If your loved one needs clinical services in Gainesville, explore skilled home health. If your family needs assistance with daily living activities, personal care, meals, and transportation, consider non-medical home care. Some families may need both home health and home care services.
“Home health” and “home care” are frequently confused, but they solve different problems.
Home Health vs. Non-Medical Home Care: What is the difference?
Skilled home health services require clinical training. In contrast, non-medical home care addresses the everyday needs of an older adult to help them perform personal care and household activities. Families need to determine the exact activities that need to be performed and select the appropriate provider.
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Question |
Skilled Home Health |
Non-Medical Home Care |
|
Who provides the care? |
Medical professionals/therapists |
Non-medical care professionals |
|
Is the work clinical? |
Yes, if the service is ordered/directed by a medical professional and provides skilled clinical or therapy services, such as, for example, nursing, therapy, or wound care services. |
No, the work is everyday support and does not provide clinical or therapeutic treatment. |
|
What needs does it address? |
It provides clinical services of a rehabilitative or therapeutic nature ordered/directed by a medical professional. |
It supports with meals, transportation, companionship, and other personal care activities. |
|
Where is the care provided? |
The care is provided in the client’s home for home health services. |
Non-medical home care is provided in the older adult’s home. |
|
What do families need to determine? |
For skilled home health services, families need to determine the type of clinical service, the qualified service provider and any medical requirements. |
The Care Plan, tasks required, schedule, and limitations of the home care provider. |
That is where we begin.
If your parent needs non-medical and medical support, you do not need to push everything into one of those categories.
When Skilled Home Health May be the Right Category
Skilled home health may be the right direction if your parent needs a medical professional to provide a service. Some examples of this may be nursing, therapy, wound care, or medical monitoring.
These are not things that someone can be trained to do in the home, or household activities.
If your parent needs a wound assessed and/or treated for example, the question is not "Can someone be in the home to do this?" The question is "Is a clinically appropriate person doing this?"
This is the same if a physician or other healthcare professional has ordered skilled nursing or therapy.
Home Instead Gainesville should not be considered a skilled home health agency for these services.
I would start with exactly what task is it that your parent needs help with?
"Dad needs help after surgery" is too broad.
Does he need help with clinical tasks?
Does he need help with household tasks?
Does he need help with both?
Once you separate these needs, the next steps become clearer.
When Non-Medical Home Care May be Appropriate
Non-medical home care may be the right category if your parent is having difficulty doing household activities. This may be things like housekeeping, laundry, or errands. It may also be difficulty with activities of daily living like toileting, bathing, and dressing.
Home Instead Gainesville offers a variety of in-home assistance with daily routines, including personal care, bathing, dressing, and meal preparation, as well as light housekeeping, running errands and medication reminders.
Imagine your parent needs assistance bathing in the morning and prepares lunch. Or perhaps your parent also needs to get to an appointment and help out with light household tasks.
That does not mean they need the services of a skilled nurse or home health aide.
Home care services may be helpful in this situation.
Your parent may be capable of doing many things on their own.
That doesn't mean home care is not of benefit.
A Care Plan can target those areas of assistance needed the most.
For family members interested in learning more, elder care services in Gainesville offers household help, errands, transportation, personal care, companionship and respite.
Is it possible to utilize both kinds of care?
Yes. It may be the case that family members need clinical and non-medical care at the same time.
For example, a qualified healthcare professional may need to provide clinical care while a home care provider helps your parent with bathing, meals, transportation, laundry, and/or just companionship for the week.
One does not preclude the other.
The clinical responsibility lies with the healthcare provider, and the responsibility for day-to-day care lies with the home care provider.
Have an open discussion with your family about who is responsible for each task.
A simple list can help explain the breakdown.
Who does the clinical care?
Who helps with the personal routines?
Who does the meal prep?
Who is the transporter?
Who does the family call when the level of care changes?
