Homecare Education

The Different Types of Home Care

Home Care is a Cost Effective Solution for Employers

What services are provided?

Attendant/Custodial Care

Homemakers, 24 hour caregivers, driver/companions, certified nursing assistants, or nurses’ aides assist with Activities of Daily Living (bathing, dressing, toileting, feeding, grooming, meal preparation, shopping, laundry, transferring) or provide respite care.

Skilled Nursing Care

Skilled Nursing Care including wound care, diabetes teaching, medication management, blood draws, cardiac & pulmonary disease management, etc.

Physical Therapy including home safety evaluation, assistance with mobility, strength training, etc.
Occupational & Speech Therapy including adapting and retraining for daily living skills (bathing & grooming), working with speech/language deficiencies, and evaluation and retraining of swallowing techniques.

Social Services including short term therapy to cope with illness and community resource planning.

How is eligibility determined?

Attendant/Custodial Care

There are no eligibility requirements. Any patient, family member or healthcare professional can arrange for custodial care services.

Skilled Nursing Care

 Patients covered by Medicare & Medi-Cal insurance who are home bound. Services for these recipients must be ordered by a physician, who certifies that the recipient qualifies for such services.

Eligibility for patients, covered by an HMO, is determined by the insurance case managers. Private physicians and/or case managers order services for private insurance or PPO patients.

Who provides the services?

Attendant/Custodial Care

Patients typically contact an agency to provide qualified caregivers. Agencies must perform criminal background checks, insure & bond their employees, provide workers’ compensation insurance, and handle all payroll taxes.

Skilled Nursing Care

Registered Nurses, Licensed Vocational Nurses, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, Social Workers and Certified Home Health Aides.

What is the frequency and duration of services?

Attendant/Custodial Care

Duration and frequency is determined by the patient, family or healthcare professional. Most agencies have a minimum requirement of a 4-hour shift.

Skilled Nursing Care

The frequency and duration of these services is determined by the physician and case managers, who oversee the patient’s care. These visits are usually 2 hours or less and are not usually made on a daily basis.

Where may services be provided?

Attendant/Custodial Care

Wherever the patient resides, temporarily or permanently, such as private home/apartment, hotel, assisted living facility, skilled nursing home, hospital, etc.

Skilled Nursing Care

Services may be provided in a private residence, assisted living facility, or board & care. Services cannot be provided in skilled nursing facility or hospital.

Who pays for these services?

Attendant/Custodial Care

Services are primarily paid for by the patient or other responsible party. Exceptions: 1) individuals covered by long term care insurance; 2) workers who have been injured on the job and have approval form the workers’ compensation insurance company; and 3) Recipients of local or state funded programs

Skilled Nursing Care

Medicare, Medi-Cal, HMO, PPO, private insurance, and/or Workers’ Compensation Insurance.