* Note: November is National Family Caregivers Month
By Guest Blogger Elizabeth O’Malley, CertifiedNursingAssistant.org
A “terminal” diagnosis for any person is difficult for both the person who is ill and for his or her family. Home health aides, or certified nursing assistants, can help ease suffering in a convenient way. Private insurers recognized long ago that home health care costs much less than care in a hospital or nursing home. Also, in-home care is often less costly for insurers and families than facilities that only offer hospice care. As health care costs continue to climb upward, Medicare has finally realized the reduced costs of in-home care and has added that option to its services.
Family member caregivers want to do what is best for their loved ones, but often fear injuring the person with the illness or severe disability. Family members may truly want to help, but may not know what to do. A home caregiver, trained in practical nursing and patient care, knows how to safely move and care for a person who has physical limitations.
It is often difficult for family members to do things for their loved ones, such as feeding and basic hygiene, without training. It can be uncomfortable for someone who is ill or has a disability to have family members provide medical assistance, especially in toileting. Many patients may feel more comfortable when someone outside the family is providing these necessary and highly personal services.
Home health care providers often offer the highest level of direct patient care in terms of practical care such as bed changing, toileting and bathing. They generally are friendly people who have basic training in medications and their administration, knowledge of physical symptoms and the skill set to know when a health care professional with higher-level licensing needs to be notified of changes in a person’s condition.
Home health aides are also trained in the differences in the types of pain that various medical conditions cause for those with terminal illnesses. Whereas untrained family caregivers may likely give morphine to a patient suffering nerve pain, the home health aide’s training enables him or her to determine the type of pain that the patient is suffering and to choose the medically-approved pain treatment that will provide the most benefit for the person.
The home health aide at the certified nursing assistant licensing level is invaluable in providing education for the person who is ill, but also for sharing important information with the patient’s family. Often, understanding what is happening is empowering for everyone involved and can decrease feelings of anxiety of the unknown.
The trained home health aide is invaluable for both the person who is ill and their family members, who are also often suffering from worry and concern. Aides can provide caring objectivity and education as the patient and families navigate foreign territory. Often having an aide to help with education and compassionate caregiving during the turmoil that often coincides with terminal illness is invaluable for the mental and emotional well-being of all involved. Aides often develop relationships with family members, can ease suffering and give people the respect they need during their end-of-life process.
For more information about training to become a home health aide, visit http://www.certifiednursingassistant.org/.
Be sure to gather enough information in order to ensure better learning results and I think this offered me enough to fully understand the importance of home health aides in the recovery process.
Nursing practice is the actual provision of nursing care. In providing care, nurses implement the nursing care plan using the nursing process.
http://www.certifiednursetraining.com/get-free-cna-classes-and-be-a-certified-nursing-assistant/
In today’s environment, there is a shortage of Healthcare professionals in many countries, epecially in Canada.
Aloha… getting this article in my email hit home. I just lost my father on Friday…he was terminally ill. I cared for him and he was always frail, but in my case nurses/home aides actually unintentionally would hurt him by moving him, so I pretty much cared for him until he peacefully departed with family all around. I still have my mom here who is also in need of 24/7 assistance. The need of family to care for their loved ones is so, so important during their last days…and I did appreciate the expertise of the home nurses to guide me and prepare me for different stages that take place. I myself will be looking further into getting training to become a home health aide because for me it was an honor to take care of my father during his last days and lots of elderly do not have family and, believe it or not, lots of people take advantage and abuse the elderly. It’s very sad. So Blessings to all who get into this job and do it with heart and love for the elderly who we can learn so, so much from – Aloha – Lynn M daS.
Good Evening;
I am a Certified Nurses Aid & Certifed Family Home Provider in the State of Idaho. I have taken care of hospice, elderly, intellectually disabled and mentally ill in the last 12 years in my home with my family. I can never express the importance enough of how the training of a Certified Nurses Aid has assisted in the success of being able to provide the best care for people. I will never be able to express enough how much it has made a difference in families and my family as well. The problem we have run into in Idaho is that Certified Family Homes are not federally mandated and could potential be eliminated even though we are the cheapest to the State of Idaho. I hope that many more providers will promote Private Homes as an option for institutional or nursing home level of care. Eva
I do love this information. I got on disability last year after being sick for 35 years with a chronic illness. My life insurance policy is offering home health in the home soon…….said it would be cheaper.
But, when I left my work, I still have my insurance with a small premium paid. It has some home health care coverage……..I don’t think I need personal insurance, medicare when I get it and a life insurance policy that is offering it for a low price. So do you have any information for me on this?
Nice. Create new laws burdening those that pay taxes in this country to provide services to those that don’t. Then one of those that work cries “foul” and the free-loader says “tough.” Yes, tough indeed. After all, the bill is now law and we are forced to abide by it or pay fines/go to jail. Literally pay fines if our business model does not provide for our employees’ healthcare costs. Is this really fair? Consider our tax system. A typical employee pays taxes as follows: (assuming $50K income in 2010): Social Security 6.2%, Medicare 1.45%, Fed Income Tax 15.57% (marginal rate at $50K AGI, less exemption and stnd ded)State Income Tax 5.00% (depending on state of course) Sales Tax 8.00% (estimated) Total: 36.22%. This is not taking into account Property Tax, estate tax, business tax, excise tax, penalty taxes, use tax, and many other taxes. Not to mention the overly burdensome record keeping costs and professional fees associated with complying. $50,000 in wages is not considered rich in 2010. Even so, this quick example showcases how ridiculous our tax system has become. WE ARE IN FACT A SOCIALIST COUNTRY in economic terms. Impute a higher wage earner above and see how quickly we pass all other governments in the world in terms of tax revenue on each dollar earned. The wealthier non-tax evading citizens give up in excess of 50% or their total income earned during each calendar year (others into the 60′s). Keep in mind our initial income tax rate was 1%. Disclaimer, the above example is obviously simplified. Results are bound to vary depending on assumptions and facts (for example itemizing instead of standard deduction).