This review is mainly for Diana M. of HRS.
After my dad spent a week in the hospital, he was prescribed home health care. This was my first experience with home health care; my parents had worked with other firms before, but with my mom in another hospital, I went with the attending physician's advice and engaged HRS.
Home health care assigns a team of professionals to the patient and caregiver to assess their needs. We were assigned a social worker, Tom, an OT, PT and nurse, Diana. The nurse does the initial intake and assessment, the OT determines whether there's a need for future visits and assesses the safety of the home. In our case, she suggested modifications (taking up rugs, etc.) and ordered some equipment. I really appreciated this part of the process since my dad was frail and living on his own for the better part of 3 months. The PTs worked more with my mom helping her build strength and mobility; getting her from a walker, to a rollator, to walking on her own. They attempted to improve my dad's mobility and alleviate some of his osteoarthritis pain. The social worker checked in mainly via phone to see how things were going and, for my mom, came out to do an eval. Diana, our nurse, was at our house weekly. She checked my dad's vitals and well-being to help ensure we could keep him from being re-admitted to the hospital. For my mom, she helped with wound care, ordered medical supplies and ensured her level of care was adequate. She always kept me in the loop and alerted me when there were concerns.
My dad was very easygoing, so I'm sure Diana's job was probably pretty easy at least until my mom became her patient. By the time my mom was discharged from the hospital, Diana was a veteran member of our care team. The best words I can use to describe my mom's demeanor during her first months out of the hospital are: intense, impatient, and uncooperative. In case it wasn't clear, home health is not private nursing, nurses go from patient to patient, so it's rare they'll be there like clockwork. At times, my mom would call Diana and their office incessantly; no matter how much she screamed and ranted, they were always professional even when they had to call me for an assist. I worried Diana would hit her limit, but she put up with my mom like a champ, eventually finding a way to connect with her.
I never envisioned having two critically ill parents at the same, I don't know how we would've gotten by without the help of places like HRS. read more
