Introduction to the Home Health Agency Role Essay

Introduction to the Home Health Agency Role - Essay Example Most skills trainings for HHAs are taught by other healthcare professionals, and they usually learned on the job. Generally, their trainings are molded around the unique needs of the patient. Depending on the level of complication of the client’s illness, the HHAs trainings could be done in a few hours to a few days. For more complex cases, some employers provide training classes, which the aspiring HHA has to pass before they are given a job. There is no license for HHAs, but there are some employers who would rather hire certified HHAs. The certification process includes an examination and 75 hours of training and skills testing. Other requirements may include a background check of candidates, before enrolling them to a program, due to the high trust nature of the job. Sometimes, health screenings may be required to prevent patients from contracting diseases from their caregivers. 2.0 Purpose and Goals of Home Care Home care involves a wide scope of care for a wide variety o f patients outside the hospital setting. The services that home health care companies provide can range from nursing care, physical therapy, and even occupation therapy from qualified medical professionals to smaller services from home health aides. The care provided could be as simple as assistance in everyday activities, such as bathing and eating, to more complex services requiring more specialized professionals. Essentially, the purpose and goal of home care is to provide an adequate level of care usually achievable at the hospital, and bring it to the patient’s home. 3.0 Members of the Home Health Care Team (With Functions and Interaction) Physician. Physicians perform home visits to the patient at regular intervals wherein they assess the patient in an environment that he or she is more comfortable. They assess how the patient handles his or her illness at home. They also regularly check and make adjustments and interventions when necessary. There are two ways in which physicians can function in the home health care setting. First, they rely on the home health care nurse, as the leader, mediator, and coordinator of the group, leaving them to be the evaluator of the patient’s health, which is to be coordinated with the rest of the team by the nurse. Second, they are the one who will lead the team by taking a more active role in patient care. The mnemonic INHOMESSS enumerates the roles of the physician including immobility, nutrition, home environment, other home health care members, medications examination, safety, spiritual health, and services by home health agencies. Furthermore, at the patient’s home, physicians will be able to get a more in-depth assessment of aspects of the patient’s life that is not normally accessible from the hospital setting. Moreover, they can look for environmental factors found in the home that can affect the patient’s illness; they can see how the patient acts in a more comfortable setting than in a hospital, and they can assess the patient’s compliance with the therapeutic regimen including diet, exercise, and medications. From these observations, they can identify faults in the patient’s activities and make interventions to change them for the patient’s health. They can also assess the tasks of the health care team and change them to suit better with the therapeutic regimen, especially if they are the one functioning as a team leader and a coordinator. Nurse. Most of the care