A home health agency, nurse or physical therapist will call you and let you know the date/time they're visiting for your medical care at home.

When they visit, they'll complete a physical and get to know how you're doing so they can track your progress.They may ask:

• Which medications you take, how many and how often? They want to know if you take any other medications when you are feeling worse-such as aspirin, or cough syrup. They will also want to know if you or your family were given any prescriptions to bring home from the hospital or nursing home. The nurse may want to call your doctor while he or she is there to make sure that the medicines that you take are the right ones in the right amount.
• The nurse will ask you to get up and move around to be sure that you are safe in your home, especially in the bathroom where most people fall when they are ill. If she feels you need to get stronger, she may call your doctor to ask that a physical therapist or occupational therapist come to your home to help you with exercises and make your home safe. Everyone’s job is to keep you out of the hospital and home as long as possible.

When you receive private duty or personal care and support from a home care agency, a nurse or trained healthcare professional comes to your hoe to evaluate your situation. They may ask:

• Do you have any health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, trouble breathing, etc. that we should know about and affect your ability to do things every day?
• Is there someone in your house or close by who knows that you are not feeling well, and that you may need help to see a doctor.
• Do you need help getting dressed, bathing, going to the toilet, shampooing your hair or just shopping and preparing a meal?
• Can I look at your house to do a general safety check? He or she should let know things you may want to do that will make your home safer for you. See Hidden Hazards.
• What do you enjoy doing? Do you like watching a certain TV show, reading, sewing, playing cards, talking?  

Once he or she is finished asking questions, the evaluator lets you know what help you need based on their experience, and what they think you want. Together, make a service plan for  how often the company’s employee will be in your home, for how long, and their Care Plan. The employee will follow this plan for the duration of service.

Because this is your house, you should expect to set the rules on how the employee will get into the house, where they can eat, if they can talk on the phone, what bathroom they can use, etc.

Let us help you feel comfortable in your own home.

• What services and assistance they offer (ex. bathing, dressing, shopping, cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc.) 
• Their hours and services available on weekends/night?
• Who you can call and talk to when needed?
• Have the caregivers had criminal background checks?
• You'll want to know the employees had criminal background checks and are bonded.
• What types of training do caregivers have? 
• You want to know employees have completed training courses caring for people who aren't feeling well, have difficulty walking or standing for several minutes and can help people stand, sit, bathe, dress, etc. You want to know someone has ensured they do it correctly.
• Do the caregivers have a supervisor? When can I expect the supervisor to call or see me?
• You want to know you will have regular contact with your caregiver's supervisor so you can tell him or her about how the employee is doing.
• How do they choose who will come to my home?
• You want to know the person’s skills, training, experience and preferences (for example, no smokers or must like cats) match your needs. The home care agency should find someone that matches your personality and should come to your home to meet and get to know you.

Home care is a good resource for people who would rather recover and age at home. Whether the home care is provided by family members, loved ones, an aide or nursing professional from Interim HealthCare, proper financial planning is required in order to provide optimum care.

According to the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), people who require home care can primarily choose between three options to finance the care.

Self-Pay

Depending on the home care services provided, your insurance and your financial abilities, you may choose to pay for home care from you or your loved ones' personal savings. The fee is usually set or negotiated by the home care service provider.

Public Third-Party Payers

In the case of senior citizens who require home care, there are several options available. Most Americans over the age of 65 are eligible for the federal Medicare program. If the home care agency is Medicare-certified, Medicare funds may be used to pay for certain services provided by nurses, therapists or other medical professionals.

Medicare requires that the following conditions be met before reimbursing for home health services:

• The individual to whom the services are provided is an eligible Medicare beneficiary
• A physician certifies the need for services and establishes a plan of care
• The beneficiary must meet Medicare's definition of "homebound"
• The care must be provided in the patient's place of residence
• The individual needs skilled nursing on an intermittent basis or physical therapy or speech therapy or has a continued need for occupational therapy once one of the other skilled disciplines has established a plan of care
• The services are provided by a Medicare-certified home health agency

When the above conditions are met, physicians may also order home health aide services or medical social worker services.

Private Third-Party Payers

Private health insurance plans typically cover some home care services for people who have acute needs, and those with long-term care included may also pay for senior care at home. Commercial insurers such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield generally pay for professional in-home care with a cost-sharing provision, as well as hospice services, home nursing and other needs. In addition, if the person who requires care has long-term insurance that includes in-home care coverage, the benefits can sometimes be used to pay the caregiver.

Seniors can also use resources provided by the Older Americans Act (OAA), which stated in 1965 that federal funds shall be used to enable older individuals to remain independent in their communities. This funding covers certain costs related to transportation, chores and other tasks for people over the age of 60 who have the greatest social need. In addition, seniors may be eligible for services from the Veterans Administration if they are at least 50 percent disabled because of a service-related condition. Others who need care may turn to funds provided by Medicaid, a healthcare program for low-income individuals, or social services block grant programs provided to states each year from the federal government.