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Health Care Power of Attorney
See Advance Directives.
Health Care Proxy: A person appointed to make a patient's medical decisions if the patient is unable to do so. Generally, people assign someone they know well and trust to represent their preferences when they can no longer do so.
Home Meal Delivery
Sometimes referred to as “meals on wheels,” home delivered meals are hot and nutritious meals delivered to homebound persons who are unable to prepare their own meals and have no outside assistance. John Knox Village does offer residents a Home Meal Delivery service option, for an additional fee.
Home Health Care/Home Care Services
Home health care helps seniors live independently for as long as possible, given the limits of their medical condition. It covers a wide range of services and can often delay the need for long-term nursing home care. More specifically, home health care may include occupational and physical therapy, speech therapy, and even skilled nursing. It may involve helping with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, and eating. Or it may include assistance with cooking, cleaning, other housekeeping jobs, and monitoring one’s daily regimen of prescription and over-the-counter medications.
It is important to understand the difference between Home Health Care and home care services. Although they sound the same (and Home Health Care may include some home care services), Home Health Care is more medically-oriented. While home care typically includes chore and housecleaning services, home health care usually involves helping seniors recover from an illness or injury. That is why the people who provide Home Health Care are often licensed practical nurses, therapists, or home health aides. Most work for home health agencies, hospitals, or public health departments that are licensed by the state.
Home Modification
Home modifications are changes made to adapt living spaces to meet the needs of people with physical limitations so that they can continue to live independently and safely. These modifications may include adding assistive technology [LINK: “assistive technology” to definition on this page.] or making structural changes to a home. Modifications can range from something as simple as replacing cabinet doorknobs with pull handles to full-scale construction projects that require installing wheelchair ramps and widening doorways. There are some local, state, Federal and volunteer programs that provide special grants, loans and other assistance for home remodeling, repair and modification.
Hospice
Hospice programs are available to help people with terminal illnesses live their remaining days with dignity. Hospice is primarily a concept of care, not a specific place of care. Typically, hospice care is provided in the patient’s home. By combining pain control, symptom management and emotional and spiritual support, services are designed to address both the physical needs of patients as well as the emotional needs of the patients and their loved ones. Hospice workers work in concert with the patient’s physicians and family members to help make the patient as comfortable as possible.
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