You Have a Choice: How to Choose a Home Healthcare Provider

When patients are discharged from the hospital with orders for home healthcare, they are presented with a list of services and agencies and told to choose one.

Often, there is little time to do research and seek referrals, especially if the hospitalization was sudden or in crisis. It’s easy to make a hasty, uninformed decision.

Claire Zangerle, president and chief executive officer for Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio, said not all home healthcare service providers are created equal. It’s vital that patient families understand those differences, so that when it’s time, they can invite into their homes the right organization that can be trusted to take care of their loved ones.

Providing a Continuum of Home Healthcare

VNA of Ohio is the largest not-for-profit home healthcare organization in Ohio. Zangerle said VNA of Ohio takes a holistic approach to homecare, offering a range of home healthcare services under one umbrella. So, VNA of Ohio provides a continuum of care not found in other agencies.

“If a patient’s needs change while under our care, we are able to bring in our own expert resources to meet those needs and provide continuity of care,” Zangerle said. “Not only do we have a (skilled nursing) home healthcare service, we also have a palliative care program, a hospice program and private duty.”

Home Healthcare for Mental Health Needs

VNA of Ohio also offers a home-based mental health program, one of only a few of its kind in Ohio. The program serves patients with a diagnosis of conditions ranging from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder to Alzheimer’s and dementia.

“Our mental health service not only benefits the patient, it also benefits the caregivers, who themselves might be elderly or dealing with their own physical and mental health conditions,” Zangerle said. “We may receive a referral for something else – a patient is coming out of the hospital or maybe they are newly diagnosed with diabetes or COPD. Often, while we are providing that care, we can help physicians identify dementia that we are able address through our mental health program.”

Zangerle added that VNA of Ohio also differentiates itself from other home healthcare agencies with its ability to see a new patient within a day of receiving a doctor’s order. This quick response makes VNA of Ohio a favorite of physicians.

“For example, patients who have had knee-replacement surgery need to be up and moving around right away as part of their recovery,” she said. “It’s very frustrating for orthopedic surgeons to have their patients go home and sit and have their recovery set back because there was no one there to help them get up and move.”

Call VNA of Ohio Today

Learn more about VNA of Ohio’s services, or call us at 1-877-698-6264.