Private Duty Nursing Care: How Can it Help Me?

When a life-limiting condition strikes, familiar surroundings become so much more important. When you don’t feel well and are worrying about the future, there is no substitute for sleeping in your own bed, the comfort of a favorite chair or the familiar view from your own window. A private duty nurse may be the solution to staying where you feel most secure.

Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio helps people to remain at home after declining health or a traumatic injury challenges independent living. In some cases the skilled care of a nurse or therapist can be prescribed following a hospitalization or onset of illness. Through its medical/surgical service, a VNA of Ohio homecare team visits patients in their homes to help them regain independence and learn to manage their conditions. These homecare visits require doctors’ orders and are usually covered by Medicare or insurance. But they are limited, short-term arrangements.

When long-term or personal care is required VNA of Ohio offers Home Assist, a private duty service. Amber Wiesner, executive director of VNA of Ohio’s Home Assist, said family members often contact VNA of Ohio when a loved one becomes forgetful, falls or struggles with simple daily tasks.

Unlike physician-ordered services covered by insurance, Home Assist has no limits on the duration or type of care. Private duty nurses and aides can come to the home and spend the time needed to help with personal care, meal planning and companionship – even skilled nursing care for medically complex needs.

“Families are overwhelmed by the time they call us,” Wiesner said. “Our nurses go out and conduct an assessment to determine what level of help is needed.”

Home Assist services can range from a single visit lasting only a few hours to full-time, round-the-clock care. Wiesner said many clients are surprised to learn how much Home Assist staff members can do not only to keep their family members safe at home but also to help them enjoy life wherever they might want to be.

For example, you might expect VNA of Ohio home health care aides to take a client to a doctor’s appointment. But a healthcare professional can be hired to accompany a client on vacation, too. “Last year, a VNA of Ohio healthcare professional went with a patient to Las Vegas for his birthday,” Wiesner said. “We've accompanied a patient on a ventilator to a baseball game downtown.”

Wiesner said VNA of Ohio’s healthcare professionals also support patient transitions into more intensive care as it becomes needed. For example, someone who comes to VNA of Ohio needing only weekly visits for personal care and the occasional trip to the grocery store could continue with the same homecare team even as her condition advances and she needs more intensive medical care. “Home Assist extends the quality of life,” Wiesner said. “People know they are going to have a longer, better, more comfortable existence at home.”

Call VNA of Ohio Today

Learn more about VNA of Ohio private-duty services, or call us today at 1-877-698-6264.