Nurturing Care in the Comfort of Home

Nurturing Care in the Comfort of Home

Our Mission: Anchor Home Health Care helps individuals maintain a familiar and independent lifestyle by providing the support of nursing and personal care services in the comfort of their own home.

What is Home Health Care? Home care is health care service that is provided where the patient lives. The purpose of home care is to restore, or maintain a patient s health and reduce the effects of disease or disability. Nursing can be delivered in the patients homes. This allows them to feel more comfortable and less anxious. Patients can receive home care whether they live in their own homes, assisted living facilities, with or without family members. Specialty therapists from physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and respiratory therapy departments often make regular home visits, depending on a patient s specific needs. General nursing care is provided by both registered and licensed practical nurses; however, there are also nurses who are clinical specialists in psychiatry, and cardiology who may provide care when necessary. Home health aides are similar to those of nurses aides in the hospital. They provide what is called personal care in domestic settings. Anchor Home Health Care Inc. is an independent, licensed, local home health care company. We are committed to the belief that seniors and home bound individuals are best served when they are cared for at home. Anchor Home Health Care provides a wide spectrum of health care professionals and specialized services in the comfort of home. Our home health care team works with physicians, hospital staff, and family to develop a personal health care plan that addresses the needs of each patient. Our caring service makes it possible for the elderly to maintain as much independence and recovery as possible. We will provide the appropriate in home nursing assistance and companionship. Experience You Can Trust.

Examples of Home Health Services: You were diagnosed as a diabetic. You need a skilled nurse to teach you to self inject, to manage your insulin, and understand the symptoms of insulin shock, and respond to emergencies. The teaching services would be covered as a home health benefit. You have Alzheimer s disease, or you may need support following a stroke. An Anchor Home Health Care nurse can come to your home to assess your medical symptoms for medication compliance, and to ensure that your overall care plan is adequate. You have multiple sclerosis and require regular exercise so that your condition does not deteriorate. Anchor Home Health Care can assign a physical therapist to come to your home and ensure that your exercise program is appropriate. You recently broke a leg bone which has not healed and is unstable. You need regular exercise to maintain function until the bone heals. A physical therapist visits to make sure that your leg is properly aligned during your maintenance exercises. Although you are homebound, your managed care plan requires you to perform physical therapy. You also require a nurse to come to your home to change your catheter once a month and the daily assistance of a home health aide with bathing and dressing. Because you leave home for a medical service, the managed care plan will cover the nursing and home health aide visits in your home. Assessing The Clients Needs For most patients, home care is required only on a short-term basis. The services provided and the number of visits will vary based on your condition, our home care team, and your physician. Our home care services are flexible for your needs. To make sure your recovery advances according to plan, we can make multiple visits spread over weeks or months. You can receive home health services for as long as you continue to meet the coverage criteria. You can receive a combination of home health services for up to seven days per week and as long as the need for these services is documented by the home health provider.

How Can We Help You? Home Care Medical and Nursing Needs Checklist If you answer yes to any of the questions below, you should consider discussing the need for assistance at home with your physician, family or Anchor Home Health Care Inc. I live alone. I have difficulty selecting my own meals. I don t understand my disease and how to control it. I have more than one medical problem. I take many prescription medicines. My doctor has prescribed some new medicines which I have never taken before. I had an operation during my recent hospital stay. My physical condition does not permit me to care for myself and do the things I was able to do before my hospitalization. My family is unable to care for all my needs. My doctor has prescribed a special diet. I have an unhealed wound and I need assistance with dressing changes. I have other special medical and medical needs and would feel more confident if I received some additional teaching at home. I have been in the hospital twice in the last six months. I have had visits to my home by a nurse or other health care professional in the past. My physical limitations make it difficult for me to use my bathroom at home. My physical limitations may require me to learn to use a wheelchair, walker or other assistance devices to manage at home. I am home bound, making it difficult to do errands, etc. I have trouble bathing myself.

