Home with Home Care

About the transition

Starting home care often means significant changes for both your patient and their family caregiver(s). It's another person, or people, in the home. It's care duties that your patient was used to the family caregiver doing, or doing alone, now being done by another person - often a stranger. It's work that the family caregiver may have taken pride in (or disliked) that now is in the hands of someone else.

Home Care: A Family Caregiver's Guide outlines many of these changes, from types of home care services, kinds of home care staff, payment, and how this can affect thefamily caregiver, and prepare the caregiver for the impact on the patient. The Family Caregiver's Planner for Care at Home can help family caregivers keep track of who is coming, when, and what their roles are in care.

Having a smooth relationship with the people providing home care services can be essential for proper care and safety of your patient, as well as the patient's and the family caregiver's peace of mind. The guide Working with Home Health Aides provides tips for the family caregiver on understanding the aide's duties and restriction can be, communicating clearly with each other, and being clear regarding the working relationship and expectations.

And what what does it mean for the patient and the family caregiver when home care services stop? The guide When Home Care Ends discusses the impact of the close of home care services so the family caregiver can be prepared and have plans in place.