A skilled need is a physician ordered service that requires the expertise of a medical professional, such as a nurse, physical therapist, occupational therapist, or speech therapist to perform. A few examples of skilled need are:

• assessment of an unstable client status
• evaluating effectiveness of new medications and instructing on their dosage/safe use
• providing instruction of a disease process or treatment regimen
• wound/catheter care
• IV therapy
• a decline in functional status such as an increased difficulty in walking
• new caregiver that requires teaching/assistance to be proficient in managing a clients care
• decreased ability of a client to safely and effectively care for themselves
• difficulty in swallowing
• deteriorating mental status

This list is only a small sampling of typical skilled needs for home health patients. If you have any questions regarding whether or not you may have a skilled need, please contact us for further information.

Medicare and most private insurance plans cover home health services for qualified clients.
To qualify, the following conditions must be met:

The client must be under the care of a physician and that physician must be willing to establish and regularly review the client’s home health plan of care.

The physician must certify that you have a skilled need – which is one or more of the following: Skilled Nursing, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy or continued Occupational Therapy

The client must be homebound.

Home health care utilizes a team of skilled professionals to provide specialized care within the client’s home and under the direction of a physician. Services may include nursing care, rehabilitative therapy and assistance with personal care.

Renew Home Health is a licensed and Medicare certified agency that provides skilled home health care to the patients we serve. Renew does not offer any non medical homecare, private pay, sitter or paid caregiver services.

At this point, it is important to understand the difference between Home Health Care and Homecare services. Although they sound the same, they are quite different.

Home Health Care vs. Homecare

Home Health Care is medically oriented or skilled care. The high level of assistance provided by home health care requires a physician’s order and is covered by Medicare and most private insurance plans. It can provide the client with a wide range of professional licensed health care services, including nursing, therapy and medical social work. These services are focused on assisting the client to recover from an acute illness or injury and teaching them how to manage their own care effectively. The primary goal of home health care is simple – provide the client with the medical support they need to remain in their home for as long as possible.

Homecare is not medically oriented care and therefore does not require a physician’s order. The focus of homecare services is custodial in nature, with trained – but usually unlicensed – individuals providing assistance to clients with activities such as housekeeping, errands, meal preparation, transportation assistance and personal care. These services are often structured on an hourly basis, with the individual providing assistance to the client for an agreed upon period of time. (example: 3 hours a day, Monday – Friday) While the availability of these services can have a positive impact on a client’s ability to remain in the home, Medicare or most private insurance plans do not cover this type of care. Unless a client has a long term care policy which provides for this benefit, the cost of homecare services is usually the client’s responsibility. Some states cover homecare services through their state funded Medicaid program, but the eligibility for these services is extremely limited and the waiting lists are long.

Homecare services are called by many names…such as sitter, homemaker, private pay, primary homecare or paid caregiver services.