Home Health Care Services

Quality healthcare in the comfort of your home

What is Home Health Care?

Home health service provides skilled medical services in your home for a defined period of time, allowing you to recover comfortably while maintaining your independence. You’re eligible to receive Home Health Services if you are homebound – unable to leave your home due to illness or injury, without considerable and taxing effort.

Why Choose Home Health Care Services?

Personalized Care: Treatment plans designed specifically for your needs
Comfort & Convenience: Receive quality care without leaving home
Independence: Maintain your daily routine while recovering
Family Involvement: Your loved ones can participate in your care
Cost-Effective: Often less expensive than extended hospital stays, and lower chance of infection

Who Can Benefit from Our Home Health Services?

Home health care is ideal for many patients across Humboldt County, including:

Surgical Recovery: Patients recovering from operations who need skilled care and monitoring
Chronic Condition Management: Those managing diabetes, heart disease, COPD, or other ongoing conditions
Rehabilitation Needs: Patients recovering from strokes, injuries, or joint replacements
Wound Care: Individuals with complex wounds requiring professional treatment
Medication Management: Patients with new or complicated medication regimens

Our dedicated team works closely with your physician to ensure you receive the right care at the right time. We provide the support, treatment, information, and understanding to help you and your family successfully manage your health needs at home.

Services We Provide

Our team of healthcare professionals offers a wide range of services to meet your specific needs:

Our licensed nurses provide expert care under your physician’s direction, including:

Health assessments and monitoring
Medication management and education
Wound care and dressing changes
Disease management for conditions like diabetes, heart failure, or COPD

Our licensed physical therapists help restore your mobility and strength through:

Comprehensive movement assessments
Customized exercise programs
Gait training and balance improvement
Pain management techniques
Training with assistive devices

Getting Started With Home Health Care Services

Here’s what you need to get started with Home Health Care Services:

A referral, which can come from the hospital, skilled nursing facility, or your primary care provider.
Part of the referral is a Medicare-mandated document, which documents why you need home health care.

We must have confirmation that your primary care provider will oversee Home Health Care, as we will only work under supervision from a primary care provider.

Homebound Status

Home health services are for people who have difficulty leaving home. Medicare considers you “homebound” when:

You need help from another person or medical equipment to leave home, or leaving home is medically contraindicated

AND

You have a general inability to leave home
Leaving home requires considerable and taxing effort

Leaving home infrequently, such as for medical appointments, religious services, and other unique events, is allowed.

If You’re Currently in a Hospital or Skilled Nursing Facility

It’s very helpful if the discharge planner helps you with the following before you leave:

Set up a follow-up appointment with your primary care doctor
Order any necessary medical equipment and supplies
Help you arrange for adequate care providers
Discuss whether your home is prepared for your return (consider bedroom access, bathroom safety, etc.)

Your therapists may have additional suggestions for preparation.

How to Request Services

Speak with your primary care doctor about whether home health could benefit you
Your primary care doctor submits the referral to our team, including orders based on a recent visit
We verify your insurance coverage
We call you to schedule your initial assessment
Care begins

What to Expect at Your First Visit

During your first home visit, our nurse will:

Assess your health needs
Review your medications
Discuss your goals for home health care
Create your personalized care plan
Answer any questions you have

Frequently Asked Questions

You may qualify for home health services if you’re under a doctor’s care, have a need for skilled nursing or therapy services, have difficulty leaving home, and your doctor certifies that you need home health care. Our team can help determine your eligibility and verify your insurance coverage.

Mad River Community Hospital Home Health Services covers Humboldt County, including Arcata, Eureka, McKinleyville, Trinidad, and surrounding communities.

Home Health Care Services, which Mad River Community Hospital provides, are skilled medical services prescribed by your doctor and delivered by licensed healthcare professionals (nurses, therapists, etc.). These services focus on treating illness or injury, helping you recover, and teaching you to manage health conditions.

In-home Support Services, which we do not provide, focus on non-medical assistance with daily living activities such as meal preparation, housekeeping, bathing, dressing, and companionship. If you need this type of ongoing support, our social worker can provide referrals to agencies in Humboldt County that specialize in these services.

In most cases, we can begin services within 24-48 hours after receiving a completed referral and physician’s orders.

Visit frequency depends on your specific care plan and medical needs. Your team will develop a personalized schedule, which will be adjusted as your condition requires.

The first visit is typically a comprehensive assessment by a registered nurse who will evaluate your health needs, review your medications, check vital signs, and discuss your care plan. This visit takes longer than subsequent visits.

Many insurance plans, including Medicare and Medi-Cal, cover home health care services either completely or with a co-pay, when medically necessary. Our team will verify your benefits before services begin and explain any potential out-of-pocket costs.

If you don’t have coverage or have limited coverage, please contact our Patient Accounts office at (707) 826-8260, to discuss payment options and potential resources that might be available to you.

Our team maintains regular communication with your medical provider about your progress. We provide regular updates and consult with your provider about any changes to your care plan. Because communication is so important, please let the Home Health Care team know if you go to the emergency room or the hospital.

Yes! We encourage family involvement and provide education to caregivers about how to support your recovery between our visits.

The length of Home Health Care services depends on your individual medical needs and is determined by Medicare guidelines. Services are provided only as long as you meet two key requirements: you have a skilled care need and you remain homebound.

You must have a skilled care need—meaning you require skilled nursing care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech therapy that must be performed by licensed professionals. You must also be homebound, which means leaving home requires considerable effort due to your medical condition, and trips outside are infrequent and for medical care or short, infrequent non-medical reasons.

Your doctor and Home Health Care team will regularly evaluate your progress, medical condition, and homebound status. Services continue as long as you meet both Medicare criteria and are showing improvement or have the potential to improve. This could range from a few weeks to several months, depending on your specific situation.

It’s important to understand that Home Health Care is not long-term custodial care. Once your skilled care needs are met, you’ve reached maximum improvement, or you’re no longer homebound, services will end as Home Health Care will not longer be needed. However, if your condition should change, and you develop new skilled care needs and remain homebound, you may qualify for services with your provider’s approval.

Your Home Health Care team will keep you informed about your progress and any changes to your care plan throughout your treatment.

As you progress toward your health goals, your care team will prepare you and your family for discharge from home health care services. We’ll ensure you have the resources and knowledge needed to maintain your health and can help connect you with other community services if needed.

For any life-threatening emergency, call 911 immediately. For urgent but non-emergency concerns, call our office. We provide all patients with contact information for after-hours clinical support.

Yes, we have clinical staff available at 707-826-8420 8a-5p, Monday through Friday, to address urgent concerns about your care.