The More Things Change... The More Things Change

As with every good homecare company, we take the process of client assessment very seriously.  Ensuring that we understand client needs is critical to developing the right plan of care, which includes assigning the right Home Care Aide from our staff.  In many ways, though, that is the easiest part of our job.

Once we have the right Home Care Aide in place, delivering the right services, the real work of being a great homecare company begins.

Each client's need is dynamic.  Not only does need increase and decrease over time, but the details also change.  We provide care in three different areas, associated with clients' activities of daily living (ADLs):

• Homemaker Care:
• This involves light housekeeping, such as changing bed and bath linens, laundry, meal planning and preparation.  Basically, it involves the activities of daily living (including what are called instrumental ADLs) that occur in the home.
• Companion Care:
• This area involves our interfaces with society, including health professionals (e.g., reminders and monitoring for medications), errands, shopping, appointments, and so forth.
• Personal Care:
• Our most intimate activities of daily living include dressing, bathing and toileting (including incontinence care).

Some times our job is to help our client recover from an injury, surgery, stroke or other crisis.  The client may need a high level of care in one or more areas, right now, with the expectation that need will decrease, over time.  That may mean that Home Care Aide #1 is the perfect answer, right now, but Home Care Aide #2 may be more appropriate in three months, as needs change.

Unfortunately, need can go the other way as well, with a client who requires more care over time.  If we do not catch those changes in need, we will fail to optimize our care.  If we are not constantly working to optimize our care for our clients, we will no longer be great at what we do.  In a future blog, we'll talk about what we do to stay on top of changing needs.