Equipment

Home Oxygen
A doctor's prescription is not always necessary to rent or purchase these items, but your physician can suggest what equipment is appropriate for your individual needs. You'll need to determine if you meet the criteria to qualify for Medicare or Medicaid. Oxygen, we all need it to breathe. It's essential for life. Unfortunately, some people with lung diseases such as asthma, lung cancer, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and other lung related diseases, don't get enough oxygen. When appropriate, your doctor may prescribe home oxygen therapy. Home oxygen therapy can help patients feel better, improve sleep, mood and memory. It can help boost energy and very importantly, avoid costly hospitalization. Your physician has to prescribe oxygen since is it a drug.

Diabetic Supplies
A doctor's prescription is not always necessary to rent or purchase these items, but your physician can suggest what equipment is appropriate for your individual needs. You'll need to determine if you meet the criteria to qualify for Medicare or Medicaid. The American Diabetics Association estimates that health care spending related to diabetes was over 90 billion dollars in 1993. Obviously, diabetes is a serious but treatable disease. The current trend in treating diabetes is a team approach. This team consists of a diabetic educator, dietitian and your doctor. Since diabetes lessens the body's ability to regulate normal blood sugar levels, your physician may direct you to use a machine called a blood glucose monitor. These machines measure the amount of glucose that is carried by your blood. The measurements taken by the machine are then given to your doctor so he or she can see how you are progressing.

General

General Nursing Services

You should expect many things from a general nursing service. These nurses have chosen home care as their line of work. Every nurse applicant undergoes a rigorous screening process including personal interviews, skill validation, proficiency testing and professional reference checks. Only the most qualified are selected. Nurses stay updated on the latest medical technologies and care techniques in their specialty areas. The skill, competence and character should be evident the moment a nurse walks in the door. Patients and their family should feel reassured. Trained and competent nurses should perform every service in compliance with the highest standards of nursing practice. There are available for short-term intermittent are, extended care, private duty care, around the clock services and much more.

Home Infusion Therapy Services

Community based infusion therapy professional nurses provide the most medically advanced therapies at home. All clinical programs use a team approach with includes the physician, infusion nurses and clinical pharmacists. Our nurses assist in selecting and delivery systems, training the client and developing, implementing and monitoring the treatment plan. All clinical specialty services and products are provided as client specific clinical programs which include parenteral and internal nutrition, antibiotic therapy, chemotherapy, aids related therapies, pain management, growth hormone therapy and hydration therapy.

Home Patient Care for the Bedridden

Caring for a person who is bedridden can become a full time job. It's not a good idea to take this on by yourself. Home health agencies can provide professional help when additional care is needed and there are visiting nurses, also. Remember to change the patient's position often to prevent bed sores from forming on the body's pressure points. Stretching and moving the joints will also help prevent bed sores as well as joint stiffness and aid in circulation. Changing bed linens frequently and using pillows for support will help keep bedridden people comfortable. Hospital beds which can be adjusted will aid in keeping your patient comfortable and make things easier for the care giver. For further information on home health care speak with your doctor or call a local home care agency.

Medical Supplies for Home Patient Care

A large variety of medical supplies can be found in drug stores and medical supply stores. If you are caring for someone on your home, you can rent or purchase various items, such as hospital beds, commodes, wheel chairs, walkers, and canes. An adjustable bed will not only make your patient more comfortable, but it will also make the care givers job easier. Your doctor can give you more information about medical supplies or call your local medical supply company.

Home Physical Therapy

Unless a person is paralyzed or immobilized due to an injury, bedridden patients should exercise on a regular basis. In order to stimulate circulation and deter joint tightness, a patient should stretch and flex arms and legs. If a patient cannot perform these tasks due to weakness or paralysis, the care giver should gently maneuver joints at least once a day. Physical therapy is sometimes prescribed by a doctor when a patient needs to regain muscle strength and flexibility. Physical therapists can make house calls for those homebound patients. Contact your doctor or home health agency for more information on home physical therapy.

Choosing Home Care

It's very important to choose the proper home care for the welfare of the patient and easing the workload of the primary car giver. Medical and other care is provided for people in their homes by churches home care agencies, and hospitals. There are transportation and meal services available for sick and disabled persons at home. In your search for a home care provider, check their services and choose the one who best suits your needs. While home health aids will take care of the patient medically, they can also be hired to take care of household tasks such as laundry and cleaning. Before you make your final decision, check the agency's references or ask your doctor or hospital for a recommendation. For more information on home care contact your doctor or local home care agency.

Wound Care

Today, health assistance can be provided for bedridden or terminally ill patients in the home. Home health care is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Family members can be taught proper wound care with continuous assessment by a home health nurse who monitors for proper healing or recognizes when a change needs to be made in the specific would care ordered. The nurse keeps the physician updated on the patient's progress so changes in the home health care plan can be made if necessary.

