Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

National Home Care Week Underway

National Home Care Week is November 27 through December 1.

Southwest Arkansas Development Council Home Health Care, offers a viable, cost-effective suggestion: STAY AT HOME FOR THE HEALTH OF IT. With advanced technology, many of the sevices offered in hospitals can be provided at home, and at considerable savings.

Encouraging employees to take advantage of home care services, by offering incentives and insurance programs that cover the costs of such professional and personalized care, gives employers a humane and cost-effective alternative to hospital or nursing home care.

Of course, there are times when hospital or nursing home care is necessary, but more and more sophisticated treatments are now being delivered at home right here in Nevada County. A study from Aetna Life and Casualty shows significant cost savings when home care was provided for certain health problems that were traditionally treated in hospitals. For instance, the average costs for treating a patient dependent on a respirator in a hospital in 1992 was $270,000, compared with equivalent home care that cost about $21,000 per year.

SWADC Home Care Agency urges employers to work with the planners of their employee benefit packages to implement plans that use home care as the first line of health services and institutionalization as an alternative only when effective care cannot be provided in the home. This week, National Home Care Week, gives both employers and employees an excellent opportunity to learn more about bringing health care back home, where it belongs.

"Home care can range from the Personal Care our agency provides in Nevada County, to intricate, sophisticated care delivered by skilled care agencies," County Supervisor Pam Teague RN stated. Personal Care services are ordered by physicians for those patients who need help thoroughly or safely completing a bath.

Homemaking tasks, laundry, shopping and medical transport can also be apart of the care plan. Personal Care is supervised by a registered nurse, and is delivered by a trained nurses aide. It is proven to improve length, and quality of life, and saves money, also.

Southwest Arkansas Development Council is a nonprofit community action agency that provides vital community services to 12 counties in southwest Arkansas. For more information call, 887-5171 or 887-5536.

The community is cordially invited to join the Sr. Citizens for "Coffee and More" from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m., Friday, December 1, in recognition of Home Health Week, and also the annual Christmas Open House, Thursday, December 14, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. at the Senior Citizen Center, 304 East Vine.