Visiting Nurse / Hospice Atlanta Blogs

Private Home Care vs Home Healthcare: What Service is Right for You or Your Loved One?

Although both services take place in the home, Private Home Care and Home Healthcare are different. The differences are in their provisions and how the cost is covered. Visiting Nurse Health System offers both, Private Home Care and Home Healthcare, but which service is the best option for you and/or your loved one?

Private Home Care: The Basics

Firstly, with a goal of providing families with a peace of mind, Private Home Care services assist individuals with activities of daily living like grooming, meals, transportation and light housework. These services are provided by a CNA and are considered non-skilled nursing services. There are no age requirements for Private Home Care services. In fact, individuals of all ages with disabilities and seniors make up the majority of Private Home Care clients.

Private Home Care: The Cost

The cost of Private Home Care varies depending on the service requirements. At the current time, Medicare does not cover the cost of Private Home Care. These services are paid for out-of-pocket, through long-term care insurance or veteran benefits.

Private Home Care: When to consider

Individuals who are aging or living with a disability should consider Private Home Care when daily living tasks become a challenge. It is our goal to allow our clients to remain as independent as possible with our care as needed. 90% of seniors asked would prefer to live in the comfort and familiarity of their home, learn more Private Home Care by calling 404-658-5800.

Home Healthcare: The Basics

Home Healthcare is a great option for patients who are transitioning from the hospital or rehabilitation to the home. The services needed vary from patient to patient. Home Healthcare services include skilled nursing services in addition to physical and occupational therapy. These are all components in helping patients to get moving again. Home Healthcare is delivered by RNs and LPNs which differs from Private Home Care. Often times, this care involves medicine administration, wound care, ventilator care, and tube feeding. If necessary, Home Healthcare therapists will help in the training to use of medical equipment like grab bars and walkers. These home visits usually last up to 60 days or as long as the patient is showing improvement.

Home Healthcare: The Cost

Home Healthcare is Medicare funded. Medicare will help cover the costs of medical equipment (i.e. grab bars and walkers). A patient’s physician can also order the care option as part of their treatment.

Home Healthcare: When to consider

Consider Home Healthcare Services with Visiting Nurse Health System for yourself or a loved on when transitioning back home after being in the hospital or rehab. Just because you or your loved one is going home that doesn’t mean the necessary care should come to an end. To begin Home Healthcare Services with Visiting Nurse Health System, call (404) 215-6000.

In conclusion, Private Home Care provides frequent and personal care and often times works alongside Home Healthcare. When considering an agency option that is best for you or a loved one it is ideal to find one like Visiting Nurse Health System who offers both skilled and non-skilled care so a relationship already exists if the care needs change. Remember, when seeking new care options always ask questions so that you can make informed decisions. You have to be your own healthcare advocate.

Visiting Nurse Health System is Georgia’s leading nonprofit provider of home healthcare, long-term care at home, and hospice services, helping patients and their loved ones receive care at home following an illness, surgery, or hospital stay.

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Visiting Nurse celebrated our Home Health Physical Therapists this week in recognition of PT Appreciation Month!
For more than 78 years, we’ve served Atlanta, helping patients regain strength, improve mobility and maintain independence at home. We are grateful to our PTs for the skill, compassion and dedication they bring to our patients every day.
To all of our PTs/PTAs, thank you for the work you do, the lives you touch and the difference you make for Visiting Nurse and the families we serve!
#ptappreciationmonth#homehealthcare#physicaltherapy#visitingnursehealthsystem #agingathome

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The hidden caregiving crisis is a workforce issue, and a critical part of the ongoing conversation about the future of aging at home.
We’d like to thank everyone who joined us today for the Visiting Nurse Healthcare Champions Event: Leadership Conversations That Drive Change, hosted by Genuine Parts Company. 
A special thank-you to Genuine Parts Company’s Renay Blumenthal, Sr. Director, Corporate Giving & Community Relations, for leading the day’s event with a warm welcome, and kicking off the day’s amazing line up of speakers.
Honored to have this event moderated by Crystal Edmonson of the Atlanta Business Chronicle, we are very grateful for our panelists for sharing their leadership expertise and perspectives on the growing demands facing working family caregivers and how employers can help support them:
• Rachel Cannady, Senior Associate Director, Caregiving, The Carter Center
 • Keisha Olinger, Region Leader, Marsh People and Investments, Mid-South
 • Eric Barker, Analyst, Senior Health & Welfare, Southern Company
Thank you to our own President and CEO, Dorothy Davis, for speaking today, and continuing to bring community leaders together to keep this important conversation going, critical to addressing the future of healthcare in our communities. At Visiting Nurse, we see firsthand how family caregivers help older adults remain safe, comfortable and independent at home. Yet balancing caregiving responsibilities with work and family life can create significant challenges for our own employees, employers and families.
Supporting caregivers is essential to helping seniors age with dignity in the place they call home. By bringing business and community leaders together, we can raise awareness, explore meaningful workplace solutions and strengthen the support systems families need. Because caring for those who care for others matters, too.
Thank you to Genuine Parts Company for hosting this important conversation and Huntington Bank for sponsoring our Healthcare Champions series. Together, we can help build healthier workplaces, stronger families and more supportive communities for Georgia’s aging population.

