Home Health Care Costs Remain Steady Despite Rises in Long Term Health Care Costs

Written by on October 27, 2011

The average cost of home health care has remained steady this year, even as overall long-term health care costs have risen 5.6 percent, according to a recent study by MetLife Mature Market Institute.

The average hourly costs for home health aides and homemaker/companion services remained unchanged this year, according to the study. Costs for assisted living care rose an average of 5.6% to $3,477 monthly or $41,724 annually. Adult day care services have risen by 4.5% to $70 per day.

The average rate for a private nursing home room has increased 4.4% to $239 daily or $87,235 annually.

The rising costs of assisted living and private nursing care are one reason to consider in-home health care as an alternative for loved ones needing professional, compassionate long-term or short-term health care or other assistance with the tasks of daily living.

In-home health care offers many benefits that can’t be quantified in dollars alone, including:

  • The ability to remain in one’s own home and familiar, comfortable environment,
  • Individualized attention from professionally licensed and compassionate health care providers and home health aides.

If you or someone you know is in need of in-home care while recovering from surgery, living with a chronic disease state or other health issue, or adapting to a newborn baby, contact Cleansing Water, Inc. to discuss your needs.

Cleansing Water, Inc. is a fully licensed and insured home health care agency providing quality in-home care for residents of Piedmont Virginia (Culpeper, Fauquier, Rappahannock, Prince William and Warren counties).

For More Information Call: (540) 341-0212

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Featured Caregiver: Jemma Colbert

Written by on October 25, 2011
Jemma Colbert, Featured Caregiver, Cleansing Water, Inc.,

Jemma Colbert, Featured Caregiver

 

Cleansing Water’s featured caregiver is Jemma Colbert. Jemma has worked for Cleansing Water, Inc. since May 2009 and lives in Culpeper, Virginia with her family. She is very social and loving and has done a wonderful job working many tough physical cases. She is originally from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

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Home Health Care Northern Virginia: In-Home Care Benefits Families

Written by on September 29, 2011

Are you evaluating health care options for an elderly or senior member of your family?  Do you have a family member who is recovering from surgery or has a chronic health condition requiring long-term care?

In-home health care by a licensed home health care agency can offer families the following physical, mental and emotional benefits:

1)  Convenient Professional Care Delivered in the Comfort of Home

Given a choice, most seniors and other individuals requiring short-term or long-term care prefer to remain in the comfort of their own home.  A licensed and reputable home health care agency like Cleansing Water, Inc. can create long-term care plans that meet each individual’s needs on many levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. In-home health care provides a greater level of personalized and caring attention, and enables seniors to retain their dignity and a level of independence that may be sacrificed in assisted living facilities or other caregiving environments.

2) Simplified Caregiving

A licensed home health care agency can simplify your life and give you greater peace of mind by providing a single point of contact for all your caregiving needs. You will save time and energy not having to deal with multiple providers for nursing, housekeeping, meal preparation, and necessary errands. Licensed home health care agencies have qualified, trained employees on staff who can provide the range of care you need, when you need it.

3) Professionalism and Peace of Mind

A licensed home health care agency will provide a professional level of care that will give you peace of mind. You will have the assurance that each caregiving employee has passed background checks and meets all state-mandated educational and training requirements to provide top quality care to your family. Hiring an unlicensed provider can endanger your family and your loved one(s). Unlicensed providers may call in sick at the last moment, or fail to show up at the expected times. When you work with a licensed home health care agency, you are assured that you are in safe hands, that your caregiver is well-trained, matched to your caregiving needs, and will deliver responsible care as agreed, on time and on schedule.

In-Home Companionship and Care Services

An in-home care agency can provide a range of in-home companionship and care services tailored to the specific needs of the individual and the family:

  • Conversation and companionship to provide comfort and social interaction at meal times and/or other times of day
  • Meal preparation: nutritious meals that maintain health
  • Light housekeeping: vacuuming, dusting, dishwashing, tidying up, light housecleaning
  • Grocery shopping: with or without the client
  • Respite care: an opportunity for family members to take a break from assisting senior members of the family or other loved ones in need of care
  • Medication reminders: make sure the client takes all prescribed medications at the right time; assist with opening medication containers and reading labels
  • Dressing assistance: help with daily tasks of grooming, buttoning clothing, tying shoes, putting on socks
  • Incidental transportation (during a regularly scheduled home care shift) to doctor appointments, barbershops, beauty salons, shopping, or other destinations
  • Laundry services: washing, drying, folding, putting clothes and laundry away
  • Recreational activities: play card games or board games, accompany on walks, assist with crafts or hobbies, accompany to church or other places.
  • Communicate with other family members: provide updates to all family members concerning the loved ones activities and state of health; answer any concerns or redefine services that may be needed
  • Ensure safety: monitor clients when they are home alone to ensure they are safe; respond to summons for help as needed

