Home Health
CHRISTUS HomeCare Team Members
Home Health Nurse:
The home health nurse gives professional
nursing care to patients at home. Registered and licensed vocational nurses
assess patients and teach them and their families. The nurses perform wound
care, draw blood, start IVs, maintain urinary catheters and assist with ostomy
care. Home health nurses care for many kinds of patients, such as those with
illness and accidents, cancer, chronic disease and childbirth. The goal of
the nursing is to help patients maintain health, and to teach patients and
families how to take good care of themselves.
Home Health Aide:
When a patient
qualifies, a certified nurses aide helps with grooming and bathing while patients
are receiving home health service.
Physical Therapist:
Physical therapists assess and treat people
with problems from injury or illness. They develop individual treatment plans
that address disorders of nerves and muscles, limits in range of motion, poor
balance, weakness, and difficulty walking or getting around. Therapists teach
patients exercise plans that may reduce recovery time and help them reach their
previous functional level.
Occupational Therapist:
Occupational therapists assess and treat
patients who had injury or illness leading to limitations in activities of
daily living. Like physical therapists, occupational therapists design
treatment plans to help patients reach their highest level of function. The
plan has activities that focus on improvement in dressing, bathing, feeding,
grooming and hygiene.
Speech Therapist:
Speech therapists diagnose and treat language and speech disorders. They also help patients with swallowing disorders by
teaching swallowing precautions and exercises to help improve swallowing. Speech therapists develop individualized treatment programs consisting of speech exercises and communication techniques.
Medical Social Worker:
Medical Social Workers help with social or emotional concerns that affect the patient’s medical condition. The social worker assesses the patient’s support system, environment and economic circumstance and provides counseling and access to appropriate financial and community resources.