As the population ages, and hospitals cut back on their stays, more and more people will be looking to home health care as an alternative. Knowing the options for the continuum of care can help alleviate some of the anxiety that occurs when a loved one leaves the hospital or has increasing medical needs. The pace and unfamiliar surroundings of a hospital or nursing home can be confusing. Not only is the financial burden of a hospital stay alleviated with home care, studies show that patients with home care often enjoy a faster rate of recovery and the chance of further hospitalization is minimized.

Home health care's purpose should be to extend quality care into the home and maintain the comfort of the patient in the familiar surroundings of his home. The decision to choose a home care giver can seem overwhelming, but the points outlined below should direct you to resources that will make the process of finding good elderly care much easier. Not only do you want to ensure that the care you will be receiving is of the highest quality, but, also, that the caregiver will respect your lifestyle as well as your home.

First determine the type of care or services that will be needed, the level of training of the caregiver, and the financial coverage provided by your insurance or Medicare. Elderly Care has many support groups in Virginia. A physician or an Area Office on Aging can help you evaluate your needs and provide you with a list of licensed agencies. In addition, Medicare ranks all the agencies that they certify who provide elderly care and conducts performance surveys of each on specific categories of patient care. There are also several professional organizations that have established stringent standards to define quality in home care services that go beyond minimum state and national requirements. Two of the most respected are: The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAPS).

Once you have a list of potential agencies, you are ready to inquire about their specific services for elderly care, along with the personal standards they demand of their clinicians.

Questions to Ask:

What type of license does your agency have?
How soon after discharge from the hospital will your plan of care begin?

What is the evaluation process for developing a care plan for the patient and assigning care givers? Does a nurse or therapist consult the patients' family and physicians? How frequently will there be feedback and updates regarding the patient's progress?

How detailed is that patient's course of treatment? How often does the care giver update the family members and doctor?

What procedures does this provider have in place to handle emergencies? Are its caregivers available 24 hours a day, seven days a week?