- Aging in Place
- Alzheimer’s & Dementia Care at Home
- Bathroom, Eating & Drinking Aids
- Emergencies
- Hiring Homecare
- Hiring Home Health Care
- Home Modification
- Home Safety & Fall Prevention
- Hospital Discharge
- Housework, Dressing & Eating Tips
- Injection How-to’s
- Pain Management
- Positioning & Exercises for the Bedridden
- Senior Driving Issues
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Home Health Quality Measures Explained
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is part of the federal government's Department of Health and Human Services. Because many Medicare and Medicaid recipients are elderly, much of the funding goes to nursing homes or eldercare services. Home health agencies that receive certifications from Medicare undergo an assessment every three years. CMS assesses these home health agencies via quality measures and publishes each agency's results. CMS & Home Health CMS provides scoring for all Medicare-certified home health...Read the rest of this article »
Before Hospital Discharge—Evaluating Your Homecare Needs
If you are confined to bed, your hospital team (nurse or discharge planner) will assess your ability to move about and position yourself for maximum comfort and to prevent skin breakdown. They will decide whether you need a trapeze to help raise yourself in bed and will examine your ability to transfer in and out of bed, either to a wheelchair or to an ordinary chair. Walking If you are able to be up, your hospital team will evaluate your...Read the rest of this article »
Pain Medication at Home—Controlling Pain
Telling your doctor that the pain medication "doesn't work" is the first step in taking control; but giving the doctor some specific details will help in finding a solution. The more information you can give your doctor, the better. Try asking yourself these questions: What does the pain feel like? Is it sharp, dull, intermittent, stabbing? Where is the pain? What makes the pain go away? Changing positions? A different activity? Medication? A back rub? A hot bath? How long...Read the rest of this article »
Choosing a Home Health Agency: A How-to Guide
During a hospital discharge, people who require additional skilled care in the home are usually referred to a home health agency by the hospital discharge planner. But many consumers are finding that they need to hire home health on their own. Finding the right agency to take care of a loved one can be daunting, and often comes at a crisis point. Take a deep breath—it is possible to find a good agency, and good people to help work...Read the rest of this article »
Advocate 101 for Family Caregivers: When your Loved One is Hospitalized
As a family caregiver, short-term hospitalization of a loved one can be a difficult situation whether he or she is living in a long-term care facility or at home. As the family caregiver, the change can prove challenging at points, especially as hospitalization normally points to an unstable medical condition or an acute condition. Here are a few pointers for how to negotiate the situation. The most important issue to keep in mind is that you have most of the...Read the rest of this article »
