PHYSICAL THERAPY

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• Evaluates and treats patients suffering from a physical disability due to injury, disease, or surgery in a home care environment. Establishes treatment plans and treats patients using a variety of methods, including exercises, stretching maneuvers, hands-on therapy, and equipment to ease patients' pain and help them increase their mobility. Works cooperatively with physicians, case managers, and adjustors. Monitors, documents, and reports patients' progress

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OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

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• Helps patient develop or regain physical or mental functioning or adjust to disabilities by implementing programs involving manual arts and crafts, practice in functional, prevocational, vocational, and homemaking skills, activities of daily living, and sensorimotor, educational, recreational, and social activities; directing aides, technicians, and assistants.

• May assess for needs such as adding handrails and grab bars in the bathroom or identifying hazards that might contribute to a fall.

• Assist patient in taking meal prep as an example, the home setting is the ideal place to address this goal since every kitchen is set up differently. To maximize independence and kitchen mobility, therapists can make environmental modifications

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SPEECH PATHOLOGY/ THERAPY

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• By preventing, assessing, diagnosing and treating speech disorders—including language, communication, cognitive and swallowing disorders, speech therapy is an essential component to the home health model of care.

• Memory loss and disorientation can often result from a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or general cognitive impairments. Sometimes, medication side effects or even dehydration can contribute to these deficits.To help patients with cognitive impairments, speech therapists develop programs with structured memory tasks, problem solving, reasoning, visual and auditory aids, calendars and family education

• Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, is a common diagnosis in home health patients. This can cause weight loss, aspiration (food or liquid entering the airway) and aspiration pneumonia, which is a very serious condition.

• To combat these risks, speech therapists help patients modify their diets, educate on safe swallow strategies, practice oral motor and pharyngeal exercises and complete Modified Barium Swallow Studies.