Services Provided: Catheter Care Cardiac/Pulmonary Care Feeding/Injection Gastrostomy IV Therapy Occupational Therapy Physical Therapy Speech Therapy Wound Care Respiratory Therapy Physician Visits Laboratory Services Skilled Observation and Assessment of Newly Diagnosed Conditions Open Wound Care/Dressing Foley Insertion Home Health Aides Geriatric Care Commitment To Excellent Service Skilled Nursing: Skilled nursing care consists of those services that must be performed by a registered nurse or licensed (vocational) nurse, and meet the criteria for skilled nursing services: Registered Nurses and Therapists are available to help monitor and provide specialized skilled services. Even if you have a chronic, terminal, and/or degenerative condition, home health coverage may be available to you. For example, you may need skilled nursing services to prevent or slow further deterioration or to preserve current capabilities. Anchor Home Health Care is committed to bringing professional health care services directly to you. We provide service to patients with an illness or disability, recovering from surgery, or those who maintain a home bound status that compromises their health. Our Staff of nurses, therapists, and aides provides premium home health care to residents of the greater Chicagoland area including the counties of Cook, DuPage, Will, and Lake. To qualify for home health services, you must have a medical need for skilled services of a nurse or therapist. This means that leaving the home requires effort, and that you therefore leave the home infrequently. You can also be temporarily home bound due to illness or injury. Anchor Home Health Care must also receive orders from your doctor to provide home health services. Upon request from you or from your doctor, we will coordinate with your doctor directly. Your personal doctor will supervise your care in conjunction with our medical team. We do not require you to see different doctors. Who is Eligible to Receive Service? You must be restricted in your ability to leave home. You must require the help or supervision of another person, or you use a supportive device such as a cane or walker. You can leave the home as often as you need for medical treatment. Non-medical absences must be either infrequent, for a short period of time, or against medical judgment. If leaving home requires a considerable or taxing effort for you, you can request home health services. You must need either skilled nursing care on an intermittent basis or physical therapy or speech therapy. Skilled nursing includes not only hands-on treatment, but observation of your changing condition. There is no requirement that your condition must improve. Intermittent can mean skilled nursing case as infrequently as once every 60 days. Some people can need a nurse less than once every 60 days and still receive home health care services, as long as they have a regular and predictable need for a nurse. For instance, you may need a nurse to assist you in administering injections once every 90 days. You must have a doctor prescribe the home-based care. If you are enrolled in a managed care plan, the care must be authorized by either your primary care physician or the plan. If your think you may be eligible for home health benefits, ask your physician to develop a plan of care for you. If you are hospitalized, you can ask the hospital discharge planner to set up these services for you. Anchor Home Health Care can evaluate your need for home care services and develop a plan of care. In a

managed care plan, you must get prior approval for an evaluation. Our nurse will visit your home, develop a plan of care, and submit her plan to your physician for final approval. Even if you have a chronic, terminal, and/or degenerative condition, home health coverage may be available to you. For example, you may need skilled nursing or therapy services to prevent or slow further deterioration or to preserve current capabilities. Frequently Asked Questions: Q: What kind of Services do you provide? A: Professional nurses, both RN s and LPN s and Physical Therapist ordered by a doctor. Anchor Home Health Care also provides occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, medical social worker and/or home health aide designed to take over or assist in the activities that elders need to be able to stay at home safely and with dignity. These may include fall prevention, medication and fluids reminders, light housekeeping, grooming or bathing assistance. Q: What is the background check of the staff? A: Anchor Home Health Care health care staff comes from many different backgrounds, but all of them are experienced nurses and home health aides of certified nurse s aides who understand the needs of the elderly and their families. All our caregivers have gone through pre-employment screening and are bonded and insured. We provide vigorous hiring standards to ensure patients receive the highest quality of care possible. Q: Do you actually provide care in assisted living facilities? A: Assisted Living is designed for seniors that require some assistance with activities of daily living and wish to live as independently as possible. People sometimes discover that the assistance provided in an assisted living facility is not enough to enable them to remain independent. In these cases you are allowed to hire private help in an assisted living facility or nursing home for that matter. Q: Can this help my parents conserve the assets they have worked all their lives to build? A: Yes. Any assets a person spends for their own care is that much less that will be available for the government, through Medicaid or taxes, to take away. Most families would rather see those assets spent keeping their elderly family members at home and independent rather than have them taken away to reimburse the government or be taxed as inheritance. Q: How quickly can services be provided? A: Generally services can be provided within a 48-hour period and often the same day. Q: How do I start services? A: Our staff will come to your home and conduct an assessment. We will then, identify caregivers who have the skills, personality and availability to assist you. You then will be able to meet the caregiver and upon your approval, Anchor Home Health Care will begin working for you. For more information about our services or to schedule a free, in-home nursing assessment call 708-599-1313. Each client is carefully matched to a custom medical team based on his or her own needs.

Care You Can Trust Anchor Home Health Care provides custodial (skilled) care. The quality skilled nursing care and home health care aides work closely with the client s physician to determine the most effective treatment plan. Our nursing professionals are committed to excellence in home health care. Many elements are involved in a successful treatment plan while we pay careful attention to both to provide a coordinated and effective care plan. Our nursing staff is keenly aware of their critical role in the patient s medical care. We recognize that the medical field is continually changing and making new discoveries, especially in the fields of wound care, geriatrics, Parkinson s Disease, Alzheimer s Disease, and pain management. Call 708-599-1313 today for a free over the phone consultation. Senior Links for Support and Information AARP 1-800-227-7669 American Health Care Association 1-800-555-9414 www.acha.org Caregiver Support Groups 1-800-552-8195 Free Financial Planning 1-202-336-8800 Medicare 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048. National Institute of Mental Health 1-301-443-4513 National Institute on Aging 1-800-222-2225 National Stroke Foundation 1-800-352-9424 Special Committee on Aging 1-202-720-3029 9800 S. Roberts Rd., Ste. 100 Palos Hills, Illinois 60465 Ph: 708.599.1313 Fax: 708.599.9497 www.myanchorhomecare.com