The Knox Community Hospital Department of Home Health likes to keep patients out of the hospital if preventable, Courtney Strouse, the facility's director of Home Health, told the Mount Vernon News.

"We offer alternatives to extended hospital and nursing home stays," she said. "We provide personal and professional medical care from the comfort of home." 

Home Health services are typically covered by traditional Medicare and Medicaid insurance. Commercial and advantage plan insurance provide some coverage as well, Strouse said.

In order to receive Home Health care services, a patient must be considered “safe” living in their home. The KCH Department of Home Health provides home services for patients who meet the “skilled need” for in-home services. 

A few examples would include patients with conditions such as Congestive Heart Failure, COVID, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Stroke, Diabetes, Parkinson’s Disease, and orthopedic joint replacements. Additional medical services provided is in-home are wound care, catheter care and IV Infusion therapy, Strouse said.

Patients receive in-home care weekly from a nurse. Depending on the patient’s medical condition and physician's plan of care, KCH Department of Home Health offers physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists. A social worker is available for coping and connecting patients to resources based on need. 

The Knox Community Hospital Department of Home Health has a nurse on call seven days a week, 24-hours a day for emergencies. In some cases, Home Health professionals have to refer patients to the Emergency Room if their condition is more serious, Strouse said.

The best way to get Home Health services is through your physician after a hospital stay, or after discharging from a nursing home. Patients are eligible even if they received initial treatment at a hospital other than Knox Community Hospital.