Cleansing Water, Inc., is a home health care agency providing in-home respite care for families and professional caregiving for seniors and other individuals throughout the Northern Virginia area. We are licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia and maintain a commercial business office in Old Town Warrenton, Virginia. We offer a full-range of home health care services, including geriatric care management by a Registered Nurse, round-the-clock care by a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) or full-time companion, and as-needed companionship and light housekeeping help.

Cleansing Water’s home health care nurses and aides are employees of our agency. That means you can be confident that all Cleansing Water caregivers are covered by Cleansing Water’s professional liability insurance and have passed State Criminal background checks.  You will also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your caregiver(s) will be well-trained in the latest Alzheimer’s professional care practices, and are trustworthy and competent to care for you or your loved one in the security and comfort of your home.

When you retain Cleansing Water as your home health care agency, you have an entire professional staff available to you and the peace of mind that comes with knowing that if your usual caregiver has an “off day,” we can provide qualified substitute care when you need it.

For more information, or to discuss your options for home health care, call Cleansing Water, Inc. today, at 540-341-0212 — or email joan@cleansingwater.com.

Categories: Home Health Care - Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Who Will Get Alzheimer’s Disease?

Written by on September 16, 2011
Marsha and Bob Grant, Cleansing Water, Inc., Home Health Care Agency, Northern Virginia

Marsha and Bob Grant, President and Vice President, Cleansing Water, Inc., Home Health Care Services

Today, 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and placing tremendous caregiving demands on family, friends, and the American health care system.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association,14.9 million family and friends provided 17 billion hours of unpaid care in 2010 to those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. The demands of providing unpaid care to Alzheimer’s patients can have its own domino effect, creating emotional distress and even triggering depression on the part of the caregivers.

The increasing prevalence of Alzheimer’s in our aging population, and the toll it takes on family caregivers, raises these questions:

  • Who will get Alzheimer’s?
  • Is there any way of predicting the likelihood of getting this disease?
  • What sets those with this debilitating degenerative brain disorder apart from those who do not get the disease?

The first noticeable signs of Alzheimer’s include memory loss and cognitive decline, but not all people who develop such problems get Alzheimer’s disease. Recent research indicates that people with a high level of amyloid protein in their spinal fluid are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those with less of the protein.

When amyloid protein builds up in the brain, it forms sticky plaques which eventually strangle and kill delicate nerves. Scientists say it is now possible to pick up traces of an early form of amyloid in the spinal fluid before memory lapses start.

Advances in testing now make it possible to predict Alzheimer’s with 80% accuracy.

If you would like to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease, click here for Alzheimer’s facts and figures from the Alzheimer’s Association.

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Cleansing Water, Inc., is a home health care agency providing respite care for Alzheimer’s patients and their family caregivers throughout the Northern Virginia area. We are licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia and maintain a commercial business office in Old Town Warrenton, Virginia. We offer a full-range of home health care services, including geriatric care management by a Registered Nurse, round-the-clock care by a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) or full-time companion, and as-needed companionship and light housekeeping help.

Cleansing Water’s home health care nurses and aides are employees of our agency. That means you can be confident that all Cleansing Water caregivers are covered by Cleansing Water’s professional liability insurance and have passed State Criminal background checks.  You will also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your caregiver(s) will be well-trained in the latest Alzheimer’s professional care practices, and are trustworthy and competent to care for you or your loved one in the security and comfort of your home.

When you retain Cleansing Water as your home health care agency, you have an entire professional staff available to you and the peace of mind that comes with knowing that if your usual caregiver has an “off day,” we can provide qualified substitute care when you need it.

For more information, or to discuss your options for home health care, call Cleansing Water, Inc. today, at 540-341-0212 — or email joan@cleansingwater.com.

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How to Choose Home Health Care Services: Questions to Ask Home Health Care Agencies

Written by on September 9, 2011
Marsha and Bob Grant, Cleansing Water, Inc., Home Health Care Agency, Northern Virginia

Marsha and Bob Grant, President and Vice President, Cleansing Water, Inc., Home Health Care Services

Are you — or someone you know — recovering from surgery and in need of short-term home health care?