Physical Therapy

Sometimes when a patient leaves the hospital after suffering a disability or injury, ongoing physical therapy is required. Rather than make the person travel back and forth to the hospital for follow-up physical therapy, the service can be provided in their home. Under the direction of the patient's physician, therapists establish a treatment plan to suit the specific needs of the individual patient. Physical therapists work with the whole body to maximize strength, movement and balance. Occupational therapists help a person relearn daily living skills such as driving or cooking. Speech therapists assist in improving communication skills. At home therapy is more convenient for the patient and is suited to their particular needs.

Choosing Home Care

Home care can provide a practical option for people recovering from a major illness or disability. Many people are turning to home care as an alternative to lengthy stays in hospitals or nursing homes. There are both emotional and financial advantages for a person recovering in his or her own home. Benefits include a faster recovery, because people are generally happier at home, improved sleep away from the hospital environment, better diet because food can be prepared the way a person likes it, less disruption from family, and usually lower medical cost. To set up for home care, arrangements need to be made for the person's proper medications, equipment and nursing staff.

Choosing a Home Health Care Agency

It is not nursing homes or hospitals which provide the most care for elderly Americans, or Americans with disabilities -- it's the family. How do you choose an agency? Are all agencies the same? No, there are many differences in the type of services offered, the qualifications of personnel, and the actual care or assistance you may expect to receive. First you must assess your needs. If you are a Medicare beneficiary, and require medical assistance, you must select a Medicare certified agency. What types of agencies are there? Basically, there are two types - medical and non-medical. Any agency that can handle your medical needs will offer nurses - R.N.s and L.P.N.s, therapists and C.N.A.s. A non-medical agency will offer home companion care givers. These are people who can assist you will all your non-medical personal needs, prepare meals, perform light housekeeping and laundry chores, and provide companionship on a live-in or hourly basis.

WHEELCHAIRS

Introduction

A wheelchair can be a wonderful liberator. Someone with a spinal cord injury can get around as quickly in a wheelchair as someone else can walking. For an older person with arthritis, a wheelchair can provide access to the world outside the home. For an active sports person, a wheelchair is the means to participate in marathons, basketball and tennis. In some respects, a wheelchair is much like an automobile or a pair of shoes. It provides the interface between the body and the world around it. Like shoes, a proper fit is essential if a person is to maximize her or her potential and feel comfortable moving around in the world. Like a car, design factors should take into account one's personal needs and interests.

Selecting the Appropriate Chair

Selecting the appropriate chair, however -- particularly for a first-time wheelchair user, can be bewildering due to the variety of options available. The purpose of this guide is to provide the caller with general information about wheelchairs, and to describe the major kinds of wheeled mobility options in the marketplace today. If you are newly injured, you are probably working with an occupational therapist who may have personal experience with specific wheelchairs. This kind of professional knowledge and experience will also be very helpful in assisting you to select the best chair for you.

Types of Wheelchairs

Wheelchairs come in many sizes, shapes and varieties to meet the diverse needs of a multitude of users with differing levels of physical function and varying interests. People with considerable upper body strength prefer to use a wheelchair propelled by arm strength, or what is called a manual wheelchair. Some people are unable to propel a wheelchair with their own arm strength and may prefer, or require, a wheelchair powered by batteries. Power wheelchairs come in several basic styles: The traditional style that is similar in appearance to the standard manual chair and has been reinforced to tolerate the added weight of the power and control systems; the platform-model powered chair which consists of a seating platform atop a powered base, a round-base powered chair which emerged on the market in 1993, and three and four-wheeled scooters.

Manual Wheelchairs

Lightweights - The most commonly used everyday wheelchair for active chair users is a lightweight manual chair. Sports N Spokes, a publication dedicated to sports and recreation for wheelers, conducts an annual survey of lightweight chairs. In its 1993 survey, twenty everyday chairs were listed with weights varying from a low of 12 pounds to a high of 45 pounds including wheels, and depending upon the type of material used for the frame and the configuration of the chair. Some frames alone now weigh as little as under five pounds. The option available to today's lightweight chair user are many, allowing one to select a chair that meets the individual's needs and personal design preferences.

Sports Lightweights - Lightweight wheelchairs originally were developed and sold for use in sports, such as basketball, tennis and road racing. In fact, earlier references to lightweight chairs refer to such chairs as "sports wheelchairs." As wheelchair users were exposes to the lighter weight chairs, however, they began to realize the "sports" chairs took less energy to propel and were therefore easier to use on an everyday basis as well.

