Q: How do home health agencies coordinate services with skilled nursing facilities?
A: Home health agencies are an extension of care, if needed, for residents residing in skilled nursing facilities. Home health agencies are utilized when it is appropriate for a resident to be discharged from the skilled nursing facility and additional care would need to be provided when the resident returns to his/her home. Skilled nursing facilities will make the appropriate arrangements for the discharging resident so that the continuum of care is provided in his/her own home. Discharge arrangements with a home health agency might include: part-time or intermittent nursing care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech or language therapy, medical social services, durable medical equipment, and medical supplies.
Q: What is difference between Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease?
A: Dementia can be described as the loss of intellectual functions such as thinking, remembering and reasoning as well as changes in behavior and mood. A person's daily ability to function becomes difficult, if not impossible. This group of symptoms also may accompany certain diseases such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Pick's and Parkinson's Disease. As well, other conditions may mimic Dementia so it is important to seek medical help to obtain an accurate diagnosis.
Alzheimer Disease or Dementia of the Alzheimer Type (DAT) is the most common type of Dementia accounting for 64 per cent of all Dementias. It is described as a progressive degenerative disease that destroys the vital nerve cells in the brain and results in impaired memory, thinking and behavior. It used to be called senility and is not a normal part of growing older.
Those affected by Alzheimer Disease experience gradual memory loss, a diminished ability to perform routine tasks, disorientation in time and space, impaired judgment, personality changes, difficulty in learning and a loss of communication skills. Alzheimer Disease can strike at any age although most of those affected are over the age of 65.