Perhaps you — or someone you know — has a chronic illness or health condition that requires longer term in-home health care services.

When evaluating your in-home health care options, it’s tempting to search for — and hire — the lowest cost provider(s) you can find to minimize the financial strain on family budgets.

But when a loved one’s health and well-being are at stake, it’s important to ask the right questions before hiring a home health care provider.

The checklist below will help you choose the best home health care provider(s) for your situation who can provide quality, affordable home health care services.

 

Home Health Care Agency Checklist

  • Is the Agency licensed by the Virginia Department of Health?
  • Are Agency caregivers employees of the Agency?
  • Are Agency caregivers sub-contractors of the Agency?
  • Does the Agency maintain a commercial business office?
  • Does the Agency have emergency contact after hours?
  • Does the Agency have current Professional and Liability coverage?
  • Does the Agency have current Crime and Fidelity coverage?
  • Does the Agency have the capability to provide transportation while providing hours in the home?
  • Does the Agency have current hired and non-owned vehicle insurance?
  • Does the Agency have current Worker’s Compensation Policy?
  • Will assessments be done by a Registered Nurse?
  • Will client supervisory visits be done by a Registered Nurse?
  • Will client supervisory visits be done every 90 days?
  • Has the Agency been in business for more than 10 years?
  • Does the Agency obtain State Criminal Background checks on all caregivers?
  • Are Agency caregivers allowed to handle client’s money?
  • Is a Client Care Plan written before a caregiver is sent to the home?
  • Is coverage available if the regular caregiver calls out sick?

Cleansing Water, Inc., is a home health care agency licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.  We provide home health care services throughout the Northern Virginia area and maintain a commercial business office in Old Town Warrenton, Virginia.

All of our home health care nurses and aides are employees of our agency. That means you can be confident that all Cleansing Water caregivers are covered by Cleansing Water’s professional liability insurance and have passed State Criminal background checks.  You will also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your caregiver(s) will be well-trained,  professional, capable, trustworthy and competent to care for you or your loved one in the security and comfort of your home.

It can be tempting to hire an independent, unlicensed caregiver to reduce the costs of in-home health care — but what will you do if your caregiver decides to take a day off, or gets sick and can’t come to your home?  Who will you turn to for back-up coverage when that happens?

When you retain Cleansing Water as your home health care agency, you have an entire professional staff available to you — and that means you will have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that if your usual caregiver has an “off day,” your home health care agency will have qualified substitute care available for you when you need it.

Home health care can range from medical care by a Registered Nurse or a Licensed Professional Nurse, to light housekeeping help.  Cleansing Water can help you evaluate your real needs and develop a caregiving management plan that is best for you.

For more information, or to discuss your options for home health care, call Cleansing Water, Inc. today, at 540-341-0212 — or email joan@cleansingwater.com.

 

Categories: Home Health Care - Tags: , , , , , , , ,

CAREGIVER OF THE MONTH

Written by on July 27, 2011

Cleansing Water, Inc. congratulates our Caregiver of the Month, Evelyn (Kpandipou, birth name) Boyindjo.

Cleansing Water Inc. Home Health Care Giver Evelyn Boyindjo

Cleansing Water Home Health Care Giver,
Evelyn Boyindjo

Evelyn has been working for Cleansing Water  since August 2007 as a certified nursing assistant (CNA).  She is originally from Togo and speaks English and French.  Evelyn’s very sweet and soothing personality make her a favorite with our clients.

A mother of three children under 12, Evelyn usually works night shifts while continuing her nursing education.  She always has  a smile on her face and never speaks an unkind word.

Evelyn’s award-winning caregiving tip

“A caregiver should take a “pill” of patience and courage before (she) gets to work. The days are not the same.  Some days might be quiet and some might be rough, but if you are prepared, the work days will always turn good and easy. Be dynamic and always call the office if you are missing information or if there is a problem that you need help to solve.  The clients are not (all the) same.  Some are easy and some are difficult  (never appreciate all your effort). As you choose to make a difference in people’s life don’t let negative judgments stop you. Treat your client with respect, with love.  Address the client politely.  Show him that you care for him/her by asking if he/she needs help.  Do not spend hours talking on the phone.  Also talking too much might make the client dislike you.  Never share family issues with clients.

 

Categories: Care Giving News, Cleansing Water, CNA, Geriatric Care Management, Home Health Care - Tags: , , ,

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