Sports Wheelchairs - Sports wheelchairs have continued to become more specialized as wheelchair athletes have become more sophisticated and successful over the years. Most serious athletes have chairs that they use specifically for sports, and separate chairs to use for everyday mobility. Chairs designed specifically for road racing, for example, have only three wheels, with the front wheel extended out from the body to allow for maximum use of aerodynamics. Sports chairs designed for use by tennis players, basketball players, and other athletes, however, have become the everyday wheelchair of choice for many non-athletic wheelchair users who simply prefer the sportier look and comparatively low weight of a sports chair.

Standard Chairs - The most common wheelchair in use prior to the late 1980's was a standard adult wheelchair, a heavy difficult to maneuver chair, generally available only in an institutional looking metallic finish. Most standard wheelchairs require a considerable amount of energy to propel, thus making them less practical than a lightweight wheelchair for everyday use for most people.

Specialty Chairs - Nursing home residents often require assistance in mobility. If a nursing home resident is generally capable of independent mobility, he/she may wish to use a wheelchair that will allow the fullest measure of independence to be maintained. Thus, it would be important to select a relatively lightweight and easy to use chair. The selection criteria for the chair would be similar to that used in choosing a chair for a more active user. Many nursing home residents, however, require considerable assistance with activities of daily living, including mobility. Wheelchairs designed for institutional use generally are much less expensive than chairs for active users. Consequently, it often is more cost effective to use an inexpensive chair designed for institutional use if the individual is unable to benefit from the independence afforded by a more expensive wheelchair designed for active, independent wheelchair users.

Child/Junior Chairs - Because their bodies are growing and changing, choosing chairs for children and adolescents requires consideration of factors not a part of the adult wheelchair selection process. One of these is the frequency with which a chair must be changed or replaced. Because of the high cost of replacing a chair, and because insurance providers often place limitations on the frequency of chair replacement, purchasing a new chair each year can be financially prohibitive, if not impossible. Growth chairs or chairs with growth kits off an alternative by allowing adjustments to be made in the existing chair to accommodate a growing child. This may include utilizing replaceable components or designing the chair with features that can be converted from a smaller size to a larger size. Manufacturers are also responding to the needs of children in having chairs that fit more easily into their environment and social situations. This may be accomplished with a more streamlined appearance and/or a selection of upholstery and/or frame colors.

Powered Wheelchairs - People who use powered wheelchairs generally have limited strength in their arms, and thus need to use an external power source to enable them to get around. Powered wheelchairs use either gel cell or wet cell batteries that must be re-charged on a regular basis. A powered wheelchair usually is significantly heavier than a manual wheelchair to accommodate both the weight of the battery and the weight of additional adaptive equipment, such as body supports or respiratory equipment. Today's powered wheelchairs tend to flow one of several design trends. The most traditional design for a powered wheelchair is that of a reinforced standard-looking wheelchair frame with a battery mounted under or behind the seat. Another design being used by some manufacturers today is a more stylized seating unit on a pedestal mounted atop a power platform. A new design introduced in 1993 utilizes a round platform base with a seating system affixed to it. Finally, several manufacturers offer power pack attachments which allow manual wheelchairs to be converted to powered chairs.

Scooters - An alternative to either a manual or powered wheelchair is a scooter, or three or four-wheeled cart. Some people like scooters because they prefer to use a form of mobility that does not look like a wheelchair. Others use them because they provide power but often are not as expensive as regular four-wheeled power wheelchairs. Scooters also have a narrower wheelbase and overall profile than many wheelchairs, making them more maneuverable. A scooter operates much like a golf cart. The user sits in a chair-style seat normally contoured to fit the body. The scooter is propelled through the use of a steering mechanism located in front of the user, much like if you were riding a bike.

The Selection Process

The wheelchair selection process includes several distinct steps:

1. Deciding the level of assistance necessary.

2. Determining how the wheelchair will be used.

3. Selecting the appropriate chair that meets all of the needs outlined in the first two steps.

Anyone choosing a wheelchair for the first time should consider working closely with a wheelchair prescriber, such as an occupational or physical therapist, to help determine how much assistance the wheelchair should provide. While some individuals with quadriplegia, for example, can only use powered chairs, other may find that they are able to use a manual wheelchair or a powered scooter. These alternatives generally are less expensive and may more appropriately fit the individual's lifestyle. It is also important to determine how the wheelchair will be used. Will it be used indoors, outdoors and during transport in a van or car? Some people keep a manual wheelchair in their homes, but travel to work or other outside activities in a powered scooter. For many manual wheelchair users, the ability to fold a wheelchair or take it apart easily for traveling in a car is of utmost importance. Once an individual's needs have been determined, the next step is to choose the right chair. New wheelchair users may wish to talk with current chair users about their likes and dislikes. There is nothing like practical experience to provide feedback on specific features that may be desirable, as well as those that should be avoided. Prescribers may also be another source of information.