For Seniors

Rehabilitation means many things:

• Improving or maintaining skills 
• Even helping you downhill gently
• Anticipating and preparing for the future

Rehabilitation Services

Rehabilitation Services focus on quality of life, on what you are able to do, and adapting what you cannot change. You are never too old or disabled to benefit from rehabilitation.

You may need rehabilitation Services if you have a functional limitation such as:

• Difficulty getting out of a chair or out of bed
• Trouble fixing a meal, getting dressed
• Errors in managing your medications or appointments, trouble getting going
• Fear of bathing, falling or going out
• Fatigue or shortness of breath
• Pain that limits what you can do
• Your caregiver may benefit from rehabilitation services if he or she has problems helping you move, keeping you occupied or remaining encouraged when you are discouraged.

Tell your physician of difficulties that either you or your caregiver are having and ask if a referral to an occupational, physical or speech therapist is possible.

• Do I qualify for home health
• Questions about insurance coverage
• When talking with your doctor
• TIYH_screening_tool – for your doctor and your therapist

Rehabilitation Services is a team that includes you and your caregivers. Be sure to let us know your problems or concerns and your goals so we can individualize our efforts (see links above about talking with your Doctor and Clarifying with your therapist). You might work with an Occupational Therapist (your occupation includes everything you do in a day, from bathing and dressing to leisure and work), a Physical Therapist or a Speech Therapist (your speech therapist can work on all communication skills: expressing ideas, written and verbal, and understanding and paying attention to what is communicated to you, written and verbal,  as well as safe and efficient swallowing). You might also benefit from the services of a Dietitian, Social Worker, Rehabilitation Nurse, or specialty physician like a Gerontologist, Psychiatrist (Doctor of Physical Medicine), Neurologist or Neuro-Psychiatrist.

Rehabilitation Services are available in hospitals or nursing homes, on an outpatient basis, or in your home and through community programs.

Reimbursement for rehabilitation services can be from Medicare, private insurance or community programs. Reimbursement is usually for limited periods of time while progress is made. However, when reimbursement ends, you might still benefit from further Therapy. You can:

1. Learn from your therapist what you can do to prolong the benefits of your Therapy after it stops.
2. Ask your therapist to oversee an aide for an extended period of time.
3. See if Therapy would be covered in another setting.
4. Request therapy on a private basis, which is the original need Therapy In Your Home was designed to meet, until we realized how many people with insurance needed non-Home Health Agency services at home.

If you have a caregiver (Hiring help at home) at home, you might want to hire a private therapist to instruct the caregiver in ways to keep you as able, comfortable and safe as possible. A caregiver can help you carry out a program but unless that person is very skilled they aren’t likely to know how to adjust the program as you change. The therapist may only need to come infrequently.

Goals of Care

Rehabilitation means many things to many people. You may improve, with therapy, to have more flexibility, strength, balance (how we help) and be more able than you have been in a long time. You are never too old to improve your balance or strength. There are always ways to adapt your environment and technique to improve safety, function, satisfaction and energy. Call us for ideas and to help find just the right therapist for you.

Some diseases and injuries require ongoing, diligent follow through to maintain your status or prevent slow decline. Limitations can occur over time and can be minimized by working with a therapist. Whether you have improved or declined since you last worked with a therapist, you may need a review of your program, your surrounding environment or even your caregiver’s expectations and skills. Be sure to ask your physician if you are eligible for a re-evaluation through home health or out-patient or private pay. See our information on insurance and eligibility for in-home care.

You may not be trying to get back to where you were. In nursing care this perspective is called Palliative or comfort care, and means you are not focused on a cure or regaining your prior level of function. In this situation, rehabilitation can be a help to you and your caregivers regardless of your stage of illness or disability. Whatever your expectations for recuperation, the rehabilitation focus is on attaining or maintaining skills, anticipating change and being proactive about addressing those changes.  Whatever your level of function we help you be as comfortable, able, satisfied and safe as possible. Rehabilitative Palliative Care.

And, Therapy In Your Home can work with your caregivers so their help is quality, caring and sustaining. The best thing we can do to take care of you is to take care of your caregiver too! Call or email us with your situation and we can help you decide what you are looking for.