Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What types of people can benefit from services?
A: Likely candidates for treatment are people with a medical diagnosis that impairs their ability to safely or effectively perform activities like dressing or bathing, or higher level activities like homemaking or accessing community activities. Impairments may be a result of a stroke, arthritis, Parkinson's disease, an accident, visual deficits, gait and balance problems, multiple sclerosis, a fall, lung disease, or other causes.
Q: How is this different from services of home health agencies?
A: Home health clients are generally covered under Medicare A and must be "homebound", a classification that limits leaving the house to medical treatment and little else. Our "outpatient" services use your home as the "clinic" and homebound status is not an issue. (Thriving at HomeTM cannot be providing services at the same time that a client is receiving services from a home health agency.)
Q: Does Medicare cover these home-based services?
A: Yes, as long as basic requirements are met. Thriving at HomeTM is certified as a Medicare provider and bills for professional services under Part B (80%). The remaining 20% is covered by supplemental insurance (e.g. Medex) or as a co-pay by the individual. As private practitioners, we are certified to provide services in the daily environment of a client's own home. This enhances our ability to identify and address safety issues, to recommend specific home modifications and fall prevention strategies, and to directly assess how our client manages a wide range of activities. No arrangements need to be made for transportation to a rehabilitation clinic, allowing our clients to reserve their energy for the therapy itself.
Q: If I'm going to outpatient physical therapy, could I also receive services from Thriving at HomeTM?
A: Yes. The skills addressed by occupational therapy at home will likely complement and facilitate goals being addressed in physical therapy, helping you prevent falls, avoid re-injury, accidents and muscle strain.
Q: Does insurance cover the cost of adaptive equipment?
A: Despite strong evidence that this would be a very economical use of our healthcare dollars, very little is covered by insurance. Thriving at HomeTM will help you determine if other payment sources are available, and will minimize the costs as much as possible. We keep a good supply of many items and routinely lend out equipment for trial for a week or two to be sure that the item is effective and worth having around, avoiding the hassle of buying and returning the item.
Q: How long is each visit and how many times do you meet with a client?
A: Sessions are usually an hour long and are scheduled at your convenience. The number of visits ranges from 1 to 4 depending on your needs and the complexity of the situation.
Q: What is adaptive or assistive equipment?
A: This equipment includes special eating utensils, low vision aids, long-handled items, risers for a couch, bed rails, bathroom equipment, grab bars and many other specially modified items. Many times simple everyday items can be used in an adapted way, costing little or nothing to implement. Adaptive ways of doing something or very minor adjustments to the environment can also have a dramatic effect.
Q: What does "aging in place" mean?
A: Most older adults want to continue living in their own home as they age. Aging in place is a concept that recognizes this desire and addresses issues that would prevent this from occurring. Actions are as simple as small alterations to improve home safety or as complex as working to change Medicare funding regulations that have favored placement in more costly institutional settings. Recent changes in state laws have made more funds available to Medicaid eligible consumers who might otherwise have been placed in a nursing home. Long-term care insurance also supports aging in place costs as an economical and preferable option. And many families have always recognized the benefits of aging in place.
Q: Isn't fear of falling a good thing?
A: A balanced awareness of risks leads to reasonable decisions about what activities to avoid and how to make others safer to engage in. As we age, some things should clearly set off flashing red lights and sirens in our minds. I saw a client who had fallen several times using a child's scooter to get around her home on stone tiled floors. My goal was to instill some fear of falling! Other clients are so fearful of falling that they avoid activities that should have been seen as green light opportunities for a little healthy exercise. In these cases, muscles get weaker by the day and the inactivity actually increases the risk of injury from a fall. Sometimes dangerous "red light" activities can be changed into cautionary "yellow light" activities with minor home modifications - like adding handrails on both sides of a stairway. A safety assessment helps clients and family members better understand risks and opportunities.