Understanding and Accessing Homecare

Home is an important place. It’s where most seniors want and need to be. But sometimes it takes the whole community or “village” – a village of caregivers, family, friends and healthcare professionals – to care for seniors at home. Allegheny Health Network’s Healthcare @ Home program can be an important part of that village as you strive to keep your loved one at home.

Home might be the house Mom or Dad has lived in for 45 years or it might be the personal care home in your neighborhood where Aunt Mary has settled into for her senior years. It might be an assisted living facility you moved Grandpa into to assure he is safe and kept watch over when you can’t be there. Home can be a house down the street or across the country or any other senior living community where your loved one resides.

Utilizing skilled home healthcare and hospice services, like those provided by Allegheny Health Network’s Healthcare @ Home program, can give caregivers peace of mind, knowing their loved ones are receiving the extra care and support from their village in their home, wherever that may be. And skilled home health is a completely covered Medicare Part A benefit, and also covered by many other managed care insurances for seniors who are considered “homebound."

Homecare is not just for rehabilitation after hip replacement surgery or wound care after an operation. Some home health programs, such as with the Allegheny Health Network’s Healthcare @ Home program, can provide you and your loved one with a Transition Coach. Older adults with complex care needs often require care in multiple settings, and healthcare professionals in these settings often function independently from one another, frequently resulting in fragmented care for the patient. OurTransition Coach will ensure coordination and continuity of care, especially during that critical time 7 to 10 days after hospital discharge when the highest rates of re-hospitalizations occur.

Most seniors suffer from at least one chronic disease, such as heart failure, diabetes, or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Allegheny Health Network’s Healthcare @ Home program offers specialized disease management programs that can help teach seniors to manage and often improve their condition and reduce avoidable hospitalizations.

Did you know our skilled home health can provide mental health services for things like depression, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia?