Home Care Facts for Physicians and Health Care Professionals
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Home health care enables patients to recuperate from short-term illness or deal with chronic disease in the comfort of their own homes.
Working together with the patient's physician, a skilled team of home health professionals look after your patient's physical, social, and emotional needs. One of the goals of home care is to provide patients and families the care, education, and support needed for them to become independent in their care. Home care services may include visiting nurses, rehabilitation therapy, home health aides, medical social services, home infusion therapy, or hospice.
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Who Should be Referred to Home Care? |
Who Pays for Home Care? |
Home Care Services |
Advantages of Sutter VNA & Hospice |
How to Make a Referral |
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Who Should be Referred to Home Care?
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Criteria for admission to home care are:
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The patient is homebound.
The patient is in need of health care that requires skilled nursing, physical therapy or speech therapy on an intermittent basis.
The attending physician must sign the initial plan of care.
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Examples of patients who would benefit from home care are (these examples are not all-inclusive, however they illustrate the breadth of home care services we provide):
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those recovering from surgery
disabled or chronically ill persons needing medical treatment and/or assistance with the activities of daily living
patients recovering from a stroke, heart attack, heart surgery, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, lung disease, diseases of the nervous system and terminal illness
patients who have undergone hip or knee replacement surgery, those receiving IV therapy, and those with a colostomy or catheter
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Who Pays for Home Care?
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Medicare, Medi-Cal and most private insurance companies pay for home care services. Our staff will work out details with the payer source and assist patients to understand benefits. In addition, the Sutter VNA & Hospice Foundation raises funds for Sutter VNA & Hospice to provide care, regardless of ability to pay.
Click here for information about the Sutter VNA & Hospice Foundation.
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Home Care Services
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Nurses conduct patient and environmental assessments and coordinate the care provided by all team members. They monitor vital signs, provide instruction and education, treatment plan, medications, diet, injections, IV infusions and dressing changes.
Home Health Aides assist the patient with daily living activities.
Medical Social Workers conduct psycho-social assessments, connect patients with community resources, assess eligibility for public assistance, assist in long-term care planning, and provide counseling and crisis intervention.
Rehabilitation Services include physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists.
Hospice Services provide compassionate care for patients living with a terminal illness, and their families.
Sutter VNA & Hospice also provides Home Infusion Therapy and Home Medical Equipment.
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Advantages of Sutter VNA & Hospice
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One-on-one patient care at home rather than in the hospital—what patients usually prefer.
Medical bills can be significantly reduced.
Communication by phone or fax, at any time of the day the physician selects.
Services provided by local offices throughout Northern California.
An outstanding team working with the primary physician.
Seamless transitions from hospital to home, and among our programs.
State licensed and certified by Medicare and Medi-Cal. Accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).
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Click here for the top ten reasons patients prefer home care.
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How to Make a Referral
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Call 1-800-557-9777
On hospital discharge orders, write "Refer to Sutter VNA & Hospice for home care."
Fax to 510-547-3257 or 1-800-596-5444 (print fax form)
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