While home health services do require that a patient is “homebound”, that does not mean that a patient is unable to leave the home. It simply means that, because trips outside the home are a taxing effort for you, they are infrequent and of short duration. Medicare understands that there are times that patients need to leave the home…such as to obtain food and medications or attend doctor visits, church services or special family functions. These trips are perfectly acceptable and do not keep you from qualifying for home health. Also consider that many times a patient’s “homebound” status is temporary.

While they may normally go outside the home frequently and without effort, a hospital stay or recovery from an acute illness can change that…..if only for a few weeks. If you have any concerns about whether or not you still meet the “homebound” criteria for our services, ask your nurse.