Home Healthcare FAQ

To qualify for home health services, you must be in need of periodic medical treatment but experiencing difficulty leaving your home and to do so, need to rely on another person or an assistance device such as a cane, a walker or a wheelchair. The care must be ordered by your physician and that physician must be licensed in the state of Georgia. The care also must be deemed reasonable and necessary to the treatment of the patient’s illness or injury.

If you have Medicare benefits, you’ll be covered for home health services such as nursing care, physical therapy and speech-language pathology services. If qualified, you may also receive occupational therapy, the help of a medical social worker, assistance from a home health aide and/or medical supplies.

Every patient and situation is different, and it will depend on the treatment ordered by your physician. Visiting Nurse continually communicates and coordinates the home visits with your doctor’s office. That way, if your situation should change, we will work in tandem with the doctor to decide if we should increase or decrease your visits.

Visiting Nurse will assess the needs of the patient during the first visit ensuring the transition from the hospital to your home quite seamless. During the initial visit, a nurse or therapist will coordinate a hands-on plan of care for the patient including their physicians, family, and caregivers. By working together, Visiting Nurse’s team is able to provide the most exceptional care possible.

Homebound indicates that it is challenging to leave the home and/or you unable to leave your home safely without medical equipment such as crutches, canes, walkers or wheelchairs. Your physician can determine if you are homebound if they believe that your illness or current health status could get worse if you do leave your home. However, it is not completely forbidden to leave the home. Those that are homebound leave for short periods of time for special non-medical activities like trips to attend church, graduations or to the barber/beauty shop.

Of course you can. Patients have the freedom to choose their health care provider under Federal law.

Call us, Visiting Nurse Health System, Georgia’s largest nonprofit home healthcare provider. We will then contact your physician to see if home health services are recommended and we will begin your plan. Call (404) 215-6000. We are ready to bring healthcare home to you.

Medicare, Medicaid and most insurance and managed care organizations cover the cost of home health services. Some insurance and manage care plans may require a deductible or co-pay. To have Visiting Nurse help you figure out your depth of coverage, call (404) 215-6000.

It is important to have a collaborative environment so our teams, clients, their families and physicians are on the same page. We update our employees weekly on their clients’ cases. Our Private Home Care team is also supervised by nurses on-site where they monitor the condition of the patient. These observations allow our team to report any changes to condition, care needs to the client’s family and/or primary physician.

We understand the uncertainty of having someone new in your home but it is our goal to ensure that all of our clients are comfortable with all Visiting Nurse | Hospice Atlanta employees they come in contact with. Our employees proudly uphold our organizational values—respect, integrity, excellence, stewardship and care in all we do. At Visiting Nurse | Hospice Atlanta, we take pride in having compassionate and qualified employees. All employees are required to have advanced proficiency in critical thinking, time management, technical skills as well as reading, writing and speaking English. We also examine the following for all team members during the hiring process:

• Education
• Current licenses and/or certifications
• Criminal background checks
• Ability to read, write and speak English
• Written references

Yes, of course. For all pre-scheduled visits, we will provide backup coverage when necessary. Visiting Nurse is available 24/7 and will never leave a client unattended.

Safety and integrity are important to us. All Visiting Nurse employees are fully insured in compliance with the Georgia state laws and fully bonded against theft.