a recent conversation with a fellow health care provider made me realize there is truly a need to educate other health care professionals about what a Adult Family Home is, what is within the scope of practice or individual providers and other agencies.
. For myself I take this issue seriously due to lack of public awareness of what is offered at Adult family homes. Companion service is not what an Adult Family Home structure is. Perhaps it is simply room & board in your state. Under Washington, we are an alternative to Skilled nursing. there is a wide range of services that can be and are RN Delegated. We are License to care for 6 adults or less. As long as our providers skill level is there and of course we do not work outside of our scope of practice. That is why some homes can do IV infusion, wound therapy, wound care etc.. no not just companionship. For our home we employee two RN’s and work with Home Health agencies both public and private. This is to ensure our clients have the highest level of care. We also have clergy and pharmacists at our finger tips.
Our clients’ needs are addressed much better, seamlessly and faster due to our small population; allowing for true one on one care, unlike larger facilities.
When appropriate I call in Hospice and we manage End of Life under the direction of Hospice Physicians. As for Medication. Again with in Washington State, Medication management and Delegation is a routine. I am not sure what your state laws are but in my state, individuals are allowed to make their choices, it is up to the home or facility to decide if they want to hire in other nurses or discharge client. I myself have been participating with Hospice for over 15 years on and off as duty calls. My residence are allowed the comfort and dignity of dying at home. I cannot imagine caring for someone and when they have need of services to discharge them into unfamiliar territory.
We involve all the appropriate persons including family at bedside, have superior symptom management and are able to be personable and professional. This is not simply Companion services. Should you want more information or education RE: Adult family home in Washington State I would be happy to share the Washington State Administration codes and direct you to DSHS aging and disability offices.
Again I would like to point out that Nurses, Aides, Certified Nursing Assistants, E.M.T. and therapist we employ never work outside of our scope of practice and as for our insurance rates well they are certainly NOT small due to the nature of what we do and the amount of Liability we must carry if we choose to step up for clients and do what’s necessary, hire who is needed and care for residence like our own parents; which means to do the right thing and care for them until the end in our home. I applaud other homes that go to this length to care for venerable adults and stand by individuals and families that make the choice that this is the right choice for them. passionate
this being said; there is a wide variety of services and care levels at different homes, do your homework, check residence, get input past and current families. there is always a Pinto & a Cadillac. hard to generalize that they are both cars
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