easy answer when it comes to elder care solutions. However, if you're looking for a wide range of professional services for a reasonable cost, consider investing in home health professionals to care for your loved one.

Alternative Financing Options

Specifically, Credit Unions, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Micro Lenders and Accounts Receivable Factoring Firms all said YES to the majority of their small business financing applications while most larger banks repeatedly said NO.

Although a home healthcare agency owner could be approved for financing by any of the alternative lenders listed above, the best alternative financing option for them is to work with a home healthcare factor, and here's why:

1. Home Health Care Factoring Creates Positive Cash Flow

Some Medicaid waiver programs can take up to a month to reimburse an agency for its pre-approved non-medical in-home services. This lag in payments makes it difficult for new or growing agencies to be able to meet payroll and other financial obligations. However, when agency owners sell their Medicaid receivables to a home care funding firm, funds can be directly deposited into their bank account within hours. Instead of waiting weeks or months, factoring your home care business gives business owners immediate access to cash.

2. Home Health Care Factoring Helps Eliminate Overhead

In addition to providing capital, home health care factors provide invoice processing services, which include the following: posting invoices to a computer, depositing checks, entering payments, following-up on past-due invoices and producing consistent reports. Agency owners can greatly reduce their current overhead costs associated with processing invoices and eliminate the overhead cost of handling collections when they work with a factoring firm. Moreover, agency owners can use the time they used to spend on collections, administration, bookkeeping, talking to banks, etc. to focus on marketing, sales and other business-growing activities.

3. Factoring Medicaid Receivables Helps Home Health Care Agencies Build Credit

As was previously discussed, home health care factoring provides agency owners with adequate cash flow. This new found access to capital gives agency owners the ability to pay its vendors on time, helping them to establish a good credit rating. Having good credit will make it easier for vendors and other financial institutions to extend credit to the agency in the future. In addition, factoring home health care allows agency owners to take advantage of early payment discounts. For example, some vendors will offer a two percent discount if a home health care agency owner pays its bills within ten days. This savings can then be used to offset the cost of factoring.

What Should A Home Health Care Agency Do To Serve Your Needs?

Probably it is time to seek the assistance of a home health care agency if your beloved needs either medical or non medical help. Whilst you've got intentions for being the sole care provider for your loved one, this may turn out to be very hard, on the other hand, the final option is putting them in a home. Know that you are not alone with regards to this problem so you do have alternatives for your beloved, with one of them being help with a home health care agency.

A home health care agency gives numerous beneficial services to you and your family member. As you'll be able to regain things such as time for yourself as well as freedom, your beloved is going to be properly cared for so you don't need to worry. You'll have these facilities brought to you rather than having to bring your beloved from one appointment to another. If you are not sure if a home health care agency will be able to assist you as well as your loved one, here's a perception of the services many agencies offer.

First, they will offer many difference sorts of therapy remedies. Included you'll typically get respiratory, occupational and physical therapies. Through these facilities your beloved will have the ability to live as comfy as possible, enjoy life to their fullest extent, all regardless of age. Whether it is your parent, young child, spouse, and brother or sister, a home health care agency can help.

Next, they also give a selection of other services like assisting with personal needs such as bathing, eating, getting your loved one to meetings, and even just getting them away from the home. In addition to personal care services an ideal agency will also offer patients both live-in care and respite care. With such a service, you can find help for your family member whether it's for a few hours each day or all hours of a day. Health care professionals are available to help with a variety of tasks including things like laundry, keeping the patients room maintained, keeping an eye fixed on their dietary plan, and even running errands. All of these facilities will be provided by an excellent agency.

In a nutshell, no matter what you and your loved one need in order to gain back a high quality of life, home care agencies exist to help, all for an affordable price. A plan will be determined, which can then be accomplished by pros who are qualified to do so. Whether you want help while you're at work, or want to have a family trip, you can get this freedom again. An agency will not only give you freedom, but it can assist with your loved one gaining back their self-esteem, all while being relaxed. These provided services can help every family member, regardless of the patients needs.