If you can’t answer these questions, you may need to rethink your care plan.
The Gainesville Families Should Ask Before Choosing
Before deciding which type of care your parent needs, concentrate on what work needs to get done.
Who will do the work?
If work is clinical, who is the qualified medical professional? If it is non-medical daily support, can a Care Pro do it?
What does your parent need help with?
Try not to be vague and say “my parent needs help.”
Does your parent need help bathing?
Is meal prep what is needed?
Is it help getting to appointments?
Is it help with a daily routine?
Is it skilled nursing?
What your parent needs help with determines the type of care you will need to look into.
Are the tasks medical or non-medical?
This is an important distinction you need to make.
Is something clinical?
Transportation is not skilled nursing.
Preparing a meal is not nursing care.
Wound care is not companionship.
Clear language helps the family figure out the right care to look into.
How often is help needed?
Can the provider do everything?
Ask the provider what the limits are.
Understanding the boundaries of the service is just as important as knowing the capabilities.
What signals a change in the plan?
Your parents’ needs change over time.
During the development of care recommendations, the Home Instead Gainesville team analyzes activities of daily living, routines, and places where assistance may be helpful.
What Home Instead Gainesville Does and Does Not Provide
Home Instead Gainesville provides non-medical support.
It can help with various tasks of daily living such as bathing, dressing, and meals, and with other chores and errands, as well as with companionship and routine activities.
This doesn’t mean a Care Pro will become your parent’s nurse, therapist, or other clinical service provider.
Sometimes the line is unclear.
For example, if your parent just came back from a medical appointment or a hospital stay and needs help performing the tasks and routines outlined in the medical instructions, a Care Pro may be able to help with those tasks and routines; however, it doesn’t mean the Care Pro will be doing the clinical service or task.
If you’re not sure where your parent’s needs fall, start with the tasks.
If your parent needs help bathing and prepares breakfast and gets dressed to leave for a doctor’s appointment, that points to non-medical help.
On the other hand, if your parent needs help with wound care and another medical task, then that points to a clinical provider.
If your parent needs both types of help, you may need to consider both.
Families can review home care in Gainesville to see what local non-medical services are available.
Gainesville Home Health FAQs
What’s the difference between home health and home care?
Home health is made up of clinical/skilled services provided in the home. Home care is made up of personal care, households tasks and routine activities and is sometimes referred to as non-medical home care.
Does Home Instead Gainesville provide Skilled Nursing?
Home Instead Gainesville provides non-medical home care. Skilled nursing and other clinical services should be provided by the appropriate qualified medical provider.
What if my parent needs help bathing and dressing?
Bathing and dressing are examples of personal care and are non-medical support services offered by Home Instead Gainesville. The level of assistance should be determined when the Care Plan is developed.
What if my parent needs wound care?
Wound care is a clinical service and should be provided by a qualified medical provider.
Can my parent receive both home health and home care services?
Absolutely. They can be provided by two different services. The family may utilize a medical provider for clinical services, and a non-medical provider for support in everyday activities and personal care.
What order of care should I initiate?
Make a list of tasks your parent needs help with. If the needs primarily include skilled nursing, therapy, wound care, or other medical monitoring needs, it would be appropriate to initiate a call to a medical provider. If the needs primarily include assistance with personal care, meals, transportation, companionship and help with household routines, initiate a call to a non-medical home care provider.
When trying to decide if your parent needs the assistance of skilled home health care or non-medical home care in Gainesville, consider the tasks needed to be accomplished, rather than the labels. Write down what tasks need to be accomplished each day. Separate the clinical needs from the other tasks. Then, contact our office in Gainesville to learn what non-medical services might help your parent.
About the Author
Matt Cohn has spent more than 25 years helping older adults and their families understand their options for support at home. He owns Home Instead locations serving communities in Georgia and Louisiana and has worked closely with families, caregivers, and care professionals through many decisions involving aging and in-home care.