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The future of aging at home starts with all of us!
Grateful our Healthcare Champions, with the generous support of event sponsor Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, brought together key community leaders, partners and distinguished guests for an important conversation about the future of healthcare and aging in Georgia.

Lead by nationally-recognized healthcare attorney Bill A. Dombi, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP (AGG), and Visiting Nurse President and CEO Dorothy Davis, this important conversation investigated how healthcare, business, philanthropy and public policy can work together to strengthen the infrastructure, innovation and partnerships that help Georgians age safely, independently and with dignity at home. Including Georgia's healthcare community leaders, changemakers and valued community partners in attendance, the room was filled with people committed to shaping what comes next.

Thank you to all of our guests who joined the conversation, with a very special thank you to Bill Dombi for leading the day's event. Thank you to our host Arnall Golden Gregory LLP for sponsoring this important event. 

#VisitingNurseHealthSystem #HealthcareChampions #AgingAtHome #HealthcareLeadership #GeorgiaHealthcare #HospiceCare

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Happy National Case Management Week!
And a little appreciation goes a long way, as Phillip Walters, of Hospice Atlanta, made life a little sweeter joining Northside Hospital’s Case Management Vendor Event! Sharing important resources and information on critical care, a great time was had celebrating these dedicated case managers who make a difference for patients and families every day.

Thank you for all you do, and a shout out to our local Scrumpt bakery for helping make their special week even sweeter! #NationalCaseManagementWeek #HospiceAtlanta

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First in Georgia!
Visiting Nurse is proud to announce that our HeartCare at Home™ program is the first home health program in Georgia certified by the American Heart Association® for Home Health–Heart Failure care.
Because heart failure care doesn’t stop when a patient leaves the hospital. This certification reflects our commitment to evidence-based, high-quality care and our dedicated clinicians who bring specialized heart failure support directly to patients where they are most comfortable, in the place they call home. 

After 78 years, we’re proud to continue advancing care at home. ❤️

#VisitingNurseHealthSystem #HeartCareAtHome #HeartFailure #HomeHealth #AmericanHeartAssociation

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We are so grateful for our volunteers who give their time, compassion and heart to serve our patients and families in need.
What a beautiful reminder of the lasting impact a caring volunteer can make through companionship, connection and simply being present.
Thank you to our volunteers for the meaningful difference you make for our patients and families every day.

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Visiting Nurse | Hospice Atlanta was proud to celebrate National Assisted Living Week all month long, with celebrations honoring the national theme “Shining Through the Years.”

We enjoyed celebrating with the residents and team at Brookdale Carrollton, GA, honoring the lives, stories and connections that make every year meaningful. (pictured below)

#NationalAssistedLivingWeek #ShiningThroughTheYears #HospiceAtlanta #VisitingNurseHealthSystem #BrookdaleCarrollton #SeniorCare #CommunityCare

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🌟Congratulations to our Employee of the Month! 🌟

Please join us in celebrating our Hospice Atlanta Nurse Tasha for her dedication, hard work and commitment to our Hospice Atlanta patients and families. We thank you for all you do for our patients, families and team!

👏 Congratulations, Tasha!

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Team Hospice Atlanta proudly participated in this year's Kaiser Permanente’s Run, Walk & Roll 5K! As a valued healthcare partner, we are grateful for the opportunity to join forces and come together to support health, wellness and a healthier community.

Thank you to everyone who represented Hospice Atlanta and Visiting Nurse Health System. We are proud to support events that bring our healthcare partners and community together to in health!

#HospiceAtlanta #VisitingNurseHealthSystem #KaiserPermanente #RunWalkAndRoll #CommunityHealth #HealthAndWellness #HealthyCommunity #AtlantaCommunity #HealthcarePartners

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