HOME HEALTH
BIRTH OF HOME HEALTH
When Oso Home Care was first established in 1984 there were very few companies providing this service. The Pharmacist and Nurse that started the company both worked on the Oncology floor of a large teaching hospital in Southern California. After working with terminal patients that had to spend sometimes as much as six months of their lives in the hospital they decided to convince the Oncologists to allow their patients to receive some of these therapies at home. They started with pain management, became familiar with convenient ways to administer pain medications, progressed to antibiotics, TPN, tube feedings, chemo therapies. Along with the Infusions they provided they added as many services as the patients needed to require a minimal number of hospital admissions and physician office visits. Immediately the patients quality of life through their illness improved, along with the quality of life of their families.
HOME HEALTH TODAY
Today Home Health is an integral part of the Health Care industry regulated and licensed by state and federal agencies and covered by most health insurance plans. Studies have shown infection rates go down and patients have significant benefits from staying at home and avoiding lengthy hospital stays. Over the years Oso has continued to add to the therapies that can be safely and economically offered in the patients home. Oso's Home Health Nurses are highly technical and are required to have specialized training in administering different therapies specifically for Home Health Care.
Home Health care also allows family members to learn and assist in the administration of their family members treatment. Physicians are now very familiar with providing Home health care for their patients and receive valuable updates on their patients progress from the nurses and are able to follow and monitor Lab tests so they can effectively make adjustments to the patients medications as clinically necessary.
HOW IT WORKS
Generally your Home Health Team Consists of your Physician, Home Health Nurse, and the pharmacist in charge of any medications or nutritional supplements you receive. Occasionally there is a physical therapist, and in some cases a home health aid is necessary. In most cases a Home health patient will have a primary nurse that is an RN or an LVN. This nurse will see you your first visit and follow your case throughout your Home Health Care Episode. You may see other nurses as you have specific needs that require a nurse with special skills such as inserting an IV or a PICC line.
An Important part of Home Health is teaching the patient how to assist with their own care. In long term therapies and even some lifelong therapies the patient eventually may have to learn to do much of his own home health care. Oso's Home Health Nurse evaluate the readiness and training patients to ensure a smooth transition to self-care.
